Further tax rises ‘a good bet’ after Chancellor’s borrowing blow January 22, 2025 Borrowing in the month of December was at its third highest level since monthly records began back in 1997, excluding only the pandemic and 2009.
Bank of England: Goldman Sachs expects deep interest rate cuts January 22, 2025 Markets are significantly underestimating the chance that the Bank of England will have to step up the pace of cutting interest rates, Goldman Sachs has argued. Traders anticipate just two interest rate cuts this year with one more cut priced in for 2026, which would leave the benchmark Bank Rate at 4.0 per cent. It [...]
UK entrepreneurs have mixed views on Trump agenda January 22, 2025 Two thirds of British entrepreneurs see Donald Trump’s second term in office as “good for business” as it could provide opportunities for expansion and growth, but fears linger of the impact of US trade policy. Helm, a group of 400 UK entrepreneurs with a combined revenue of £8bn, found that while 66 per cent of [...]
London commuter towns named ‘financial resilience capitals’ of the UK January 22, 2025 From pension plans to retirement savings, new data has revealed the 'financial resilience capitals' of the UK.
The future is free market populism January 22, 2025 Javier Milei, Pierre Poilievre and, of course, Donald Trump are at the vanguard of a new movement for free-market populism gaining support across the world, says Fred de Fossard The inauguration of President Trump for his second term is the latest development in the trend of a new type of free-market populism gathering momentum across [...]
How much does tax really affect your decision making? January 22, 2025 From VAT on school fees to business taxes, we’re living through a live experiment with the effects of tax on people’s choices. Evidence suggests the results could be far from clear-cut, says Tim Sarson Last week, I was lucky enough to be on the panel for the Women in Tax network’s annual debate. The question [...]
Business rates to more than double in ‘final blow’ to UK retailers January 21, 2025 Business rates are set to rise more than 140 per cent for thousands of high street businesses across the UK in yet another cost pressure for brick-and-mortar businesses. Business rates, which are levied on all commercial properties, were cut by 75 per cent in 2022 as high street stores found themselves unable to cope during [...]
Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio: UK economy at risk of ‘debt death spiral’ January 21, 2025 Ray Dalio, founder of hedge fund Bridgewater Capital, warned that the UK economy was at risk of a “debt death spiral” following the recent bout of bond market instability. In an interview with the Financial Times, Dalio warned that the government faced the prospect of having to borrow more and more from financial markets in [...]
UK economy: Headache for Bank of England as wage growth accelerates January 21, 2025 Wage growth picked up towards the end of last year, new figures show, revealing the continued persistence of price pressures in the UK economy. According to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), annual regular pay growth averaged 5.6 per cent in the three months to November, up from 5.2 per cent previously. [...]
Saba Capital: Does the US hedge fund have a point on UK investment trusts? January 21, 2025 US hedge fund Saba Capital triggered fury and an industry-wide defensive effort when it launched an activist campaign against seven UK investment trusts last month. The Manhattan-based hedge fund, led by Boaz Weinstein, has laid siege to the trusts, accused them of failing to perform, and pushed for shareholder votes to “elect new directors with [...]