Treasury on the hunt for new National Wealth Fund boss March 19, 2025 The Treasury announced on Wednesday that it had begun searching for a new chief executive to lead the recently established National Wealth Fund. The policy bank’s current boss John Flint will exit the role this summer after overseeing the institution’s rebrand from the UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB). Flint, who is a former HSBC group chief [...]
Output gains show firms are ‘protecting their margins’, Lloyds growth survey says March 19, 2025 Growth in a number of sectors shows that firms “are taking steps to protect their margins”, according to a survey of 1,300 companies. Rachel Reeves’s £20bn increase to national insurance contributions (NICs), which is set to come into effect in April, has left firms unsettled. But the latest Lloyds UK Sector Tracker has indicated companies [...]
SMEs delay investments as uncertainty leaves firms on edge March 18, 2025 Small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) are delaying investment decisions, a new survey has found, as Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Spring Statement threatens to stifle businesses. Uncertainty brought by an escalating global trade war and Reeves’ proposed reforms is making business leaders think twice about their appetite for investments in the short term. The latest survey of [...]
Pound tops $1.30 for first time since Trump’s election win March 18, 2025 The pound has traded above $1.30 for the first time since president Donald Trump’s November election win, as a falling dollar caused by trade war fears has proved a boon for sterling. Sterling has climbed 2.7 per cent over the last month and 6.5 per cent since its January low, reaching a fourth-month high of [...]
UK economy facing recession risk as Spring Statement looms March 17, 2025 Britain’s fragile jobs market indicates that a recession is looming for the UK economy, a leading think tank has warned. Chancellor Rachel Reeves defended the government’s economic record in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Monday, claiming most major economies around the world are facing lower growth than expected. But the Resolution Foundation said the UK [...]
Bank of England expected to hold rates as inflation persists March 17, 2025 The Bank of England is widely expected to hold interest rates steady at 4.5 per cent this week as wage growth and inflation data remains sticky. Most analysts are expecting a seven to two vote in favour of a hold from the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, with external members Swati Dhingra and Catherine Mann voting [...]
Rightmove: 74,000 house buyers to narrowly miss stamp duty deadline March 17, 2025 Rightmove’s stamp duty report has identified an estimated 74,000 moves, which includes 25,000 first-time buyers, that will just miss the March 31 deadline and complete in April. They form the unlucky section of a “massive log-jam” of 575,000 movers hoping to complete ahead of the tax change, Rightmove said. Collectively, the buyers are set to [...]
UK housing market returned to growth in 2024 March 17, 2025 The value of the UK housing market returned to growth last year after mortgage rates dropped and affordability constraints eased. According to Savills, the total value of the UK housing market expanded by 6.3 per cent in 2024 to £379bn. The increase in spending on housebuying was fuelled by first-time buyers, who collectively increased their [...]
What can small businesses expect from Reeves this spring? March 12, 2025 Small businesses (SMEs) are preparing for slumped growth ahead of this year’s Spring Statement, with increasing concerns over upcoming National Insurance (NI) hikes and business rate relief cuts due to come in in April. Business leaders remain wary of tax increases and spending cuts that could further squeeze SME margins, despite a lower interest rate [...]
Payments watchdog bosses given hours to tell staff of FCA merger March 12, 2025 Payment Systems Regulator top brass did not know the watchdog was definitely being merged into the Financial Conduct Authority until just hours before it became public and used media leaks to prepare their response for the sweeping change, the regulator’s interim boss has said. Speaking at a Treasury Committee hearing less than 24 hours after [...]