UK investors up home bias in exodus from US stocks March 18, 2025 British investors continued upping their ‘home bias’ for UK stocks over the last year while withdrawing from US equities, reacting to fears of a global trade war and faltering US economy. Average UK allocation increased from 19 per cent to 21 per cent over the past year, whilst US holdings fell from 45 per cent [...]
Pound tops $1.30 for first time since Trump’s election win March 18, 2025 The pound has traded above $1.30 for the first time since president Donald Trump’s November election win, as a falling dollar caused by trade war fears has proved a boon for sterling. Sterling has climbed 2.7 per cent over the last month and 6.5 per cent since its January low, reaching a fourth-month high of [...]
Liz Kendall unveils welfare reform package aimed at saving £5bn by 2030 March 18, 2025 Liz Kendall has unveiled a major package of reforms to the UK’s welfare system with the aim of saving the government £5bn by 2030.
VR headsets and sliders kick DVDs and turkey out of inflation basket March 18, 2025 VR headsets, yoga mats and sliders have been added to the inflation basket of goods as DVD rentals and minced turkey have been knocked off. The items included in the consumer price inflation (CPI) basket of goods and services, which is compiled by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), are designed to reflect Britons’ typical [...]
The UK could build a new investment culture by emulating Sweden March 18, 2025 Risk-averse Brits have long struggled to get into investing. Luckily, the similarly cautious Swedes can teach us a few things.
Insolvencies rise in February as low confidence begins to bite March 18, 2025 More than 2,000 companies filed for insolvency in February as a growing number of firms struggle to cope with soaring taxes and high inflation. Business confidence has tumbled with companies preparing for the worst before Chancellor Rachel Reeves‘ £40bn tax raid comes into effect next month. But the latest data from the Insolvency Service showed [...]
Global investors flee the US and return to UK stocks March 18, 2025 Global investors have fled US stocks at their fastest rate on record in favour of UK stocks, making their highest allocation to British equities since June 2021. UK equities were the third most overweight sector from global investors this month, beaten out only by utilities and banking stocks, Bank of America’s latest Global Fund Manager [...]
Office: Shoe retailer doubles profit to over £100m March 18, 2025 Profit at the group behind shoe retailer Office more than doubled to over £100m as it continued to open new stores and created hundreds of jobs. The business, which also includes the Offspring brand, has posted a pre-tax profit of £102.4m for the 12 months to 30 June, 2024. The future comes after the group [...]
Old Mutual earnings spike as firm gears up to find a new boss March 18, 2025 Pan-African financial services group Old Mutual recorded headline earnings growth of 20 per cent last year as the firm gears up to find a new CEO. The London-listed group reported 14 per cent growth in adjusted headline earnings, while profit after tax climbed nine per cent in its full-year results. However, the financial services group’s stock price [...]
UK economy facing recession risk as Spring Statement looms March 17, 2025 Britain’s fragile jobs market indicates that a recession is looming for the UK economy, a leading think tank has warned. Chancellor Rachel Reeves defended the government’s economic record in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Monday, claiming most major economies around the world are facing lower growth than expected. But the Resolution Foundation said the UK [...]