The anatomy of a bank tax: what can the UK learn from Europe? Banking With days to go until John Healey delivers a Budget expected to target banks with a cash raid, Samuel Norman looks at the UK bank tax framework and other experiments across Europe. For years City lobbyists managed to bat away demands for a bank tax hike. As Chancellor, despite delivering two tax-heavy Budgets, Rachel Reeves [...]
Autumn Budget 2026: What does the bond market want from Healey? Economics John Healey is not expected to rock the boat in his maiden Budget next week. Looking at the combustible bond market, that’s probably just as well, writes Ali Lyon. John Healey is, the well-worn cliche goes, walking a tightrope. Boxed in from three directions, the Chancellor could certainly have hoped for an easier backdrop in [...]
Top brass enjoy bigger pay rise than employees Economics Executives and senior officials enjoyed a larger pay rise than their juniors between 2025 and 2026, an analysis of official data has shown, even as the national minimum wage was hiked. An analysis of pay growth by the Office for National Statistics has shown that median weekly earnings grew by 6.7 per cent for managers, [...]
Bank of England set to overshadow Healey’s Budget with interest rate hike October 21, 2026 The Bank of England is expected to overshadow John Healey’s maiden Budget with a “done deal” interest rate hike aiming to tame soaring inflation while risking economic growth. Top City economists predict the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will raise the base rate at its November meeting, just one week after the Autumn Budget. [...]
Healey’s cost of living battle just got harder as workers face ‘real terms pay cut’ October 20, 2026 Andy Burnham and John Healey have spoken at length about efforts to provide “breathing space” to both households and businesses. This task at next week’s Budget has now become more difficult. Over the summer the jobs market continued to weaken. Workers are at risk of being worse off while job seekers are finding it harder [...]
‘Disaster’: Advisers raise the alarm on family business tax raid October 19, 2026 John Healey’s potential tax raid on family businesses could make handing down companies to the next generation a “disaster” and damage the economy, advisers have warned. The Chancellor is reportedly considering proposals to levy income tax when business owners hand down to their children, potentially almost doubling the bill. Under current rules, transfers can be [...]
Midday Markets: Is the UK economy ‘back’? October 15, 2026 The Midday Market report is a new newsletter from City AM, giving you fresh analysis on the biggest stories in the City straight into your inbox every lunchtime. Today, Ali Lyon, assesses whether August’s positive GDP figures are a sign of a revival in the UK economy. Sign up to the City AM News Updates [...]
Economy set to shrink ahead of Budget in ‘difficult’ outlook October 11, 2026 The UK economy is expected to have shrunk in August, despite hopes that the stronger-than-expected growth seen in June and July would continue. The latest gross domestic product (GDP) data, which will be released on Thursday, is expected to show a contraction of 0.1 per cent in August, according to City economists polled by Bloomberg. [...]
Global bond sell-off: Headache for Healey as gilt yields top six per cent October 1, 2026 The yield that the UK government pays on its 30-year government bond rose above six per cent for the first time in this millennium, putting Chancellor John Healey in a collision course with markets. Long-term gilt yields, which determine the size of UK government borrowing costs, skimmed 6.04 per cent in the early hours of [...]
UK disposable income rises as benefits payouts soar ahead of wages September 30, 2026 The average UK household’s disposable income increased in the second quarter of the year driven by a rise in benefit payouts. Real household disposable income per head – which measures the average spending and saving capacity of Brits – increased by one per cent in the second quarter to £6,577, new figures from the Office [...]