Rachel Reeves ‘investigated over expenses’ in HBOS banking job February 13, 2025 Rachel Reeves was investigated over her use of expenses while working in a banking job before becoming an MP. The Chancellor, alongside two colleagues, was subject to an internal probe into expenses claims, while she was a senior manager at Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) in the late 2000s, the BBC has revealed. Reeves is [...]
GDP grows 0.1 per cent as UK economy skirts recession February 13, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves received a small boost after the economy unexpectedly grew at the end of last year, ensuring the UK does not face an imminent recession. Output expanded 0.1 per cent in the final three months of the year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), after GDP rose 0.4 per cent in [...]
BoE’s Greene backs ‘cautious’ interest rate cuts despite ‘uncomfortable’ growth performance February 12, 2025 A rate-setter at the Bank of England backed a “cautious” approach to cutting interest rates despite the “uncomfortable” recent performance of the economy. “The macroeconomic news over recent months has been uncomfortable,” Megan Greene, an external member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) said. “GDP has roughly flatlined since Spring of last year and expectations [...]
Reeves faces tough choices as recession fears mount on UK downgrade February 12, 2025 The watchdog will put together four more forecasts in the coming weeks, but the earliest draft suggests that Reeves will be facing a small deficit in March, Bloomberg reported.
Households will still feel the squeeze even if Budget boosts growth February 12, 2025 Poorer households will not see their living standards recover to pre-2022 levels for another two years despite an anticipated acceleration in economic growth, new forecasts suggest. The forecasts highlight the challenges in ensuring households across the country feel the benefit of any growth that the Labour government is able to stimulate. The National Institute for [...]
People love suing solicitors – no wonder PI insurance is so expensive February 12, 2025 Solicitors have been named on the majority of professional indemnity claims. While insurance is legally needed, they don't come cheap
Andrew Bailey: Don’t forget ‘lasting damage’ of financial crisis in push to deregulate February 11, 2025 He stressed his comments were not a "pitch for the necessity and inevitability of more regulation," but insisted that there was no "fundamental trade off" between growth and financial stability.
Natwest: FTSE 100 bank’s share price scoops ten-year high February 11, 2025 Shares in Natwest were touching a ten year high on Tuesday morning, ahead of the bank posting its annual results on Friday. At market open, share price was at 442.70p edging towards the high of 445.85p achieved in February 2015. The lender hit its highest share price since 2015 last month, and continued to rally [...]
Bank of England needs to ‘cut through the noise’, rate-setter says February 11, 2025 In a speech delivered in Leeds, Mann explained that the persistence of "embedded inflationary behaviours" had diminished due to growing weakness in the economy.
Bellway: Housebuilder in recovery as share price ‘at odds’ with performance February 11, 2025 Housebuilder Bellway reported strong growth in home completions over the last six months, which analysts have said could be a sign the wider homebuilding sector is set for a recovery. The company reported an 11.9 per cent uptick in housing completions in the six months ended 31 January, with more than 4,500 properties completed with [...]