Just one country remains in Tesco’s decades-long global retreat November 2, 2026 Tesco’s sale of its Czech and Slovak businesses is the latest step in its long retreat from a once-sprawling global presence. Felix Armstrong traces this journey Tesco’s hold on the British grocery market is unmatched. Holding a towering 27.8 per cent market share across more than 3,600 shops, the supermarket chain is a fixture on [...]
Labour will reduce ballooning benefits bill, claims John Healey November 1, 2026 John Healey has vowed that Labour will reduce the benefits bill, after admitting the current system is “not working”. The Chancellor created widespread confusion earlier this week, after failing to clarify whether the ballooning cost of welfare will be cut before the next election by declining to put a timeframe to it. But Healey claimed [...]
KBRA Releases Research – The Forward Look—European and UK Credit Views: Q4 2026 October 30, 2026 KBRA releases the latest quarterly report highlighting our European Macro Strategist Gordon Kerr’s view on key economic indicators, as well as what he identifies as the most influential factors driving credit markets in the upcoming quarter. The report also examines credit market valuations in the context of current and future market conditions. KBRA expects the [...]
‘Nailed on’: Bank of England expected to hike interest rates October 30, 2026 The Bank of England is expected to hike interest rates next week as policymakers battle to stamp on inflationary pressures building in the UK economy. City analysts have predicted that the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee will vote to raise interest rates from 3.75 per cent to four per cent. The Bank has been closely monitoring [...]
Burnham’s former economic adviser gives Budget a four out of 10 October 30, 2026 One of Andy Burnham’s former economic advisers has given John Healey’s Budget a four out of 10, warning there remained a 50 per cent chance the UK economy will be in worse shape next year than it is now. Andy Haldane, who for years served as chief economist at the Bank of England, told the [...]
House prices rise at slowest rate in years as Budget ‘fails to boost market’ October 30, 2026 House prices rose at their slowest rate since the start of 2024 in October, as property experts said the Budget failed to boost the UK’s beleaguered housing market. The average house price in the UK rose by 0.5 per cent this month to £273,566, according to Nationwide, slowed from 0.8 per cent growth last month [...]
Healey’s business rate tweaks won’t stop ‘hollowing out’ high street, business group warns October 30, 2026 John Healey’s changes to high street business rates are a “sticking plaster” that will not reverse the “hollowing out” of town centres across the country, the boss of Britain’s largest business group has warned. In his maiden Budget this week, the Chancellor said he would lift the threshold at which small firms receive business rates [...]
Britain’s oldest brewery unveils £15m plan to move to new site October 29, 2026 Britain’s oldest brewery is to sell off land and move to a new site, in a £15m investment plan that seeks to safeguard the future of its operations. Shepherd Neame, which is based in Faversham, Kent where it has been brewing ale since the 17th century, intends to put much of its existing footprint in [...]
How Labour’s assault on landlords is driving up London rents October 29, 2026 The government’s crackdown on landlords is set to hammer London’s rental market, push up costs for tenants and shrink the supply of properties, industry figures and estate agents have warned. Property experts and estate agents told City AM that John Healey’s hike to tax on rental income is the latest blow in an assault on [...]
Budget 2026: Football players warned over looming image rights tax changes October 29, 2026 Football clubs and players have been warned of looming changes unveiled in the Budget that will see image rights taxed like wages. Chancellor John Healey’s Budget document, released on Wednesday, stated that “the government will clarify that image rights payments related to an employment are taxable as employment income and taxed in the same way [...]