The Government’s Jekyll and Hyde approach to business is confusing June 13, 2025 | City Talk Businesses were once enthusiastic about a Labour government, but a year on we are growing frustrated, says Ravi Anand In advance of last year’s General Election, conversations I had with small businesses and corporate advisers were overwhelmingly positive towards the prospect of a Labour Government. This was contrary to what you’d expect from the business [...]
Oil prices surge after Israel attacks Iran June 13, 2025 Oil prices spiked by more than nine per cent following Israeli strikes targeting Iran’s nuclear programme, in the most dramatic jump in more than three years. Meanwhile, the price of gold hit $3,427 – up 1.2 per cent during Asian trading hours. Israel launched strikes on Tehran early on Friday, rekindling fears of a full-scale [...]
UK firms dodge Labour tax raid with WFH roles abroad June 13, 2025 UK companies are turning to work-from-home (WFH) South Africans and other workers in East Asia in a cost-cutting drive to dodge Rachel Reeves’ £20bn tax raid on employers and stringent workers’ rights. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has spoken about his determination to “put working people’s priorities first” while welfare cuts have been made to [...]
Spending Review: IFS chief suggests Treasury ‘making up numbers’ over DOGE-style Whitehall cuts June 12, 2025 The Ministry of Defence and Department for Health and Social Care are slated to see billions cut in Whitehall budgets in what a DOGE-style body within the Treasury described as “efficiency gains” – despite both departments set to see a real terms increase in spending between 2026 and 2029. A new government document has revealed [...]
‘It can’t cope’: Employment Tribunal cases surge with calls for Government action ahead of Worker Rights Bill June 12, 2025 Employment cases have increased, with growing backlogs and the looming Bill, the Government is called to intervene before the situation worsens
UK housing market: ‘Not fixed, but less broken’ June 12, 2025 Decades of underinvestment, underbuilding and overegulation have clobbered the housing market. The UK is now short about 4.3m homes, with the worst crisis in cities. Labour, which made solving that crisis a central mission of its first year in government, has made tracks to get Britain building again – reforming planning, trying to bridge the [...]
Badenoch asks businesses to publicly back Tories June 12, 2025 Kemi Badnoch courted the private sector by promising to reverse tax rises and slating “compliance culture” in an address to the UK’s biggest businesses. The Tory leader invoked the adage that they are the “natural party of business,” while requesting her audience “speak up” in support of pro-business policies. “Put your name to the cause,” the [...]
Week in Business: Is Rachel Reeves About to Drop a Tax Bombshell on the UK Economy? June 12, 2025 Despite talk of growth and renewal, the economic warning lights are flashing, and experts now predict another £20bn tax raid.
FTSE 100 seals record high after shaking off investor nerves June 12, 2025 The FTSE 100 finally sealed a new record closing high on Thursday after falling a whisker short the previous two trading sessions. The UK’s flagship index rose 0.2 per cent to – besting March’s record of 8,871.31. The index also beat its previous intraday high after hitting 8,892.36 in afternoon trading. Endeavour mining topped the [...]
UK trade with US falls apart after Trump tariff blitz June 12, 2025 Exports to the US – the country the UK trades with the most with – saw its largest monthly decrease in April since records began, official data has shown. The onset of President Trump’s trade war with some of his closest allies and foes put governments on standby as major forecasters warned the world economy [...]