FTSE 100 Live: Starmer denies Budget ‘misleading’ as Reeves on brink December 1, 2025 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. It was quite the Budget week to end November and for many more questions were created than answered. Whilst Labour might’ve hoped it would be be their rallying moment – with the lifting of the two-child benefit cap and doubling of the Chancellor’s fiscal buffer [...]
UK manufacturing edges into growth territory for first time in over a year December 1, 2025 UK manufacturing has edged into growth territory for the first time in over a year following months of struggle piling onto the sector. The S&P Global UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index™ (PMI) hit a 14-month highof 50.2 in November, up from 49.7 in October. This placed the industry above the all-important 50 mark which indicates [...]
Markets responded positively to Budget, says Peel Hunt chief December 1, 2025 The boss of one of London’s best-known investment banks has shrugged off concerns over the Budget, suggesting that the tax-raising plans pleased financial markets. Peel Hunt CEO Steven Fine said markets viewed the state of the UK’s finances as “quite stable” following the Budget, pointing to a rise in the government’s fiscal headroom which helped [...]
Revolut in new spat with regulators over Storonsky’s residency December 1, 2025 Revolut has been caught in a fresh row with UK watchdogs following the chief executive of the fintech juggernaut shifting his residency to the United Arab Emirates. Nik Storonsky, the boss of the London-headquartered digital bank, sparked waves of conversation after Companies House filings in October revealed the fintech chief had ditch his main residency [...]
Virgin Media slapped with £24m Ofcom fine December 1, 2025 Ofcom has dished out its biggest fine of the year after accusing telecoms giant Virgin Media of failing to protect vulnerable customers. The media regulator has hit Virgin Media with a £23.8m fine over its treatment of customers during a planned transition from analogue to digital landlines. Virgin Media notified Ofcom over incidents connected with [...]
Business confidence drops to post-pandemic lows after Budget December 1, 2025 Business confidence in bosses’ own organisations fell to the lowest level in over five-and-a-half years after the Budget, a leading survey has suggested, as the absence of growth policies in Rachel Reeves’ statement dampened leaders’ moods. The Institute of Directors’ monthly survey indicated bosses were fearing for the worst after last Wednesday’s much-anticipated event, with [...]
Lady Mayor: Higher taxes will discourage investors at critical time December 1, 2025 Higher taxes on dividends, pension contributions and savings risk discouraging investors exactly when we need them, writes Susan Langley.
Half of young investors check their accounts at least once a day December 1, 2025 Half of investors aged under 35 check their digital investment accounts at least once a day, research for a major bank suggests. This compares with only 11 per cent of over-55s, according to the survey among more than 2,000 people for HSBC UK. The research indicated that nearly a fifth of under-35s investors will check [...]
UK economy set to cool as weak consumer confidence damages spending December 1, 2025 The UK economy is expected to cool in 2026, as the softening labour market and subdued consumer confidence caused a drop in household spending. The economy is set to slow 1.0 per cent next year, down from 1.4 per cent in 2025, according to the latest economic outlook from professional services firm KPMG. Meanwhile, unemployment [...]
Starmer to argue in favour of welfare reforms and investment measures November 30, 2025 Prime Minister Keir Starmer will set out plans later today on how the Budget will enable the government root “out excessive costs” and reform the welfare system, as pressure over Treasury decision grow. Starmer will discuss how choices made in the Budget will advance the government’s goals of boosting economic growth and bringing down the [...]