50 h. ago UK’s FTSE 100 share index hits record closing high despite economy shrinking in April – business live

UK economy shrank by 0.3% in April, biggest fall since October 2023, as trade with the US slumped.. but FTSE 100 ends at new record closeFull story: UK economy shrinks by 0.3% as as exports hit by Trump trade warNicholas Hyett, Investment Manager at Wealth Club, blames “a cocktail of headwinds to growth” for the 0.3% fall in UK GDP in April.Hyett says:In the very short term the change to Stamp Duty rules have put the legal and property services on ice - with legal activities down 10.2% month-on-month.New barriers to trade with the US and changes to employment costs, from a higher living wage and increased national insurance contributions, are a longer term challenge.“The 0.3% m/m fall in real GDP in April supports our view that the strength in Q1 was unsustainable. This won’t prompt the Bank of England to cut interest rates next Thursday. But it is one more piece of news pointing to another cut in August.”We still expect the Bank Rate to be maintained at 4.25% in the June meeting, t...

Economics

51 h. ago Rachel Reeves hit with headache after economy shrinks amid fresh fears of tax hikes

The Office for National Statistics said the UK economy shrank by 0.3% in April. Meanwhile, experts are warning that council tax bills will rise following Chancellor Rachel Reeves's spending review

Economics

55 h. ago Tax rises will come if economy shrinks further, IFS warns Rachel Reeves after Spending Review

The Spending Review delivered by Chancellor Rachel Reeves has had a mixed response.

Events

55 h. ago Voices: First the spending review, now the economy – what else lies in wait for Rachel Reeves?

Official figures showed UK plc plunged into the red in April, contracting by 0.3 per cent. There is no sugar-coating how bad of a result that is for the chancellor, writes James Moore

Economics

55 h. ago Tax rises 'almost inevitable' as IFS torches Rachel Reeves' spending plans warning NHS and defence will need topping up and cost

IFS director Paul Johnson said he would be 'very surprised indeed' if heath and defence funding did not need topping up before the next election.

Events

55 h. ago Largest ever plunge in UK exports to US as Trump tariffs hurt growth; dollar hits three

UK economy shrank by 0.3% in April, biggest fall since October 2023, as trade with the US slumpedFull story: UK economy shrinks by 0.3% as as exports hit by Trump trade warNicholas Hyett, Investment Manager at Wealth Club, blames “a cocktail of headwinds to growth” for the 0.3% fall in UK GDP in April.Hyett says:In the very short term the change to Stamp Duty rules have put the legal and property services on ice - with legal activities down 10.2% month-on-month.New barriers to trade with the US and changes to employment costs, from a higher living wage and increased national insurance contributions, are a longer term challenge.“The 0.3% m/m fall in real GDP in April supports our view that the strength in Q1 was unsustainable. This won’t prompt the Bank of England to cut interest rates next Thursday. But it is one more piece of news pointing to another cut in August.”We still expect the Bank Rate to be maintained at 4.25% in the June meeting, to allow still troubling earnings growth ...

Politics

56 h. ago Tax hikes will come if economy shrinks any further, IFS warns Rachel Reeves

In a scathing assessment, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) suggested the Treasury was at times ‘making up the numbers’

Events

56 h. ago IFS torches Rachel Reeves' spending plans warning NHS and defence will need topping up and cost

IFS director Paul Johnson said he would be 'very surprised indeed' if heath and defence funding did not need topping up before the next election.

Events

58 h. ago Rachel Reeves fails to rule out future tax rises as economy shrinks

However, the Chancellor repeated her promise that she would not need to increase taxes on the same scale as last year.

Economics

59 h. ago Rachel Reeves refuses to rule out Autumn Budget tax rises as economy shrinks 0.3% in April

Latest GDP estimate worse than the 0.1% fall expected by economists

Economics

60 h. ago Blow for Rachel Reeves after UK economy shrinks by more than expected

The UK economy contracted by 0.3% in April, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Politics

62 h. ago Rachel Reeves seized her moment – whatever the future brings, Labour’s economic course is now set | Martin Kettle

The chancellor is no mere technocrat: her spending review revealed a visceral commitment to social and economic mobilityThe consensus has long been that the 2025 spending review would be a defining moment for Keir Starmer’s government. For once, the consensus proved spot-on. The government’s main priorities were set out on Wednesday in a blizzard of Commons announcements from Rachel Reeves, some economically substantive, others more for show. The upshot is that the shape of the British state, as Labour intends it, is now decided until the eve of the next election.There are further crossroads still to come, some of them major, as the years covered by the review unroll. Taxes are likely to rise, probably as soon as the autumn budget, to pay for Reeves’s big ticket boosts on Wednesday for defence, health and housing. Council tax could rise too, with possibly dramatic results. The review’s emphasis on capital spending means current spending could be squeezed again, perhaps heralding pay...

Economics

3 d. ago Voices: Rachel Reeves sounded like she was fighting for her political life

Delivering her spending review, the chancellor even made her theatrical opposite number look convincing – she needs to rediscover her firebrand energy and win Labour MPs back onside, says John Rentoul

Politics

3 d. ago More tax rises on the way 'if anything at all goes wrong' with Rachel Reeves economic plans, IFS warns

The Chancellor has very little economic cushion to deal with any unexpected events

Events

4 d. ago What is the spending review? Everything Rachel Reeves could announce to fix UK economy

The Independent looks at what the spending review is, why the government has launched one and what is expected to be in it

Economics

4 d. ago Voices: Is Rachel Reeves a toxic influence in the workplace?

The number of job vacancies has taken a tumble just as the unemployment rate hits a four-year high – which is exactly what happens when you make it more expensive to take people on, says James Moore

Events

4 d. ago Rachel Reeves must not ignore London's vital role as engine of the British economy

Investing in London isn’t about favouring one region over another, it’s about backing the entire country to succeed

Politics

6 d. ago Rachel Reeves is like Steve Jobs and will rescue the UK economy in the same way that he saved Apple, insists minister ahead of Spending Review

Peter Kyle likened the Chancellor's stewardship of the public finances to the late Mr Jobs' role at Apple when the company was on the brink of insolvency in the late 1990s.

Politics

1 week ago Rachel Reeves told it is ‘impossible’ to invest in growth, public services and net zero in spending review

Labour chancellor under pressure over spending plans as deputy prime minister Angela Rayner among those whose departments fail to settle budget with the Treasury

Economics

2 w. ago ANDREW NEIL: Rachel Reeves has condemned us to a doom loop of economic despair. Brace yourself for a £30BILLION tax raid

Mark my words: there will be tax rises in the autumn. Big ones. Perhaps not quite as big as £40billion. But pretty hefty nonetheless.

Economics