Consumers’ outlook on the economy drops for fifth month in a row February 20, 2025 Consumer confidence has dipped again in the UK, with Brits’ outlook on the state of the economy dropping for the fifth month in a row. Public expectations for the economy over the next three months worsened to -37 in February, down from -34 in January. Brits’ personal financial outlook dropped to -11 in February, down [...]
How will inflation impact Bank of England interest rate decisions February 19, 2025 The first inflation figures of the year confirmed what many had already known: Inflation will rise significantly in 2025.
Vitality: Health and life insurer slips into the red despite £100m sales boost February 19, 2025 Health and life insurer Vitality slipped into the red despite its revenue surging by almost £100m during its latest financial year, it has been revealed. The London-headquartered group has posted a loss before income tax of £168,000 for the 12 months to 30 June, 2024, after having achieved a profit of £37.9m in the prior [...]
Conduit Holdings shrugs off catastrophe losses February 19, 2025 Despite rising catastrophe claims, Conduit Holdings, the Bermuda-based reinsurance business, has reported a jump in gross premiums written for the 2024 financial year. Gross premiums written reached $1.16bn (£917m), a 24.8 per cent increase on the prior year, while the firm delivered a return on equity of 12.7 per cent, down from 22 per cent [...]
Jet2 warns of £45m hit from tax hikes and green levies February 19, 2025 Jet2 has reported a boost in profit before tax but warned margins may come under pressure in the near future due to a raft of cost pressures. The group operates Jet2.com, the UK’s third largest airline by number of passengers flown and Jet2holidays, the UK’s leading provider of ATOL protected package holidays. Jet2 expects to [...]
‘Alarm bells’ for Bank of England as inflation accelerates to three per cent February 19, 2025 Inflation picked up faster than expected at the start of the year, official data shows, as concerns grow about the persistence of price pressures in the economy. The headline rate of inflation picked up to 3.0 per cent in January, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This was up from [...]
Labour’s jobs tax is proving the Laffer curve in real time February 19, 2025 Widespread falls in hiring and increases in redundancies are a textbook demonstration of how tax can destroy economic activity. Labour’s National Insurance rise is proving economic theory before our eyes, says Matthew Kilcoyne Sometimes the data tells a story so clear it hurts. The latest CIPD survey gives us exactly that – a textbook demonstration [...]
Government backtracks on tax hike for private equity firms February 18, 2025 The government has reversed a decision to hike taxes on private equity firms by ditching changes to the tax treatment of members at limited liability partnerships (LLPs). The new guidelines, which were released last year, targeted salaried members on what tax contribution they pay, which affected the partner compensation at most firms. Before the new changes, members [...]
Insolvencies rise at start of 2025 as businesses brace for extra costs February 18, 2025 The number of insolvencies rose at the start of the year, in a sign that UK businesses continue to struggle ahead of a looming increase in employment costs.
Total value of luxury watches stolen tops £1.6bn February 18, 2025 Criminal gangs are “entrenched” in the theft of luxury watches, a chairman of a watch recovery database has warned after registered losses surged. The Watch Register, the world’s largest international database of lost and stolen watches, had over £150m worth of luxury watches reported as lost or stolen last year. Brits made up £60m of [...]