Metro Bank shares dip after SME lending pivot sees profit balloon March 4, 2026 Metro Bank has swung back into profit as the firm’s pivot into small business lending led to a bump in revenue. The FTSE 250 lender returned to profitability with a pre-tax profit of just north of £98m – a 15-year high and major clawback from losses of £14m last year. The swing came as Metro [...]
Trump demands US-backed insurance as firms suspend cover in Persian Gulf March 4, 2026 Donald Trump calls for a US-backed insurance following news that most of the world’s largest maritime insurance firms are set to cease covering war risks for ships entering the Persian Gulf. On 5 March, various members of the London-based International Group of Protection and Indemnity Clubs will automatically terminate war-risk cover if vessels enter the [...]
Vistry: Housebuilder boss quits as output falls March 4, 2026 The boss of the UK’s second-biggest housebuilder has quit as the company battles with falling revenue and output caused by the uncertainty around last year’s November Budget. The news spooked investors as Vistry Group’s share price nosedived on Wednesday, down as much as 22 per cent to 490p. Vistry’s chief executive Greg Fitzgerald said he [...]
Spring Statement: Rachel Reeves ‘in denial’ as growth slumps March 4, 2026 Rachel Reeves has been accused of being “in denial” as she insisted that her economic plan was working even as growth forecasts were slashed and unemployment was predicted to surpass pandemic-era highs. Responding to yesterday’s Spring Statement, shadow chancellor Mel Stride said Labour’s economic agenda, which has raised the tax burden to a post-war high, [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks inch back up; UK faces energy bills warning March 4, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Yesterday, Rachel Reeves delivered her Spring Statement. The Chancellor wheeled out new forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility that cut growth for 2026 but – albeit modestly – upgraded it for the years to come. But forecasts were quickly labelled out of date by [...]
The Debate: Was a ‘quiet’ Spring Statement what businesses needed? March 4, 2026 It was good for the Chancellor's blood pressure, but was it good for business? We hear the case for and against the "boring" Spring Statement.
Reeves says ‘everything is fine’ as economy burns March 4, 2026 Having stripped the ‘fiscal’ element from the fiscal event, we were left with simply an event. But was it even that? It could have been called an occasion, but even that might have been stretching it. What we actually got was a Spring Statement that amounted to little more than a Labour party conference speech. [...]
It’s time to get pensions investing in Britain March 4, 2026 Pensions may be a thorny subject, but it is important to recognise that we have the potential for the UK to accelerate growth and productivity and reverse the negative impact of the policies of the last 20+ years, says Charles Hall Pensions have moved from being a technical backwater to a mainstream debate, as demonstrated [...]
Reeves’ Spring Statement gave us little to be cheery about March 4, 2026 Rachel Reeves put on a brave face when she stood up at the dispatch box yesterday afternoon to unveil her Spring Statement. And although we were subjected to the usual staccato delivery, the Chancellor’s performance was more confident than usual. But a cursory glance at the latest Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) projections show there [...]
Spring Statement: Reeves’ pro-growth message ‘at odds’ with reality, say retailers March 4, 2026 The pro-growth message delivered by the Chancellor at the spring statement is at odds with the high-cost reality faced by businesses, retail and hospitality leaders have said. Leaders in the sector have called on the Labour government to deliver urgent reform to the business rates system and slash tax and policy barriers to hiring to [...]