Reeves faces ‘Groundhog Day’ as Budget tax hikes loom October 16, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves risks having to hike taxes ever higher in forthcoming budgets if she leaves herself with £9.9bn in headroom, a joint report by Barclays and the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned. The research has suggested that spending cuts would send a “crucial” signal to the bond markets that the government had [...]
Banker bonus rules are getting watered down. Will anyone shed a tear? October 16, 2025 When the European Banking Authority published its guidelines on executive pay in 2015, the report pronounced on 126 separate rules spread across 173 pages. Any banker able to get through the whole rulebook without falling asleep surely deserved every penny of the eyewatering bonus they received – provided it met the guidelines. The EBA’s voluminous [...]
Britain must rediscover radicalism October 16, 2025 There’s plenty of talk about growth from our politicians, but precious little radical thinking about how we unleash innovation, back risk-takers and rip up the planning system, says John Caudwell As party conference season closes, we’re left again with a familiar chorus of promises – growth, reform, renewal. Politicians across the spectrum have dusted off [...]
We have to get serious about major spending cuts October 16, 2025 Speculation over the contents of next month’s Budget has reached fever pitch, and it’s only going to ramp up from here. This is not idle curiosity; with businesses still adapting to the confidence-sapping and job-smothering fallout from last year’s Budget, there is now a genuine fear that what remains of our economic resilience could be [...]
Autumn Budget: Reeves must focus on growth, not ‘gimmicks’ October 16, 2025 Ahead of the Autumn Budget, City Reporter Samuel Norman sits down with top industry names for a Budget Briefing. This week, the chief executive of founders club Helm calls for bold innovation policies took take centre stage. Chancellor Rachel Reeves should use her second Autumn Budget to make bolder swings for the UK’s innovation economy [...]
Wall Street banks toast to $130bn revenue in deal making boom October 15, 2025 Wall Street banks raked in bumper profits, comfortably breezing past analyst expectations in the third quarter, driven by the continued strength of trading desks and a sharp revival in deal making. JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup brushed past estimates on Tuesday, with Jamie Dimon’s banking juggernaut collecting $14.4bn (£10.8bn) in profit – a 12 [...]
China ‘stole vast amounts’ of classified UK documents October 15, 2025 UK intelligence has been “compromised” after China stole classified UK government documents over several years, a former senior adviser to Boris Johnson has claimed. Dominic Cummings, who served as a senior adviser to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson for over a year, has said that classified material was stolen by China and the label “threat” [...]
Downing Street refuses to rule out breaking Labour tax pledges October 15, 2025 Downing Street has refused to rule out breaking Labour manifesto tax pledges not to raise income tax, national insurance for workers or VAT, in a further indication that the government could look to raise revenue through one of the three big taxes. The Labour Party vowed not to raise national insurance, VAT or income tax [...]
Hyperlayer lands £30m to help legacy lenders take on fintechs October 15, 2025 London-based fintech Hyperlayer has secured £30m in fresh funding to support its mission to help established banks compete with digital first rivals. The firm’s tech is designed to work alongside existing banking infrastructure, which it says allows the legacy businesses to launch new products without complexity. Ex-Morgan Stanley International chief Rob Rooney, who found Hyperlayer [...]
Industry figures urge Reeves to go further with cash ISA reforms October 15, 2025 Financial industry figures have urged Rachel Reeves to go further on reforming the cash ISA, following speculation the Chancellor is looking to overhaul the system in the looming Autumn Budget. Reeves is understood to be reviving a plan to cut the tax-free limit on cash ISAs, in a bid to get people to move cash [...]