Rachel Reeves urges financial services to back emerging markets February 20, 2025 Rachel Reeves has met with top financial services firms to urge them to work with development institutions and within “emerging markets”. The Chancellor met with firms including Aviva, HSBC and Schroders in Canary Wharf today, as she called on industry leaders to seize on growth opportunities and shore up London as a leader in development [...]
NATO members will ‘fight together’ if needed, defence secretary says February 20, 2025 NATO member states will “fight together” if needed, the UK’s defence secretary has pledged during a visit to Norway. John Healey told a press conference with his Norwegian counterpart Tore Sandvik that Russian leader Vladimir Putin “wants to divide NATO” and “wants to divide Europe” as he warned that a ceasefire in Ukraine “must not [...]
Public service reform is pro-business, pensions minister argues February 20, 2025 Reforming Britain’s public services is a pro-growth and pro-business policy, the pensions minister has argued. Torsten Bell, who was appointed in the mini-reshuffle following City minister Tulip Siddiq’s departure from government, has said it’s not possible to have a “failing state and a growing economy”, in an interview with the Guardian. The former Resolution Foundation [...]
Lloyds shares jump despite profit slump February 20, 2025 Lloyds Banking Group’s shares jumped three per cent following market open, despite recording a profit hit after the firm set aside additional funds for potential motor finance payouts. The FTSE 100 lender’s pre-tax profit was down 20 per cent at £6bn, compared to £7.5bn in 2023. Analysts estimated the bank’s profit before tax at £6.5bn, [...]
Rachel Reeves must act now to save pubs, City broker warns February 20, 2025 Peel Hunt has become the latest broker to issue a warning that British pub culture is at risk due to structural pressures and tax hikes. Hospitality was the biggest driver of economic growth in both November and December, according to the latest government figures. But tax rises in the October budget “halted and reversed a [...]
UK equity markets could do with some shock therapy February 20, 2025 My favourite explanation as to why UK pension funds have shrunk their investments in UK equities from around 50 per cent in the 1990s to a paltry 3 per cent today was offered to me recently by one of the City’s veteran fund managers; “You can trace it all back to the day that crook [...]
Reeves told to improve investment incentives by industry bosses February 19, 2025 Rachel Reeves has been told by top global financial firms she needs to ease investment taxes, sources told Reuters. In a meeting with executives from JPMorgan, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citi, Fidelity, Schroders and abrdn on Wednesday, Reeves was told to improve tax incentives for UK consumers. The latest summit in Reeves’ bid for [...]
Business secretary accused of false CV claim to be a solicitor February 19, 2025 Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds has been accused of falsely claiming that he was a solicitor before being elected as an MP, despite only being a trainee. The cabinet minister – who is responsible for the UK’s businesses and international trade – has previously described himself as a solicitor, including on his LinkedIn profile, according to [...]
Treasury confirms shift to one-day settlements as Rachel Reeves calls in City bankers February 19, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has confirmed that the UK will move to a ‘T+1’ standard for settling securities trades from 2027. She is meeting with chiefs of investment banking and asset management firms today to discuss the overhaul. The government has set 11 October 2027 as the date for the UK to transition to a one-day [...]
Labour’s jobs tax is proving the Laffer curve in real time February 19, 2025 Widespread falls in hiring and increases in redundancies are a textbook demonstration of how tax can destroy economic activity. Labour’s National Insurance rise is proving economic theory before our eyes, says Matthew Kilcoyne Sometimes the data tells a story so clear it hurts. The latest CIPD survey gives us exactly that – a textbook demonstration [...]