Bank of England interest rate cut ‘almost certain’ after poor growth July 11, 2025 Fresh growth figures have fuelled speculation of an August interest rate cut in a bid to give the waning UK economy a shot of life. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed on Friday the UK economy shrunk for the second consecutive month with a 0.1 per cent contraction in May. Deutsche Bank’s chief economist [...]
FTSE 100 smashes intra day high as investors call Trump’s bluff July 10, 2025 The FTSE 100 surpassed its all-time high on Thursday with investors unfazed by the latest barrage of trade threats from President Donald Trump. The UK’s flagship index rallied over one per cent in morning trading to over 8,970. This topped a previous intra-day record of 8,908.82 set on March 3. Miners pioneered Thursday’s jump with [...]
Trump tariffs: FTSE 100 holds steady as pharma and metals brace for levies July 9, 2025 The FTSE 100 opened 22 points up this morning, despite threats of pharma and metals tariffs with stark implications for major stocks on the blue chip index. President Trump has said that an announcement is coming “very soon” on pharmaceutical tariffs – with a possible 200 per cent rate landing in “about a year”. Major [...]
Trump tariffs: Fresh delay as UK steel exemption hangs in the balance July 8, 2025 Downing Street would not say whether the Government was confident that a deal to eliminate American tariffs on UK steel would be struck as Donald Trump’s deadline looms. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on Monday that US President Donald Trump would be delaying an increase to the baseline 10 per cent tariff rate [...]
Analysis: A US-EU trade deal looks unlikely. What does that mean for the UK? July 7, 2025 The clock is ticking on the EU-US trade deal set to expire on 9 July. The European Union is pushing for immediate relief from tariffs, but the bloc expects even a best-case deal to include a degree of asymmetry. While the UK is not at the negotiating table, Britain may find itself absorbing collateral damage [...]
Financial advisers sound alarm on lack of support for SMEs July 2, 2025 Financial advisers have raised concern about the lack of support for small businesses in government policy as firms feel the pinch of economic pressures. Over half of advisers surveyed by alternative lender Thincats branded government policy as unsupportive of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) whilst just six per cent said it was supportive. Small businesses [...]
Steel industry demands rapid resolution to tariff uncertainty July 1, 2025 Car makers and aerospace manufacturers have welcomed the UK-US trade deal that came into force on Monday, but steelmakers have warned that delays to tariffs on their exports coming down are “paralysing” their industry. The UK is the only country to have secured a trade deal with the US since Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ reciprocal tariffs, [...]
Tariffs, not Iran, will define Trump’s presidency June 30, 2025 Those involved in business need to keep their eye on the right ball. Iran might continue to dominate the headlines, but it’s tariffs that will affect the bottom line, says Tim Hames Political events can have an enormous sense of drama, while distracting from what really matters. This is likely to prove the case for [...]
Polar Capital: Profit jumps as boss departs June 30, 2025 Asset manager Polar Capital reported a surge in profit for the latest financial year but a tough final quarter and the threat of market volatility lingered over results. The London-listed firm recorded a 27 per cent jump in core operating profit to £56.7m for the year ending March 31 2025. Pre-tax profit dipped six per [...]
Disposable income per head slumps despite economic growth June 30, 2025 The Office for National Statistics left growth figures for the UK economy at 0.7 per cent in the first three months of the year unrevised on Monday. Official data from the ONS showed quarter one’s growth was led by a 1.3 per cent increase in the production sector. Services and construction jumped 0.7 per cent [...]