Bullish Gen Z bucks consumer confidence trend March 20, 2025 Gen Z’s plans to go big on spending in the next three months have contributed to a rise in consumer confidence, a new survey has suggested. Barclays last year predicted in November that people born between 1996 and 2010 would account for around 39 per cent of retail spending by 2030. Now a new survey [...]
PMQs: Starmer won’t repeat pledge to unfreeze income tax thresholds March 19, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of “plotting stealth taxes” after he failed to repeat Rachel Reeves’ pledge to unfreeze income tax thresholds. The Prime Minister was pushed on his economic plans ahead of next week’s spring statement – which Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch branded an “emergency budget”. During Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) on Wednesday, [...]
Will Rachel Reeves hike taxes in her first Spring Statement? March 19, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to make her first Spring Statement next week, and rumours are starting to swirl that the tax hikes could be on the cards as she tries to get the government debt under control. Given the Chancellor’s commitment to just one major fiscal event a year the Spring Statement is intended [...]
Libby’s Naked Wines diary: why South African wine still wins March 19, 2025 This week our Naked Wines columnist Libby Brodie touches down for a wine adventure in South Africa Even as someone who tours wine estates around the world for my job, rarely have I visited one on the same jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring, gob-smacking scale as South Africa’s Vergelegen Wine Estate. The Western Cape of South Africa already [...]
The Debate: Should we go back to buying gold? March 19, 2025 As gold prices reach record high, is it time to start investing in the yellow metal? Two experts hash it out in this week's Debate.
All the pubs hiking the price of a pint after Budget tax raid March 19, 2025 Shepherd Neame announced this morning that it would be forced to raise prices at its 290 pubs due to cost pressures from last October’s budget. The family business follows a host of other hospitality companies in raising prices, with the average price of a pint set to go up by six to eight per cent, [...]
Gold just broke another record: Is it a bubble? March 19, 2025 Gold prices hit another record high this morning, reaching a peak of $3,046 (£2,349) just days after finally breaking the $3,000 barrier. The price of the precious metal has roughly doubled since the start of this decade, leading many to question whether gold can continue climbing. The rise in prices has come amid Middle East [...]
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 [...]
Pay awards stagnate ahead of national insurance hike March 19, 2025 Pay growth at UK businesses is stagnating as businesses look to cut costs ahead of the Chancellor’s upcoming tax hikes. Figures compiled by HR data and insights provider Brightmine show that pay growth slumped following Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget, and have since stagnated at three per cent. The current figure now aligns with the Office [...]
M&G slumps to loss as outflows accelerate March 19, 2025 M&G has reported a jump in outflows for 2024. The insurer and asset manager reported outflows of £9.5bn throughout 2024, compared to £4.7bn in 2023, it revealed in its annual results. Outflows were recorded from every arm of the firm. Its traditional Life business was hit hardest, with outflows of £4.8bn during the year. Meanwhile, [...]