FTSE 100 Live: Ofwat £11m fine; Unemployment at four-year high December 16, 2025 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. We received another gloomy snapshot of the economy ahead of the ever-important Bank of England rate decision on Thursday. New unemployment data showed another blow for the Labour government, which has denied that its policies have had an on the ailing jobs market. The UK [...]
Young people could lose benefits if they refuse to work, says pension minister December 7, 2025 Young people on benefits will be offered fresh job opportunities in sectors including construction and hospitality as part of the government’s bid to tackle rising youth unemployment, with those who refuse to engage at risk of losing their benefits. The government will fund 350,000 training and work experience placements, as well as guarantee 55,000 jobs [...]
Bank of England decision to cut interest rates could be ‘closer call’ December 5, 2025 The Bank of England’s expected decision to cut interest rates by 25 basis points could be a “closer call” than markets predict, analysts have said. Markets have all but priced in interest rates falling to 3.75 per cent at the Bank’s next decision in mid-December after a flurry of data points pointed to a continued [...]
Unemployment nightmare is entirely Labour’s fault December 4, 2025 Rising unemployment is a double evil; it both reveals problems in the economy and exacerbates them. Unemployment has risen every month since Labour returned to power, and the number of people out of work will soon hit levels last seen during the pandemic. Last month, the rate of job losses was at its fastest for [...]
Labour is making it more expensive than ever to hire young workers December 3, 2025 Increases to the minimum wage alongside increases in employer NICs have pushed up the costs of employing an 18-year-old by 26 per cent. No wonder youth unemployment is soaring and young people are emigrating in droves, says Emma Revell To say most people are struggling with the state of the British economy would be an [...]
Is Rachel Reeves the Prime Minister’s lucky general? December 2, 2025 Napoleon is supposed to have declared that he’d “rather have lucky generals than good ones.” Here in the UK, it seems we have a Chancellor who fits just such a mould. Only the most loyal Labour MPs would declare that Rachel Reeves is a good Chancellor, and in doing so they’d be setting themselves firmly [...]
Labour hopes AI will save UK economy from jobs crisis November 20, 2025 The government has announced a sweeping package of AI investment intended to create thousands of new jobs across the UK, at a time when businesses warn that rising employment costs and rapid advances in AI are already driving workforce reductions. Ministers have confirmed billions of pounds of private and public AI investment, including a new [...]
John Caudwell: Britain needs more employment, not more employment law November 13, 2025 The Employment Rights Bill shift the balance too far in favour of workers at the expense of bosses, and will strangle job creation as a result, says John Caudwell As an entrepreneur, I built successful businesses that employed many thousands of people. That experience taught me two things. First, Britain’s prosperity depends on successful employers [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Taylor Wimpey and Fuller’s Budget warning; Starmer under fire November 12, 2025 Good morning from the City AM live blog team. The FTSE 100 is springing back to life this week, managing to seal its second consecutive record close at 9,899.60p after a 1.15 per cent gain and bringing the index a whisker away from the 10,000 mark. The blue-chip index has rallied after the US government [...]
Autumn Budget: B&Q boss hands Reeves tool kit for growth November 12, 2025 Ahead of the Autumn Budget, City Reporter Samuel Norman sits down with top industry names for a Budget Briefing. This week, the boss of retail stalwart B&Q warns truly fixing the foundations starts with building confidence. After Labour’s monumental 2024 general election sweep, Chancellor Rachel Reeves seized her economic tool kit, telling Britons she was “fixing [...]