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 [...]
Fear over Labour plans to allow firms to extract cash from pension schemes April 3, 2025 The vast majority of pension scheme members are “afraid” of government plans that would allow firms to take cash from defined benefit (DB) schemes for investment. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves signalled earlier this year that “trapped surplus funds” in DB pension schemes would be unleashed for firms to invest. But a [...]
The Capitalist: UK gov joins Reddit, a City Bluebird and an apology April 3, 2025 The UK government joins Reddit, a new Bluebird lands in the City and The Capitalist says sorry. Catch up on the latest Square Mile drama…
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 [...]
Co-op profit jumps six-fold ahead of supermarket ‘trolley wars’ April 3, 2025 The Co-op has reported a huge jump in profit for 2024 ahead of potential ‘trolley wars’ in the grocery sector. Group revenue was broadly stable year on year, ticking up by 0.2 per cent to £11.3bn, while underlying profit rose by 35 per cent to £131m. Operating profit more than doubled, from £66m to £151m, [...]
Wage growth falling for low-paid workers despite minimum wage hike April 2, 2025 Wage increases among low-paid workers are at their lowest level in three years, according to the jobs website Indeed, as economists fear high inflation will erode incomes. Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said on Tuesday that an increase to the national minimum wage would mean that low-paid workers could help drive growth across the UK. But [...]
Reeves should be honest: income tax is going up April 2, 2025 Income tax threshold freezes are a de facto tax rise but the revenue won’t be fully realised until the end of the parliament. She should adjust rates now while there’s still time to improve public services before the next election? And fix distortive cliff edges while she’s at it, says Will Cooling Rachel Reeves has [...]
FTSE 100 close: Rolls Royce leads rebound as US markets bounce back ahead of new tariffs April 1, 2025 European and US markets welcomed calmer waters on Tuesday after swimming in a sea of red on Monday. The FTSE 100 sharply rose in early trading before consolidating gains. The index closed up 0.6 per cent, led by Rolls Royce, which surged over four per cent and over 2.5 per cent rise in insurance provider [...]
April’s cost hikes are ‘a step too far’ for the UK’s independent businesses April 1, 2025 Independent retailers have warned of job losses and cuts to staff hours due to rising business costs set to come in this April. Shops pointed to the ‘double whammy’ of increases to national insurance contributions (NICs) and the minimum wage. “As responsible employers we want to ensure we are paying a fair wage to our [...]