It’s Blue Monday, so what does 2025 look like for insolvencies? January 20, 2025 Today is supposedly the most depressing of the year, and businesses appear to be lacking confidence too, says Sarah Rayment Today is Blue Monday, supposedly the most depressing day of the year, when the reality of gloomy weather, Christmas debt and post-holiday blues all kick-in. But it’s not just individuals feeling the effects, business confidence [...]
What is driving the FTSE 100 surge? January 17, 2025 The FTSE 100 has hit a new all-time high today, with the index within touching distance of 8,500 for the first time. Since the start of the week, London’s main index has grown almost three per cent, outperforming the Nasdaq, the S&P 500, and the Dow Jones. The strong performance from the FTSE 100 came [...]
‘Here for the long haul’: Reeves defends her position after market turmoil January 17, 2025 Rachel Reeves has insisted she is “here for the long haul” as she defended her position as Chancellor in the wake of bond market turmoil and rising government borrowing costs. The UK’s Chancellor has faced criticism for embarking on a trip to China last weekend while government borrowing costs surged and the value of the [...]
Retail’s Christmas results don’t match up to the gloom in the market January 17, 2025 If you were to judge the health of the retail market solely from the last two weeks of festive trading results, you would think the market is in rude health. But that would be a significant departure from the actual sentiment in the market, which has taken on a sense of almost unrelenting gloom in [...]
FTSE 100 hits all-time high as investors bet on interest rate cuts January 17, 2025 The FTSE 100 has hit a new all-time high this morning, surpassing the previous peaks it reached in spring last year, as investors ramp up their bets on an interest rate cut by the Bank of England next month. The value of London’s 100 largest listed companies has grown 3.2 per cent in the last [...]
UK retail sales plunged in December as Budget fallout spread January 17, 2025 UK retail sales dropped during December, despite expectations of a Christmas bounce as consumers pulled back on spending. In a worrying sign for the economy, retail sales fell 0.3 per cent in December. Analysts had pencilled in growth of 0.4 per cent. November’s retail sales growth was also revised down by the Office for National [...]
DFS: ‘Improved performance’ couched by rising national insurance, wages and rates January 17, 2025 DFS Furniture reported its group order intake was up over 10 per cent as it gained a higher than expected market share gains for both of its brands
Pensions industry hopes mini-reshuffle could ‘revive’ auto-enrolment debate January 17, 2025 Industry figures hope that Torsten Bell's appointment as pensions minister could "revive" discussions about increasing the contribution rate for auto-enrolment pensions.
SMEs’ rising use of credit cards spells trouble for the UK economy January 17, 2025 More and more small businesses are becoming reliant on credit cards, and it's the whole economy that will suffer, writes Rob Burlison.
‘Student Tax’ to hit graduates on minimum wage by April January 16, 2025 Thousands of graduates will find themselves stranded in their home town, unable to root out professional opportunities, when April’s hike in the minimum wage drags them into the threshold of student loan repayments, a top financial services firm has warned. The government announced an above inflation rise in the National Living Wage of 5.6 per [...]