Don’t panic: What’s behind markets’ Iran-Israel indifference? June 23, 2025 Commentators have warned that an escalation in the Iran-Israel conflict could set off a chain of events that leads to the outbreak of World War 3. But markets have reacted as if the exchange of air attacks have barely happened at all. Ali Lyon digs into a puzzling few days of equities and oil trading. [...]
Ministers set to cut industrial energy prices for British manufacturers June 20, 2025 The government plans to slash industrial energy prices for British manufacturers, enabling them to better compete with key European rivals. Ministers will unveil a multibillion pound package of taxpayer-funded support for the UK’s most energy intensive industries, as part of the government’s industrial strategy on Monday, according to reports. Proposals to make energy prices more [...]
Canada is investing in Britain’s future – why aren’t we? June 20, 2025 Foreign capital is helping to drive UK growth – yet too much of our own pension funding remains on the sidelines, says Tony Dalwood Canada is betting billions on Britain’s future. One of the world’s most influential pension investors, CDPQ, has committed more than £8bn to UK infrastructure and energy transition projects over the next [...]
Firms stumped up extra £29bn for ‘astronomical’ energy costs June 19, 2025 British industry has had to fork out an additional £29bn to fund rising energy costs over the past four years, a fresh analysis has shown, adding further weight to calls for government bring down energy prices for British firms when it publishes its industrial strategy. According to the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), firms’ [...]
Reeves’ tax hikes lead to spike in pubs going bust June 16, 2025 The series of tax hikes introduced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her Autumn Budget last year has contributed to a spike in pubs going bust across the UK in April, according to new figures. A total of 67 pubs closed down during the month – the highest number since July 2024 when 75 entered insolvency [...]
The public don’t understand net zero – it’s time for new arguments June 16, 2025 Widespread uncertainty about the costs and implementation of net zero risks undermining support for climate action. Effective communication can shift opinions, says Sir Craig Oliver In the face of a rising tide of anti-net zero rhetoric, the battle over climate and energy policy in the UK has never been fiercer. The current arguments being made [...]
UK manufacturers look East as production hopes rise June 16, 2025 UK manufacturers are ditching President Trump’s United States and looking to find trading partners in Asia and the Middle East, according to a leading industry body. The US has fallen out of the top three preferred regions as a growth market for UK manufacturers, the first time since surveys started eleven years ago, Make UK [...]
Reeves to lay out 10-year infrastructure plan worth £725bn June 15, 2025 Chancellor Reeves is set to deliver a 10-year infrastructure strategy plan which will lay out efforts to boost growth and upgrade services across the UK. The new blueprint for UK infrastructure will come around a week after Reeves delivered the Spending Review, which marked out £190bn in extra government spending commitments for the years between [...]
Our economy remains in a perilous state June 12, 2025 With the long-awaited Spending Review, the UK Chancellor finally gets to reveal the goodies rather than simply be the baddie. But there will be one question lurking behind every line item, behind every pound pledged and every Treasury footnote: how are you going to pay for it?
How worried should Ed Miliband be about the CBI’s net zero U-turn? June 12, 2025 Is the CBI’s about-face on the cost of net zero a case of shameless opportunism or an overdue conversion to common sense, asks James Ford We are arguably living in an age of screeching political U-turns. The government’s abrupt volte-face over withdrawing the Winter Fuel Allowance is probably the most egregious example. Others would include [...]