Removing UK’s tariff exemption could hurt small businesses, trade body warns March 8, 2026 Removing the UK’s tariff exemption for low value imports could risk pushing up prices, reduce trade intensity and damage small businesses, a leading trade body has warned. The British Chambers of Commerce’s (BCC) warning comes amid the government considering the move after the US removed its ‘de minimis’ exemption for certain commercial shipments. The EU [...]
Hiring intentions at lowest level in nearly 15 years March 8, 2026 British businesses are the most pessimistic about hiring they have been in nearly 15 years, according to consultancy firm BDO. UK bosses are facing difficult hiring decisions as the cost of employment ramps up, with the BDO’s employment index at its weakest reading since March 2011. The index, which reflects hiring intentions, held at 93.30 [...]
Mel Stride vows ‘Big Bang’ as he targets careful City March 6, 2026 Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride is set to promise a new “Big Bang” on City regulation in a speech at a Conservative conference this weekend harking back to Margaret Thatcher’s financial reforms. Stride is set to decry the lack of risk-taking across the UK economy and suggest regulation has been a “vast yoke” on businesses. [...]
Treasury ignored DCMS gambling tax hike concerns before Budget raid March 6, 2026 Whitehall raised questions about the amount of money a gambling levy could raise before Chancellor Rachel Reeves pushed ahead with tax hikes in the Autumn Budget. A Freedom of Information request seen by City PM shows analysis by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport in response to proposals by the Social Market Foundation and [...]
Revolut makes second bid for US banking permit March 5, 2026 Revolut has made its second play for a US banking licence to crack the North American market as efforts for a UK permit continue to drag on. The London-born fintech juggernaut said on Thursday it had filed for a US bank charter as it named its new boss for the North America region. Nik Storonsky, [...]
Greg Jackson urges Labour to exploit North Sea oil as UK ‘stares down barrel’ of energy price shock March 5, 2026 Octopus founder and government adviser Greg Jackson has urged Labour to “use what’s available” in the North Sea and rethink its key net zero policies. Jackson said the county was “staring down the barrel” of an energy price shock in light of the conflict in the Middle East. The Octopus chief executive who is also [...]
Watch: War brings Reeves’ failures into focus March 5, 2026 War in the Middle East rendered the Chancellor’s Spring Statement “irrelevant” according to City analysts as the economic impacts of the Iran conflict become frighteningly clear. Rachel Reeves made just a passing mention of the Iran war when she addressed MPs on Tuesday, referring briefly to global instability while trying to paint a picture of [...]
Entain losses deepen as Budget gambling tax bites March 5, 2026 Britain’s new gambling tax regime has delivered an early sting for Entain, pushing the Ladbrokes owner to a wider annual loss even as its core betting business continued to grow. The FTSE-listed bookmaker said it swung to a loss of £681m for 2025, compared with £461m a year earlier, after booking a £488m impairment linked to [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Airline shares fall after Wizz Air profit warning; Primark new boss March 5, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City PM liveblog. Global markets returned to a touch of stability on Wednesday as energy prices retreated as investors awaited the latest on the events in the Middle East. The FTSE 100 ended the day 0.8 per cent higher at 10,567.65p – still far below it’s level at [...]
Reeves is outrageously complacent on economic growth March 5, 2026 The dust has settled on the Chancellor’s pointless Spring Statement and, if anything, it looks even worse in the rear-view mirror than it did in real time. Yesterday, top think-tanks and policy wonks chewed over the claims made by Rachel Reeves in her panglossian speech to MPs, and they don’t appear to be overly impressed. [...]
