Wealthy parents ramp up gifts ahead of feared inheritance tax raid November 4, 2025 Parents are locked in a race to organise financial gifts and inheritance tax arrangements ahead of an anticipated clampdown at next month’s Budget, with some advisers reporting a doubling of transactions in recent weeks. Half a dozen lawyers and tax advisers told City AM that the widely expected overhaul of gifting rules at the Budget [...]
Productivity crisis deepens as public sector continues to stutter November 3, 2025 Public sector productivity has dropped at its fastest rate in nearly three years, according to fresh official figures that lay bare the government’s multi-year struggle to revive the efficiency of the country’s creaking public services. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed total productivity at state-owned bodies fell by 0.7 per cent year [...]
Where to stay in Nice, France’s spectacular coastal city November 3, 2025 Where to stay and what to do in Nice, France, which still offers decently high temperatures throughout November WHERE TO STAY IN NICEBrits decrying the heat will be pleased to hear that Nice is open all year round, not just in the summer. More good news: you should probably go in November. That way you’ll [...]
Motor finance, Madoff fraud, tax fears – bank shares defy the noise October 31, 2025 A motor finance battle, hefty impairment charges and the shadow of 2008 all cast over banks third-quarter results but beneath the fog investors are rewarding the FTSE 100’s top lenders for another bumper quarter. The FTSE 350 banks index has risen nearly four per cent this month and is up 17 per cent for the [...]
Big Tech earnings: Investors reward AI returns, punish spending spree October 30, 2025 Wall Street was shaken up by Silicon Valley heavyweights overnight as a trio of Big Techs laid bare the cost of their AI strategies. Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft all reported earnings after the bell on Wednesday, offering investors a glimpse into the now trillion-dollar race to lead the AI boom. But, while Alphabet, Google’s parent [...]
Starmer reprimands Reeves for ‘inadvertent failure’ over rental licence mishap October 30, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer has sent a sharply worded email to Rachel Reeves criticising the Chancellor for misleading suggestions that she did not know she needed a licence to rent out her family home. Reeves has had to backtrack from earlier suggestions that she and her husband had not been aware of the Southwark Council rental [...]
Reeves may be forced to pay back £38,000 in rent after breach of housing rules October 30, 2025 Rachel Reeves may be forced to pay back tens of thousands in rent to her tenants after leasing her Southwark home without a license. Southwark’s rules on housing allow tenants to claim up to 12 months of rent if they’re a tenant of an unlicensed property. Given that Reeves has been renting out her £3,200-a-month [...]
Monzo names new chief as London becomes top IPO choice October 30, 2025 Digital banking giant Monzo has tapped an Astrazeneca board member as its new chief executive as the firm lays the ground for a blockbuster public listing. The London-based fintech is set to replace TS Anil, who has led the bank for the last five years, with Diana Layfield. Anil will step down as part of [...]
Tories call for Starmer to sack Rachel Reeves October 30, 2025 The Tories are calling for Keir Starmer to sack Rachel Reeves as Chancellor for breaking the law. In a ratcheting up of the political pressure on Reeves, the opposition party has said the Chancellor should be fired for failing to register her family home when she rented it out before moving to Downing Street. In [...]
Rachel Reeves rented out her home without a licence October 30, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer has ruled out an investigation into Rachel Reeves after she admitted that she rented out her family home without securing a licence. The Chancellor referred herself to an independent ethics adviser after being made aware on Wednesday that Southwark council required her to obtain a “selective” licence to let a property. Reeves [...]