4 h. ago Thousands of jobs saved and British Steel plant future secured after £500m Network Rail deal

From a £500m rail deal set to rescue British Steel, to Aviva’s £3.7bn Direct Line takeover, surging fossil fuel finance, job cuts linked to NICs, Gareth Bale’s move into football ownership, and Mizkan’s Manchester expansion - here are today’s top UK business stories.

Economics

10 h. ago Brits warned against travel to two new countries as UK updates Foreign Office advice

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has told Brits not to travel to two countries and it says visiting certain nations could invalidate your travel insurance

Events

12 h. ago Overwhelming support from Londoners and businesses for Mayor’s bold plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street

Overwhelming support from Londoners and businesses for Mayor’s bold plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street  london.gov.uk

Politics

12 h. ago Businesses plan further job cuts after national insurance hikes

Firms said they were also looking to a series of other measures in order to offset the jump in their operating costs

Politics

12 h. ago Third of businesses planning further job cuts after national insurance hikes

Businesses have also suggested they will cut back hours, freeze pay and hike prices.

Politics

12 h. ago Two more countries added to list Brits shouldn't travel to in new warnings

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office has issued fresh travel guidance following hostilities between Israel and Iran, and it says visiting certain nations could invalidate your travel insurance

Events

22 h. ago New State Pension payment delays for older people due to retire this year

The first State Pension payment might also be higher or lower than expected even with full National Insurance contributions.

Economics

23 h. ago 'Undoubtedly' public sector job cuts in wake of UK spending review, says John Swinney

John Swinney has however ruled out compulsory redundancies in the public sector.

Politics

34 h. ago Britain jobless hotspots: The areas where benefits claims have soared by 40% since Rachel Reeves' National Insurance raid on businesses

Residents have told how they can live a 'middle-class life' on taxpayer cash as other locals hit out at 'lazy' young people who they claim don't try hard enough to get into work.

Politics

46 h. ago Right back at ya! Trump’s crude but effective rhetorical standby | Chris Taylor

The president has spent the past decade employing a familiar tactic. Accusing protesters of ‘insurrection’ is just the latest exampleDonald Trump and his allies wasted little time in branding the people protesting against immigration enforcement raids in Los Angeles as “insurrectionists”. Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy – particularly the vindictive kind – spoke darkly of a “violent insurrection”. JD Vance, the vice-president, inveighed against “insurrectionists carrying foreign flags” on the streets of the nation’s second-biggest city.It didn’t escape notice that an insurrection was exactly what the president was accused of instigating on 6 January 2021, when the flag being paraded through the Capitol was that of the Confederate secessionists. And that Trump hadn’t shown quite the same enthusiasm for sending in the troops then.Chris Taylor is a subeditor at the Guardian US and author of The Black Carib Wars: Freedom, Survival, and the Making of the ...

Politics

53 h. ago Reeves braced for OBR forecasts to blow £20bn hole in tax and spending plans

Downgrades by Treasury watchdog could force chancellor to raise taxes or cut spending at budget to meet fiscal rulesRachel Reeves is braced for revised forecasts by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to blow a £20bn hole in her tax and spending plans before the autumn budget.Even without changing the totals the chancellor set out in her spending review on Wednesday, a weaker forecast from the the Treasury’s independent watchdog could force her to find significantly more money at the budget to meet her “non-negotiable” fiscal rules. Continue reading...

Economics

4 d. 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

5 d. 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

5 d. ago Experts cast doubt on Reeves' plan to make her sums add up by saving billions through 'technical efficiency gains', slashing admin spending and clamping down on tax

The Treasury said it planned to make more use of artificial intelligence, reforming the workforce - including through job cuts - and selling off its London property portfolio.

Economics

5 d. ago Civil service job cuts, AI and flogging off Government property at heart of Rachel Reeves' bid to find £14billion a year in Whitehall savings

The Office for Value for Money, established by Rachel Reeves last October, has worked with each Government department to find where they can save cash.

Economics

5 d. ago Aircraft leasing firms win multibillion dollar lawsuit over planes ‘lost’ in Russia

High court in London rules companies can recover losses from insurers for aircraft stuck since invasion of UkraineAircraft leasing companies have won a multibillion-dollar lawsuit against insurers in relation to planes stranded in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.The high court in London ruled in favour of six leasing firms including Ireland’s AerCap and Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) that had brought a $4.7bn (£3.4bn) lawsuit in one of the biggest insurance disputes ever heard in the UK. Continue reading...

Society

5 d. ago Major pub chain forced to hike the cost of a pint by 15p after Labour's tax grab landed it with extra £8million staff costs

Fuller's says the rise in national insurance contributions (NICs) from last October's budget as well as the higher minimum wage from April has left the firm badly hit.

Economics

5 d. ago Loose Women star's 'humiliation' as she sells possessions amid worries about ITV job cuts

Loose Women was one of a number of shows that was hit by the announcement that ITV would be axing a number of shows and staff, leaving Kaye Adams worried

Politics

5 d. ago War on motorists continues: Now Oxford council want to impose £5 congestion charge on every car entering the city

Locals have warned that the plans would cripple businesses in Oxford, which have already been hit by a controversial low traffic neighbourhood scheme in the city.

Economics

6 d. ago Reefs made from human ashes could revive British seabeds, says startup

UK company offers alternative to land-based burials after success of memorials in Bali made from remains of petsDeath is killing our planet. That is the stark assessment of a new business offering an innovative alternative: to have your loved one’s ashes made into a reef and anchored to the British seabed.There are increasing concerns about the environmental cost of traditional funerals: a single burial generates 833kg of CO2, while a typical cremation has a footprint of about 400kg CO2. Continue reading...

Politics