Bond tumult prompts comparisons with Britain’s 1970s debt crisis January 9, 2025 The turmoil engulfing the UK gilt market has shades of the country’s debt crisis in the 1970s which culminated in the then Labour government needing a bailout from the IMF, according to multiple financial heavyweights. Nigel Green, chief executive of of the the world’s largest independent advisory businesses, called the market bedlam, which has seen [...]
Go further to revive the City of London, voters tell Starmer and Reeves January 8, 2025 Keir Starmer’s government must do more to support the City of London after a bruising year in which fresh IPOs have fallen off a cliff and scores of firms have been picked off by private buyers, a survey of voters has suggested. According to the first of a new monthly City AM/Freshwater Strategy poll, more [...]
Retail insolvencies set to surge as Budget bites, experts warn December 30, 2024 A wave of insolvencies could be coming to the retail and hospitality sectors next year as businesses crumble under the tax bill brought on by Labour’s Budget, bosses have warned. Insolvencies and restructuring could rise further over the start of 2025 as firms face increased cost pressures, industry experts have said, with the retail, hospitality [...]
Relief for Reeves as business outlook brightens for new year December 30, 2024 UK businesses have defied the negative sentiment which has defined the latter part of the year and predicted an upswing in 2025. More UK businesses are expecting a stronger start to 2025 than they did entering 2024, new research from Lloyds Business Barometer has found. Seven in ten UK businesses expect to see their turnover [...]
Travelodge turns to robot vacuums amid budget hotel chain facing £21m costs hike November 28, 2024 Travelodge has revealed it is facing a £21m hike in costs in 2025 following Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget. The budget hotel group has warned it will see the increase because of the combined impact of another minimum wage hike in April as well as a higher rate of employer national insurance set to push up [...]
Morrisons chief calls for urgent overhaul of business rates system November 24, 2024 The chief of Morrisons has called for the business rates system to be radically overhauled so it “genuinely levels the playing field” between high street retailers and online operators. Rami Baitiéh, the boss of the supermarket, told The Mail on Sunday: “The current proposal threatens to drag hundreds of supermarkets, which are crucial to thriving [...]
Surge in government borrowing raises threat of more Reeves tax hikes, economists warn November 21, 2024 A sharp rise in government borrowing costs fuelled by pay rises for public sector workers and rising debt payments has raised the threat of future tax hikes, according to economists. Borrowing rose to £17.4bn last month, marking the second highest October figure since monthly records began, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics [...]
Peel Hunt: There’s a ‘missing piece’ in Reeves’ City growth push November 20, 2024 The government has demonstrated a “fundamental shift” in its approach to growth but must address the key issue of pushing investment into the UK stock market, Peel Hunt has said. In an a note to investors today, Peel Hunt’s head of research, Charles Hall, stressed that while Rachel Reeves‘s Mansion House speech had been a [...]
Retailers ‘right’ to warn of Budget job cuts, says Bank of England governor November 19, 2024 The governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, has said a group of retailers were “right” to warn of sweeping job cuts as a result of Labour’s punishing £40bn tax raid at the Budget. A group of Britain’s biggest supermarkets and retail chains, including Tesco, M&S, Boots and B&Q, wrote to the Chancellor Rachel [...]
Lower interest rates not enough to rally consumer confidence November 18, 2024 After a steady climb throughout the year so far, consumer confidence dipped in November amid warnings it could continue to fall into 2025. Overall confidence fell from 47.3 in October to 46.9 in November, according to the S&P Global UK Consumer Sentiment Index (CSI) survey. The neutral mark is 50. Chief business economist at S&P, [...]