Tech bosses line up for Cabinet under new Whitehall plans April 12, 2026 Hundreds of business leaders, tech executives and former military figures are set to be trained for senior roles in government under a new initiative aimed at overhauling Whitehall. The programme, led by the Centre for Government Reform, will target candidates from outside Westminster and prepare them to take on positions such as cabinet ministers and [...]
“War in Iran will come at a cost,” Reeves warns UK businesses April 12, 2026 Rachel Reeves has warned the escalating conflict in Iran will feed directly into higher costs for British businesses, as pressure builds on energy prices and inflation. “I am going to be straight with people”, Reeves said, “the war in Iran will come at a cost to British families and business,” signalling that the economic fallout [...]
‘Dragged out of the dark ages’: Investment industry welcomes risk warnings review April 9, 2026 The UK investment industry has welcomed the findings of the Risk Warnings Review, emphasising the need to remove the extremes-focused view on investing. The review, a study commissioned by the Chancellor as part of the Leeds Reforms, found that consumers’ perception of risk has seriously hindered investing in the UK, with the state of risk [...]
The UK’s risk aversion culture is holding back investment April 9, 2026 The UK perception of investment risk is holding back a wave of capital into equities as Brits continue to view the stock market as a casino and squirrel their savings away in the safety of cash. The UK investment sector has become plagued by the widespread, standardised use of risk warnings, which instead of telling [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Blue-chip stocks boom on Trump and Iran ceasefire April 8, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Markets are in line for a major boom this morning after Donald Trump confirmed a two-week ceasefire with Iran shortly ahead of his latest bomb threat deadline. Trump announced the two-week postponement by stating the US and Iran were “very far along” with a “definitive” [...]
Stagflation to batter UK economy as growth grinds to halt April 7, 2026 The UK economy is set to suffer from stagflation over the coming months as growth across the services sector ground to a halt in March, researchers have indicated. The war in the Middle East has brought output growth to its slowest level since last April while input price inflation hit its highest level since the [...]
Interest rate on student loans to be capped April 7, 2026 Interest on student loans will be capped, in an attempt from the government to draw a line under a political row which has engulfed Westminster. Labour has announced that maximum interest rates on Plan 2 and Plan 3 student loans will not rise beyond six per cent from the next academic year starting in September. [...]
JP Morgan to build Canary Wharf’s tallest tower – if there is a tax incentive April 7, 2026 JP Morgan has been given the green light to build Canary Wharf’s largest tower but questions still remain over controversial tax incentives to lure the Wall Street titan in. The US banking behemoth has been in talks with officials from London City Airport regarding height restrictions for the tower. The bank is understood to have [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks dip ahead of Trump’s Iran deadline April 7, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The London market is set to return from the bank holiday break with a major hangover. Whilst the City enjoyed an Easter break, volatile trading continued with Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil – hovering around the $110 mark after see-sawing between gains [...]
The madness of a state that spends more on welfare than it raises from income tax April 7, 2026 If it were possible to buy Happy New Tax Year cards you’d surely find them stocked in the ‘With Sympathy’ section. As of yesterday, the state has increased its demands on a host of taxpayers. Dividend tax is up two per cent for basic and higher rate taxpayers, with the latter now hit by a [...]