Keir Starmer may not survive this Budget October 30, 2025 The Prime Minister cannot satisfy all three key audiences: the markets, the party, and the public, says Helen Thomas Every Prime Minister faces a moment when economic reality collides with political promise. For Keir Starmer, Budget day could be that moment of reckoning. He promised calm after chaos: that the grown-ups were back in charge, [...]
Pound falls to 2023 low against Euro as Budget jitters spike October 29, 2025 The Pound suffered a sharp drop on Wednesday as investors braced for an economic hit in Rachel Reeves’ forthcoming Budget. Sterling’s downturn came as the UK’s fiscal watchdog looks set to hand a hefty downgrade to the country’s productivity growth. On Wednesday morning, the pound fell 0.4 per cent against the Euro to 1.13 – [...]
Keir Starmer refuses to rule out income tax raid at the Budget October 29, 2025 Keir Starmer dodged questions on whether Labour would raise income tax, VAT or national insurance, the clearest sign yet that the government is looking at breaking key party manifesto commitments on taxes. During Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Kemi Badenoch grilled Starmer on whether Rachel Reeves was laying the groundwork for an income tax raid [...]
Firms brace for ‘difficult winter’ as tax burden weighs on activity October 29, 2025 Companies across the private sector are braced for a “difficult” winter as activity is forecast to downturn across UK services due to mounting tax fears, fresh research has indicated. A leading survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), considered to be one of the UK’s most influential business groups, has suggested that private sector [...]
Autumn Budget: Reeves must avoid tax encore for retail, HMV boss warns October 29, 2025 Ahead of the Autumn Budget, City Reporter Samuel Norman sits down with top industry names for a Budget Briefing. This week, chief executive of HMV joins a chorus of warnings to give the retail sector some reprieve. As high street music retailer HMV breezes into the all-important golden quarter, boss Phillip Halliday is eyeing a chart-topper [...]
Lawyers to rethink personal tax structures as Reeves set to target LLPs October 28, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s proposed tax raid on LLPs may force partners to work longer or reconsider their retirement plans, with significant financial implications for many professionals. It was reported last week that Reeves is targeting limited liability partnerships (LLPs) in a tax raid as she tries to fill a fiscal black hole. The proposed 15 [...]
HSBC shares rise as Georges Elhedery’s pivot East beats the noise October 28, 2025 HSBC’s pass through the third quarter was almost identical to the second. Despite another hefty hit to the firm’s bottom line, chief executive Georges Elhedery has quietly and effectively pushed ahead with his bold overhaul of the group. For the three months to September 30, HSBC took a 14 per cent profit beat falling to [...]
British businesses lead the world in risk management October 28, 2025 UK businesses lead global peers in risk oversight, with nearly eight in ten British businesses reporting that boards are directly involved, a figure significantly higher than global peers. According to Aon’s new ‘global risk management survey’, senior leadership in the UK is taking on greater responsibility for the risks their businesses face, as three-quarters of [...]
Street food vendors face confidence crisis ahead of Budget October 28, 2025 Grassroots vendors are rapidly losing confidence in their future ahead of the Autumn Budget, according to new data. Just one per cent of respondents in a new hospitality survey described the UK street food sector as having a strong, viable future, according to independent hospitality group Kerb. “There’s a clear message here for the government,” [...]
HSBC: FTSE 100 lender’s profit slumps as legal costs jump October 28, 2025 Europe’s biggest lender, HSBC reported better-than-expected revenue in the third quarter, but recorded a double digit decline in profit as it set aside over a billion dollars following a fresh ruling on the Bernie Madoff fraud scheme. HSBC’s pre-tax profit fell to $7.3bn (£5.4bn) in the three months to September 30, a fall of nearly [...]