Pound falls to 2023 low against Euro as Budget jitters spike October 29, 2025 The Pound suffered a sharp drop on Wednesday as investors braced for an economic hit in Rachel Reeves’ forthcoming Budget. Sterling’s downturn came as the UK’s fiscal watchdog looks set to hand a hefty downgrade to the country’s productivity growth. On Wednesday morning, the pound fell 0.4 per cent against the Euro to 1.13 – [...]
Autumn Budget: Reeves must avoid tax encore for retail, HMV boss warns October 29, 2025 Ahead of the Autumn Budget, City Reporter Samuel Norman sits down with top industry names for a Budget Briefing. This week, chief executive of HMV joins a chorus of warnings to give the retail sector some reprieve. As high street music retailer HMV breezes into the all-important golden quarter, boss Phillip Halliday is eyeing a chart-topper [...]
Rachel Reeves set for £20bn OBR productivity downgrade October 28, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ ballooning fiscal black hole is set to deepen as the fiscal watchdog hands the Chancellor its final productivity forecast on Friday. The Treasury is already battling to contain public finances after a U-turn on welfare reforms ruined hopes of £5bn in savings, and a £190bn spending splurge on government departments helped erode the Chancellor’s wafer-thin [...]
Autumn Budget: Reeves told avoid ‘pick and mix’ tax grabs October 23, 2025 Ahead of the Autumn Budget, City Reporter Samuel Norman sits down with top industry names for a Budget Briefing. This week, the managing director of TheCityUK warns Reeves not to patch up the tax tire just for it to deflate once more. The Chancellor has touted financial and professional services for their role “at the [...]
UK banks tax rate rises as fears of a budget raid spike October 15, 2025 The tax rate on the UK banking sector rose in the last financial year as the industry braces for a potential hike to its financial burden in the Autumn Budget. A fresh study from banking industry body UK Finance and PwC revealed London lender’s total tax rate rose 0.6 per cent to 46.4 per cent [...]
Autumn Budget: Why are banks in Rachel Reeves’ tax crosshairs? October 7, 2025 The “pass the parcel” of Budget speculation has fallen back into the lap of the banking industry with the nation’s top lenders finding themselves as a potential subject of a November cash grab. Fresh reports have indicated Rachel Reeves is actively considering a raid on Britain’s banking giants – even as she continues to make [...]
Natwest chair: Rachel Reeves’ Budget must include radical tax reform September 29, 2025 The chair of banking giant Natwest has called for Rachel Reeves to implement “radical tax reform” in her Autumn Budget. Rick Haythornthwaite has said a “bold long-term plan” to “kick-start growth” would reassure jittery bond markets and “deliver much-needed social benefits”. “This is the time for a 10-year programme of radical tax reform. Time for [...]
HSBC: City market’s top firm turns to Asia and Middle East September 22, 2025 HSBC is setting its sights on Asia and the Middle East for further growth prospects after wielding the axe at parts of its European operations. A top boss at Britain’s most valuable bank – and top FTSE100 company by market cap – said both regions have “an enormous amount of capital” which was a significant [...]
Natwest and HSBC shares dip as bank tax chatter heats up September 22, 2025 Shares in Natwest and HSBC dipped on Monday morning as traders digested renewed chatter of a tax hike on Britain’s banking giants. Natwest tumbled as much as 1.3 per cent to 506p when markets opened, while HSBC fell 0.6 per cent to 1,022p. Barclays fell nearly 0.2 per cent to 381p. Lloyds was broadly flat [...]
Budget 2025: Banks to ‘bear the brunt of higher taxes’ September 2, 2025 UK banks will be the top target as Rachel Reeves looks to drum up cash in the Autumn Budget, a top economist has said. Chatter around a cash grab directed at banks has escalated over the last week after left-wing think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) proposed that the Chancellor raid the quantitative easing [...]