Britain stuck at bottom of G7 for total investment as Labour’s policies backfire December 31, 2025 Rachel Reeves has come under fire after fresh data revealed Britain was stuck in last place among the world’s seven largest economies for total investment. Public and private investment marked just 18.6 per cent of GDP in the three months to September, placing the UK last among the G7 nations. Whilst it is a trend [...]
UK consumers cut spending amid wider economic nerves December 30, 2025 UK consumers’ debit and credit card spending slumped in 2025 for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic as wider economic nerves knocked confidence. Card spending fell 0.2 per cent in the last 12 months, according to Barclays, a sharp contrast to the 1.6 per cent growth recorded in 2024. Just a quarter of British [...]
Motor finance: What’s next for banks and consumers in 2026? December 29, 2025 The City watchdog wrapped up the consultation on its motor finance redress in December but the two-year long scandal threatens to rumble on into the new year. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) pushed the deadline for feedback on its scheme to 12 December after it was originally pencilled in for 18 November. The delay came [...]
Who still gets hired in the 2026 workplace? December 28, 2025 Britain’s labour market has probably never felt more precarious than it does now, as the struggling economy and the rapid rise of AI take effect. Redundancies are at their highest since the pandemic, unemployment has risen to 5.1 per cent, and entry-level opportunities, the traditional stepping stones for grads and young workers, have all but [...]
Regulators show their teeth – financial services fines in 2025 December 24, 2025 UK watchdogs sharpened their sword in 2025 and slapped a handful of financial services firms with hefty fines and a thorough dressing down. In just under a week alone in July, the Financial Conduct Authority and Bank of England handed out £74.9m worth of fines to a trio of financial services giants. But it was [...]
World Triathlon targets T100 Olympic event as soon as Brisbane 2032 December 22, 2025 World Triathlon president Antonio Arimany on its alliance with the PTO, Olympic expansion ambitions and returning to London in 2026. After a few years of flux characterised by challenger leagues and competitions sprouting up at a dizzying pace, it feels like consolidation is in the air in the sports industry. Golf awaits the consummation of [...]
Banks to set own contactless limit as FCA scraps cap December 19, 2025 UK banks will be able to set their own contactless limits under new rules set to be introduced by the City watchdog next year. In the current system, banks place a cap on payments of up to £100 per transaction when consumers are using physical contactless cards. But changes introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority [...]
Brits’ disposable income shrinks in disappointing Golden Quarter December 18, 2025 Brits feel far poorer now than they did at the start of 2025, with even high-income households downbeat about their financial prospects. In January, people were four per cent more likely to say their pay had gone up rather than down, but Brits are now seven per cent more likely to have seen their pay [...]
Cut interest rates, City AM Shadow MPC tells Bank of England December 17, 2025 The Bank of England should cut interest rates by 25 basis points when it meets tomorrow, City AM’s Shadow Monetary Policy Committee has said in a three-way split decision. In the face of the dual problems of high inflation and a continued jobs market decline, the majority of experts on City AM’s nine-strong Shadow MPC [...]
Bank of mum and dad now funding multiple steps up housing ladder December 17, 2025 The ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ are funding more than just first steps on the housing ladder, with financial gifts pivotal for second steppers too. Nearly 20 per cent of second-time buyers have received support to buy their property, according to new research from Barclays, rising to 30 per cent for first-time buyers. This amounts [...]