More Brits ‘in financial strain’ as Trump frightens UK voters April 7, 2025 Nearly two in five UK voters are either cutting their spending or are unable to pay essential bills due to ‘financial strain’, according to the latest City AM/Freshwater Strategy poll, as President Trump’s tariffs are set to send Chancellor Reeves’ growth plans into disarray. The Chancellor said at her Spring Statement in March that Brits [...]
Chelsea received payment from Boehly-linked Vivid Seats April 7, 2025 The controversial ticket reselling site linked to Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly, Vivid Seats, made a payment to the club in the 2023-24 accounting period. A payment of £93,000 from Vivid Seats is listed under “transactions with related parties” in the club’s accounts published on Companies House over the weekend. Last month the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust [...]
Reeves’ £25bn national insurance tax raid has arrived. What happens now? April 6, 2025 Sorry, Lionel Richie. Businesses aren’t feeling easy like a Sunday morning. The new tax year is here. And Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ £25bn national insurance tax raid has fallen on thousands of firms. From today, employers will pay a tax rate of 15 per cent on salaries above £5,000, down from £9,100 previously. This secondary threshold [...]
UK retailers respond to Trump tariffs: ‘The timing couldn’t be worse’ April 4, 2025 Retail bodies and tax advisers have warned that Trump’s tariffs come at a dire time for UK retail, saying price rises are “inevitable”. US President Donald Trump announced a 10 per cent tariff on goods from the UK on 2 April, and a range of higher tariffs on many of the countries retailers manufacture goods [...]
Oil prices plummet as Saudis lead supply drive April 4, 2025 Oil prices are falling to their lowest close since 2021 as eight countries including Saudi Arabia and Russia surprised market leaders by announcing an increase to production. The shock decision by the OPEC+ alliance, delivered via a video conference on Thursday, came less than 24 hours after President Trump’s Liberation Day tariff announcements intensified global [...]
HSBC, Natwest and Barclays shares plunge as FTSE 100 downturn deepens April 4, 2025 The FTSE 100’s ‘Big Five’ banks were back in the red on Friday as tariff woes intensified. Shares in Natwest and Barclays slumped nearly ten per cent after China announced retaliatory tariffs against the US, making them the index’s top fallers. HSBC lost over eight per cent. Lloyds and Standard Chartered were not far behind [...]
Reeves’ £25bn tax grab to become ‘toxic reality’ for British business, firms suggest April 4, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ £25bn tax grab from employers will become a “toxic reality” for British businesses from Sunday as higher costs risk stunting firms’ income, one of the UK’s largest industry bodies has warned. Reeves’ has pinned her hopes for improving the state of public finances on growing the UK economy but more firms have [...]
How will Trump’s tariffs impact the UK economy? April 3, 2025 The US president holds up a sandwich board in the Rose Garden. On it is a list of countries. Next to each country are two columns: one for “tariffs charged to the USA” and one for “USA Discounted Reciprocal Tariffs”. The leader of the free world is cooking up a storm. “Our country has been [...]
S&P 500 and Dow Jones plunge as banks drive FTSE 100 slump April 3, 2025 The S&P 500 and Dow Jones joined the FTSE 100 in the red as US markets opened following Trump’s tariff onslaught. The S&P plummeted over three per cent in early trading, whilst the Dow slid nearly three per cent marking a loss of 1,200 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Exchange, which includes Tesla and Apple, slumped [...]
B&Q: Kingfisher CEO’s pay slashed by £4m as profit cut April 3, 2025 The boss of Kingfisher, the group behind the likes of B&Q and Screwfix, saw his pay slashed by almost £4m as its sales and profit took a significant hit during its latest financial year. Thierry Garnier took home almost £2.3m for the 12 months 31 January, 2025, down from the nearly £6m he received in [...]