How to control the cost of our over promoted civil service January 16, 2025 Civil service pay has been frozen yet the wage bill remains the same as it was 10 years ago. Time to clear out the dead wood and boost the pay of top talent, says Henry Hill It’s all so predictable. The previous government froze civil service pay to try and control costs as headcount ballooned. [...]
Malaysian firm YTL to invest £4bn in UK and former Concorde development January 15, 2025 The Malaysian firm YTL has announced plans to invest £4bn in its UK businesses and a brownfield housing development in Bristol at the site of the former Concorde hangars. The firm will spend £2bn on redeveloping the former Filton airfield in South Gloucestershire into an arena and housing development north of Bristol, the UK government [...]
PMQs: Starmer insists Reeves will be Chancellor for ‘many years to come’ January 15, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer has insisted Rachel Reeves will be Chancellor for “many years to come” as Kemi Badenoch lambasted her for losing the confidence of the markets. During Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons, the Conservative leader hit out at Reeves, arguing: “The Prime Minister claims he has full confidence in the Chancellor, [...]
UK gilt auction fails to roll back yield spike January 15, 2025 A closely watched sale of UK government debt failed to roll back the alarming rise in yields after the £4bn auction did not drum up significant interest for gilts. The Debt Management Office (DMO) reported that the 2034 gilts were sold at a yield of 4.808 per cent, compared with 4.332 per cent in the last [...]
Pub giants allay fears of hospitality crisis despite higher wage bills January 15, 2025 Pub giants Mitchells & Butlers and Fuller, Smith & Turner have both expressed confidence as the firms adapt to higher wage bills, in a positive sign for an industry which warned of crisis last year. Mitchells, the owner of Harvester, Toby Carvery and All Bar One, reported like-for-like growth of 10.4 per cent over the [...]
Inflation falls to 2.5 per cent in boost for Chancellor Rachel Reeves January 15, 2025 The inflation figures come amid a sell-off in the gilt market, which has raised doubts about the government's fiscal plans and even prompted calls for the Chancellor to resign.
Why this UK stockpicker is now looking to the US January 14, 2025 A top UK stockpicker is betting on small companies listed on the London Stock Exchange that make most their cash overseas amid fears the British economy will stagnate this year. “The winners will be US or global earnings with a London listing,” said Laurence Hulse, manager of the UK small company-focused Onward Opportunities trust. The [...]
‘Budget hasn’t worked’: Reeves defends China trip as Stride says Brits ‘deserve better’ January 14, 2025 Rachel Reeves has defended her trip to China amid economic turmoil in the UK as MPs argued her Budget “hasn’t worked” and insisted: “The British people deserve better.” The Chancellor appeared in the House of Commons for the first time since last week’s bond market shock threw her public spending plans and fiscal rules into [...]
JP Morgan: UK policy credibility ‘coming under pressure’ January 14, 2025 Gilt yields, which reflect the cost of government borrowing, have increased significantly in recent weeks.
Reeves is in a fiscal trap and spending cuts are the only way out January 14, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ Budget created a vicious circle whereby higher taxes increased borrowing costs, squeezing the public purse and further and tempting the Chancellor into further tax rises to meet fiscal targets. There is another way, says Darwin Friend Rachel Reeves is trapped in a vicious fiscal circle of her own making. Her high-tax budget, billed [...]
