Could the digitisation of social care pave the way for a better NHS? November 19, 2024 The system, as it stands, is struggling – and the debate over what should or can be done to fix it is still ongoing.
Retail bosses warn of £7bn cost burden after Budget November 19, 2024 UK retail bosses have written to the Chancellor to warn of the wide-ranging damage from the Autumn Budget on their sector, including “inevitable” job losses and price rises. In a letter coordinated by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), 79 signatories, including bluechip retailers Tesco, Next, and Greggs, said they had “significant concerns” about the impact [...]
Five things Rachel Reeves should do if she’s serious about growth November 19, 2024 Rachel Reeves’ pensions reforms are welcome, but they are treating the symptoms, not the causes of low growth. Here’s what she should do next…. In her Mansion House speech last week, Rachel Reeves announced the consolidation of the 86 Local Government Pensions Schemes (LGPS) into eight ‘megafunds’, unlocking deep reserves of investment finance. This is [...]
UK business openings fall to lowest level since 2010 November 18, 2024 New business openings across the UK hit their lowest rate in more than a decade last year.
Insolvencies set to rise as Budget hikes business costs, Begbies Traynor warns November 18, 2024 A combination of elevated interest rates and higher business costs resulting from the Budget is set to lead to a spike in insolvencies, Begbies Traynor has warned. In last month’s Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves increased the amount employers have to pay in NICs by 1.2 per cent, and lowered the wage threshold at which employers [...]
Lower interest rates not enough to rally consumer confidence November 18, 2024 After a steady climb throughout the year so far, consumer confidence dipped in November amid warnings it could continue to fall into 2025. Overall confidence fell from 47.3 in October to 46.9 in November, according to the S&P Global UK Consumer Sentiment Index (CSI) survey. The neutral mark is 50. Chief business economist at S&P, [...]
HSBC asks managers to reapply for jobs in global cost-cutting drive November 18, 2024 HSBC is forcing managers in its newly formed corporate and institutional banking arm to reapply for their jobs as part of a sweeping cost-cutting drive, according to reports. Hundreds of managers have been asked to interview for their roles as the lender merges its corporate and investment banking businesses in a seeping restructuring plan, unveiled [...]
Non-doms: South Africa’s richest woman is fighting to stay in the UK November 18, 2024 When it comes to leaving countries in a hurry, Magda Wierzycka has plenty of experience. At just 12 years old, the South African entrepreneur and her parents fled their native Poland under the the cover of night, becoming refugees after its communist government declared martial law. Ending up in South Africa – via an Austrian [...]
UK inflation set to jump above target in headache for Rachel Reeves November 18, 2024 UK inflation is expected to have surged above the Bank of England's two per cent target in October, bolstering a cautious approach to cutting interest rates in the months ahead.
Playtime’s over? Reeves’s tax raid threatens children’s play centres November 17, 2024 The UK’s indoor play industry has warned it faces a “severe financial crisis” following the Chancellor’s multi-billion pound Budget tax raid. The Association of Indoor Play, which represents 1,100 firms including laser parks, leisure centres and “baby sensory” companies, said Rachel Reeves’s fiscal plans threatened “the very core of our industry” and placed many indoor [...]