Big banks SME lending comeback slowed down by Budget jitters December 11, 2025 High street banks’ return to small business lending slowed in the third quarter of 2025 after the chaos on the road to the Autumn Budget dampened activity in the economy. Big banks dished out nearly £4.2bn in total loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the three months to 30 September – a level [...]
UK exports forecast downgraded as Labour fails to kickstart trade December 11, 2025 British export growth will fall by almost half next year, a business forecaster has said, with Labour’s string of deals failing to improve hopes of a revival in international trade. The Labour government has made trade a key lever to boost growth prospects, using new deals with the likes of the EU and India to [...]
Rachel Reeves’ Budget was ‘monumentally mishandled,’ says London-listed bank December 11, 2025 A London-listed bank has given its scathing assessment of Rachel Reeves’ second Autumn Budget and warned of the impact it will have on consumer confidence. S&U – which was founded in 1938 and once known as Sports and Utilities – said the performance of its motor finance and property financing arms was “remarkably resilient given [...]
Sadiq Khan has derailed Labour’s nationalisation plans December 11, 2025 How is Keir Starmer’s plan to renationalise Britain’s railways going? Badly, if events in London are anything to go by. Yesterday we learned that Transport for London has awarded a £3bn, 10-year contract to First Group to operate the London Overground when the current contract with Arriva expires next year. That’s in direct conflict with [...]
FTSE 100 Live: BoE rate decision in focus after Fed cut December 11, 2025 Good morning from the City AM liveblog team. Last night the US Federal Reserve met and agreed to lower interest rates by a quarter-point to between 3.5 and 3.75 per cent. But it was far from a tranquil meeting, with policymakers battling it out over whether to prioritise high inflation or a poor labour market. [...]
English Common Law: Britain’s greatest soft power December 11, 2025 From London’s boardrooms to Abu Dhabi’s courtrooms, English law shapes the rules of global business as it quietly but decisively finds itself at the heart of international deals and disputes. The late Joseph S. Nye defined ‘soft power’ in the 1980s as “The ability to affect others to obtain the outcomes one wants through attraction [...]
Rachel Reeves is running out of places to hide December 11, 2025 If clarity is not restored soon, both markets and the public will conclude that the disorder surrounding each fiscal event is not a passing miscommunication but a structural feature of the Chancellor’s approach, says Helen Thomas “It didn’t exist”. “This wasn’t true”. “It was not signed off by me”. “I honestly couldn’t tell you what [...]
Panasonic sees slump in UK microwave sales amid air fryer boom December 10, 2025 Panasonic’s UK arm has seen a slump in sales of microwaves as consumers increasingly turn to air fryers to sate their home cooking needs. The Cardiff-based business, which manufactures microwaves as well as medical devices, said it saw a 10 per cent fall in revenue from its microwave oven division to £44.8m in the year [...]
Rachel Reeves: Leak to the FT was inaccurate December 10, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves slammed briefings provided to media outlets in the lead-up to the Budget as she referred to a specific Financial Times news report which had “partial and inaccurate” information. In a Treasury Select Committee hearing on Wednesday morning, the Chancellor hit out at leaks in the months leading up to the Budget, adding [...]
David Cameron sounds alarm over British brain drain December 10, 2025 Former Prime Minister Lord David Cameron has expressed concern about the exodus of British entrepreneurs and talent, warning that the UK government needs to set aside ‘other goals’ and prioritise business growth. Speaking at Abu Dhabi Finance Week, Lord Cameron acknowledged British talent leaving for places such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), stating: “I [...]