What the Bank of England’s interest rate cut means for your mortgage May 8, 2025 The Bank of England has reduced rates by 0.25 percentage points to 4.25 per cent in a hotly anticipated cut that will leave homeowners with big decisions for their mortgage deals. The reduced cost for banks to borrow money will have broad implications for the mortgage market, as banks lower interest rates on loans. Major [...]
Bank of England cuts interest rate in split decision May 8, 2025 The Bank of England has cut interest rates to 4.25 per cent in a split decision dividing hawks and doves. The Bank’s policymakers suggested that President Trump’s aggressive tariffs on China were “more likely to be disinflationary than inflationary”, with price growth expected to level off to its two per cent target by the end [...]
Lloyds costs soar as lender increases provisions after tariff turmoil May 1, 2025 Lloyds Banking Group’s profit took a hit in the first three months of the year as the domestic-focused bank’s operating costs soared. The FTSE 100 giant, which includes Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, met analyst expectations for pre-tax profit at £1.5bn – marking a seven per cent drop from the first quarter of 2024. [...]
Barclays shares jump as investment arm cashes in on market storm April 30, 2025 Barclays enjoyed a bumper first three months of 2025 as its investment and private banking arms cashed in on market volatility. The bank’s share rose over 1.5 per cent during early trading on Wednesday. The FTSE 100 giant’s investment bank bolstered income by 16 per cent to £3.9bn, compared to £3.3bn from the same period [...]
FCA vows to slash red tape by 70 per cent for investment firms April 24, 2025 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has laid out new rules as it bows to government pressure to slash the amount of red tape on investment firms. The move, designed to streamline what types of funds investment firms must hold to absorb losses and maintain financial resilience during periods of stress, is expected to reduce the [...]
FCA to rip 140 pages out of handbook in deregulation drive April 16, 2025 The UK’s financial watchdog has vowed to rip scores of pages from its handbook as it slashes red tape in a drive to boost growth. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said as many as 140 pages will be removed from the lengthy handbook, as it opened a consultation on scrapping data collection requirements. The move [...]
Can tech help the state of the UK property market? April 16, 2025 Despite its vast size, the UK property industry lags much of the rest of the economy on technology adoption, with highly fragmented and deeply traditional ways of doing business. Many of these businesses still rely on outdated practices rooted in manual labour and legacy systems. While consumer expectations have shifted towards seamless, tech-enhanced experiences, the [...]
Another recession could push Millennial resentment to tipping point April 10, 2025 Any goodwill left in avocado-munching Millennials towards their wealthier elders will likely be gone with another recession, writes John Oxley.
Will Trump tariffs end up helping Next, M&S and Dunelm? April 8, 2025 UK heavyweights who aren’t exposed to the US market, like Next and M&S, may end up seeing some silver linings from Trump’s tariffs, according to analysts. Only a few UK retailers – namely JD Sports, Doc Martens and Burberry – sell to the states and produce in eastern Asia. Berenberg analysts said that positives from [...]
First-time buyers ‘becoming less reliant on parents’ April 8, 2025 First-time buyers are completing on their homes with less help from their parents – albeit slightly later in life – according to new data. First-time buyers who received money from a friend or family member went from 34 per cent of buyers in the first quarter of 2024 to just under 30 in the first [...]