Small businesses ditch green agenda as ‘survival’ becomes priority January 20, 2026 Small businesses are ditching green finance initiatives as “ensuring survival” becomes a bigger focus for firms amid the pressures of rising costs. The latest business growth tracker from Natwest showed prioritising of sustainability was at an all time low among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by the end of 2025. Just 30 per cent of [...]
Reeves to overhaul visa system for talented migrants in Davos pitch January 20, 2026 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to talk up new visa schemes aimed at highly-skilled migrants working in tech in a pitch to business leaders and top researchers gathered at Davos. Reeves is set to talk up the Labour government’s new immigration policies as she hopes to get the attention of some of the world’s richest [...]
Farage to ‘have some words’ with Trump over ‘hurtful’ UK trade threats January 19, 2026 Nigel Farage has attacked President Trump for his tariff threats against the UK, adding that he would be “having some words” with US administration officials during meetings in Davos on Wednesday. In a statement the Reform UK leader said threats against the UK were “not the kind of thing we would expect”. It is the [...]
Rachel Reeves is acting like the mayor in Jaws – and small businesses are suffering January 19, 2026 The FTSE may be at an all-time high, but Reeves should not pretend all is calm when the waters are extremely choppy for small businesses, says Andrew Griffith Embattled ministers love good news to boast about on social media or in a TV studio, and this government’s most embattled minister, Rachel Reeves, is no exception. [...]
IMF: UK economy to lag behind growth of advanced economies January 19, 2026 The UK economy is set to grow at a slower pace than the average across advanced economies in each of the next two years, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said, in a warning on the Labour government’s ability competitiveness against world powers. The IMF has kept its UK growth figures for 2026 and 2027 [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Gold soars as Trump’s tariffs threaten trade war January 19, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City PM liveblog. It might be a new year but it’s the same issues controlling the global markets. The FTSE 100 closed last week one per cent higher than it started at 10,235.29p. But this came around 24 hours prior to President Donald Trump’s fresh tariff attack on [...]
UK economy ‘languishing’ behind peers as living standards stagnate January 19, 2026 The Labour government risks leaving the UK economy falling further behind major trading partners, left-leaning economists have warned, as they urged Rachel Reeves to ramp up growth plans ahead of crucial meetings in Davos this week. A new report by the Resolution Foundation, the think tank where several current Treasury ministers brainstormed policies before becoming [...]
Reeves pulled out of ‘golden age for the City’ speech amid Trump tariff drama January 19, 2026 Rachel Reeves pulled out of a major event at the Stock Exchange, scheduled for Monday morning, where she had been due to claim that her reforms to UK listing rules are “reinvigorating” Canada and ushering in a new “golden age” for the Square Mile. Reeves had been set to say: “Two years [...]
Wetherspoon to reveal Christmas trading amid challenging backdrop for pubs January 18, 2026 Pub giant JD Wetherspoon is set to shed light on how its customers fared over the key Christmas period amid a backdrop of rising costs for the sector. The value pub chain, which runs around 800 venues across the UK, will become the latest firm to reveal its latest trading performance when it updates shareholders [...]
Exclusive: Rachel Reeves to lead start-up delegation at Davos January 16, 2026 Rachel Reeves will lead a delegation of entrepreneurs in charge of some of Britain’s fastest growing start-ups to the World Economic Forum in Davos next week, City PM can reveal. The troupe of UK-based founders will join the Chancellor and business secretary Peter Kyle in the Swiss Alps as part of a concerted push by [...]
