FTSE 100 Live: Stocks to slip ahead of Budget FTSE 100 Live Welcome back to City AM‘s FTSE 100 liveblog. It’s Wednesday morning and all eyes are on John Healey, who will deliver his first Budget later today. The markets are set to open into the red as investors hold their breath for the Chancellor’s speech. Rising oil prices will also pose a challenge to the FTSE [...]
Budget 2026: Healey carves out political breathing space for Andy Burnham Politics If John Healey’s looking for a political narrative to frame his Budget, perhaps he could borrow from AI behemoth Anthropic. The Claude-maker’s extraordinary IPO prospectus insists that for all the risks and uncertainty surrounding the technology and economics of AI, their approach will be “bold but sane.” In fact, the full quote is that “in [...]
Jobs apocalypse: Britain’s biggest firms cut more than 130,000 roles in two years Economics Britain’s biggest businesses have axed more than 130,000 jobs over the past two years, a City AM analysis has found, laying bare the scale of pressure facing firms amid surging employment costs and the growing tide of automation. The analysis compiled more than 250 separate media reports of layoffs, job cuts and company administrations at [...]
The Budget lever Healey could pull to tax family business succession October 27, 2026 Thousands of family businesses could face being priced out of passing their business down to their offspring should Chancellor John Healey to use his maiden Budget to clamp down on a little-known rule making it easier for firms to transfer ownership. Treasury officials have been mulling an overhaul of so-called company distribution rules that would [...]
Healey expected to set £15bn fiscal headroom with £5bn in tax hikes October 27, 2026 John Healey will set his fiscal headroom at a minimum of £15bn, City analysts have predicted, although closer attention will be paid to the Chancellor’s spending restraint. Economists at major banks are anticipating Healey’s buffer against the main fiscal rule to shrink slightly. The borrowing rule states that day-to-day government spending should at least match projected [...]
Budget 2026: Will the real John Healey please stand up? October 27, 2026 John Healey is set to deliver his first Budget although business chiefs, trade unionists and bond traders are still unsure of what to expect. Maurício Alencar reports on whether he can assert his authority on Wednesday. In the period between Sir Keir Starmer leaving Number 10 and Andy Burnham taking over, ambitious Labour figures vied [...]
Does the government realise the rich aren’t leaving on a whim? October 27, 2026 From experience advising high net worth individuals, the “exodus of wealth” is rarely a decision taken lightly, writes Yorke Eaton.
Financial advisers feel the effects of Reeves’ final tax raid as Healey’s Budget looms October 26, 2026 Financial advisers are feeling the effects of Rachel Reeves’ final Budget, as families brace for billions of pounds of tax rises regardless of what chancellor John Healey announces at the despatch box later this week. From April next year, the sweeping shake up to the tax system announced by Reeves in 2025 will come into [...]
The Big Bang transformed the City of London – 40 years on, can it happen again? October 26, 2026 The City of London was changed forever by a sweeping package of deregulation in 1986, known as the Big Bang. Forty years on – and facing existential threats – can the Square Mile reinvent itself again? When Alasdair Haynes left work as a young options trader on Friday 24th October 1986, he didn’t know what [...]
Tech bosses warn Chancellor UK risks surrendering to foreign AI giants October 26, 2026 Britain risks becoming dangerously dependent on foreign tech giants unless the government develops a comprehensive strategy for its own AI, industry leaders have warned the Chancellor ahead of his Budget on Wednesday. UKAI, which represents more than 270 AI businesses, has urged John Healey to commit substantial funding to a national sovereign AI strategy, warning [...]