On this day: Margaret Thatcher’s 100th birthday October 13, 2025 Britain owes everything to the woman who saved it from socialism, says Rainer Zitelmann Margaret Thatcher would have been 100 years old today. She served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for nearly 12 years, making her the longest-serving Prime Minister of the 20th century. No other political leader has ever implemented tax cuts, [...]
Co-op warns 150,000 jobs at risk ahead of Autumn Budget October 13, 2025 The Co-op has warned that 60,000 small shops and 150,000 jobs could be lost without business rates reform in next month’s Autumn Budget. The Manchester-headquartered group has said Britain’s high streets “face a critical moment” and that Chancellor Rachel Reeves needs to announce “maximum” business rates relief on 26 November. The call comes after City [...]
Reeves warns the rich will ‘contribute more’ as Budget tax squeeze looms October 12, 2025 Rachel Reeves has signalled that wealthier households will be asked to “contribute more” in her Budget next month, as the chancellor seeks to close a £20–30bn gap in the public finances without cutting spending or taking on new debt. Treasury sources told The Telegraph that Reeves will neither reduce public spending nor expand borrowing significantly, [...]
Premier Inn investors eye Oasis boost in earnings report October 11, 2025 Investors in Premier Inn’s owner will be hoping the UK’s largest hotel chain has been given a summer boost on the back of rising hotel prices and fans flocking to UK concerts. Whitbread, which also owns the Beefeater and Brewers Fayre chains, will publish its half-year financial results on Thursday. A group of analysts for [...]
Recession fears spike after Trump threatens new China tariffs October 11, 2025 President Donald Trump has said he will slap an additional 100 per cent tax on Chinese imports by 1 November or sooner spiking recession fears after global markets tumbled. Taking to his Truth Social platform, Trump cited the export controls placed on rare earths by China as the reason for the fresh levy. The President [...]
British icon in the red after Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes costs jobs October 10, 2025 John Smedley, the historic family-owned luxury knitwear brand, has been forced to raise prices and make redundancies as it battles Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes as it fell into the red. The Derbyshire-headquartered business can trace its roots back to 1784 and is currently run by the eighth generation of the Smedley family. Executive chairman [...]
What an AI bubble could mean for Reeves October 10, 2025 The traditional ministerial photo-op of walking around a construction site clad in a high-vis jacket and a hard hat usually takes place at a factory or housing site. But last month, chancellor Rachel Reeves donned fluorescent yellow for a different facility – a huge data centre built to power the UK’s digital economy through AI. [...]
Farewell to Nutmeg and the first chapter of fintech’s story October 10, 2025 When I read that J.P.Morgan will retire the Nutmeg brand later this year, it felt like the end of a chapter, not just for them, but for all of us who began this journey together. For more than a decade, Nutmeg and Moneyfarm were often spoken of in the same breath. Two young companies trying [...]
Hiking VAT would have ‘serious negative impact’, economists warn Reeves October 10, 2025 A hike to VAT would “have a serious negative impact” on the UK, leading economists have warned, as the chancellor weighs which taxes to put up at next month’s Budget to plug a £30bn shortfall. An increase in the sales levy would have the biggest negative impact of any major tax rise, leading to a [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Ibstock shares tumble, Princes confirms £1.5bn London IPO October 10, 2025 Good morning from the City AM liveblog team. JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon has joined the chorus of warnings over an AI-driven market boom that some fear could go the way of the dot-com crash. Speaking from Bournemouth, where the bank announced a £350m investment in its local campus, Dimon described himself as “far more [...]