FTSE 100 Live: Asos and Close Brothers lead City stocks’ fall as economic growth slows September 30, 2025 Good morning from the City AM liveblog team. When Rachel Reeves prepared her inaugural budget last year, she had little in the way of good news to impart to the people of Britain. The chancellor said she’d been left a bad inheritance, and had to raise tens of billions of pounds in extra taxes to plug spending [...]
Rachel Reeves was overshadowed by her future self September 30, 2025 The Chancellor’s speech yesterday was overshadowed by one she hasn’t yet delivered; that’ll be the Budget, on 26 November. The whole country knows that the November Budget is going to be painful, one way or another, and its inevitable constraints (in fact, just the timing of it) meant that Reeves wasn’t able to say much [...]
Starmer warns of ‘long and difficult road’ to build fairer country September 29, 2025 Prime Minister Keir Starmer will tell Labour members that the government faces a “long and difficult” path towards rebuilding the country in a speech set to define his leadership after a troubled year in office. Starmer’s speech on Tuesday afternoon will warn the audience at the Labour Party Conference that decisions will not be “cost-free”, [...]
Will we mourn the loss of WH Smith from the high street? September 29, 2025 So long then, WH Smith, a firm which has graced our high streets for more than a century – even though it never intended to. Founded as a small newspaper kiosk in Mayfair in 1792, the business grew massively in the mid-19th century, spurred by the rapid expansion of the railways, which allowed consumers up [...]
Rachel Reeves warns ‘harder choices’ coming at Budget September 29, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has warned that her choices will be “harder” at this year’s Budget, with questions being raised on whether she will row back on Labour manifesto tax commitments to plug a £30bn shortfall. In a speech at the Labour Party conference, Reeves said that “harsh global headwinds” and the effects of her Tory [...]
Astrazeneca to ‘upgrade’ US listing in latest blow to London Stock Exchange September 29, 2025 Astrazeneca has laid out plans aimed at “upgrading” its US listing in the latest blow to the London Stock Exchange. The Cambridge-based pharma giant said it would replace its existing Nasdaq listing of American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), a type of listing for trading overseas shares, with a direct listing of ordinary shares on the New [...]
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 [...]
GSK shares rally as chief Emma Walmsley to exit after eight years September 29, 2025 The chief executive of pharmaceutical giant GSK has announced plans to step down from the company at the end of the year. Emma Walmsley, who took the helm of the drugmaker in 2017, will be replaced by chief commercial officer Luke Miels. Miels – the former Executive Vice President of Astrazeneca – also joined the [...]
Labour say manifesto stands ‘today’ as Reeves ducks VAT hike September 29, 2025 The Chancellor would not rule out fresh rises to VAT ahead of her speech to Labour Party Conference later today, when pressed on the issue by LBC’s Nick Ferrari this morning. Asked whether Brits could face increases to the retail levy, Reeves said: “You’ll know we made those commitments in our manifesto, and those commitments [...]
London tops European cities growth index again as Liverpool moves up the ranks September 29, 2025 London has held on to its spot at the top of a closely watched index of European cities as other UK destinations move up the ranks. The capital has once again ranked number one on the 25th edition of the European Cities Growth Index (ECGI), an annual review of demand for property put together by [...]