Category Archives: Business

London’s Aim shrinks to smallest since 2001 amid fears of tax relief changes

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UHY Hacker Young says 92 companies have delisted and only 10 floated on junior stock market in past year

The UK’s Alternative Investment Market (Aim) has shrunk to its smallest size in 23 years as business owners and investors anticipate an abolition of inheritance tax relief in the budget this week.

The accountancy group UHY Hacker Young calculated that 92 companies have delisted from Aim, London’s junior stock market, in the past year, reducing the total number of companies on Aim to 695.

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OBR to publish breakdown of claimed £22bn ‘black hole’ on budget day

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Former chancellor Jeremy Hunt says decision to publish findings of review on Wednesday is ‘significant concern’

Britain’s fiscal watchdog is to publish a detailed breakdown of the £22bn “black hole” that Labour says it inherited after Rachel Reeves presents the budget on Wednesday.

The Office for Budget Responsibility will release the conclusion of its review of how the forecast for departmental spending for its last economic and fiscal outlook, published for the March budget, was prepared.

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Reeves: ‘My budget will match greatest economic moments in Labour history’

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The chancellor says she will invest to reverse Tory decline, but stands accused of breaking party manifesto promises

Labour will launch a new era of public and private investment in hospitals, schools, transport and energy as momentous as any in the party’s history in this week’s budget, the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has said.

In an interview with the Observer before the first budget by a female chancellor, Reeves draws comparisons with Labour’s historic reform programmes begun in 1945 by Clement Attlee, in 1964 under Harold Wilson and in 1997 under Tony Blair.

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Ministers urged to cut ties with P&O Ferries owner over links to Russia

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The government is facing calls to cease trading with DP World because of its partnership with Putin’s northern sea route

Ministers are facing calls to review the UK’s financial ties to the multinational logistics company DP World over its business deals in Russia.

The business announced a £1bn expansion of the London Gateway port earlier this month, despite a row over the transport secretary, Louise Haigh, calling its ferry subsidiary, P&O Ferries, a “rogue operator”.

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Brexit has put £370m a year on price of power from EU since 2021, experts say

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Trade body Energy UK also estimates total energy cost of leaving bloc could reach £10bn by end of decade

Brexit has added up to £370m a year to the price of power supplies from Europe, according to industry representatives who calculate that the total energy costs of leaving the EU could amount to £10bn by the end of the decade.

Energy UK, the sector’s trade body, has called on Keir Starmer to negotiate a closer trading relationship with the bloc as part of the “reset” he is seeking with Brussels.

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Labour to announce plans for five new UK freeports in budget

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Starmer says new low-tax zones, a policy inherited from the Tories, will ‘have this government’s stamp on them’

Downing Street will announce five new freeports in next week’s budget as part of its effort to drive economic growth.

Ministers will set out plans to establish five new low-tax zones, plus an investment zone in the East Midlands, where businesses will benefit from tax breaks such as lower tariffs and customs.

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NatWest urges Reeves to ‘get balance right’ when changing debt rules

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Bank’s boss says chancellor must signal intentions clearly amid risk to borrowing and mortgage rates

Rachel Reeves must “get the balance right” when announcing changes to Britain’s debt rules in next week’s budget given the potential knock-on effects to borrowing and mortgage rates, the boss of NatWest has said.

The bank’s chief executive, Paul Thwaite, said markets would be sensitive to the chancellor’s reasons for releasing up to £50bn of borrowing headroom after she confirmed in Washington on Thursday that she planned to rewrite her fiscal rules.

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WiseTech shares surge after CEO stands down – as it happened

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Dutton and Shorten weigh in on Queensland state election

The federal opposition leader, Peter Dutton, and the NDIS minister, Bill Shorten, both spoke with the Today show earlier from Queensland, before the election.

He’s focused on the issues which affect Queenslanders: housing, health, cheaper transport and of course tackling youth crime. So we’ll find out soon enough who’s going to win.

The fact is that it’s time for a change in Queensland and law and order is out of control.

Well, yes, he did. He did three days ago and, despite that, the government’s scare campaign continues.

The scare campaign on a sensitive issue that has been run, quite frankly, crosses the line, and we’re better than that as Queenslanders … There won’t be changes to abortion laws and Queenslanders need to know that.

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State-backed loans to go to firms importing critical minerals into UK

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Rachel Reeves to encourage import of raw materials from Commonwealth countries to counter China’s grip on market

Businesses that import critical minerals to the UK will be given access to state-backed loans in a move to counter China’s dominance in the market.

The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is expected to announce extra government support to encourage the import of critical minerals such as lithium, graphite and cobalt in her budget next week. Companies that bring supplies of critical minerals into the UK will be able to access state-backed loans under the UK export finance mechanism.

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Budget will reverse huge cuts in UK’s public investment, Reeves confirms

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Chancellor pledges to spend, but says there will be no Truss-style splurge when she changes fiscal rules in budget

Rachel Reeves will pledge to reverse huge cuts in public investment in her budget next week after she confirmed that rules limiting her spending power will be overhauled to enable the government to release as much as £50bn for infrastructure spending.

The chancellor said she would revise how the Treasury calculated shortfalls in the government budget over the rest of the parliament to free up funds to invest in public infrastructure.

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Jeremy Hunt claims Labour changing debt definition will ‘punish families with mortgages’ – as it happened

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Former chancellor says ‘increasing borrowing means interest rates would be higher for longer’ as Reeves says it will ‘make space for investment’

Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, has said that “no one knows” who Robert Jenrick, the Tory leadership contender, is.

Of the two candidates left in the contest, Jenrick is the one who is doing most to appeal to Tories who defected to Reform UK, because he is saying Britain should leave the European convention on human rights.

I know the fella. Is he the chap that one day was on the very much on the left of the Conservative party and is now on the right of the Conservative Party?... No one knows who he is.

I’m sure government can agree that support and providing opportunities for young people should be central to the policy of any government. We are glad to see the government working to build closer economic and cultural ties with Europe. We want to forge a new partnership with our European neighbours, built on cooperation, not confrontation and move to a new comprehensive agreement.

We must build rebuild confidence through seeking to agree partnerships or associations helping to restore prosperity and opportunities for British people.

We are not going to give a running commentary on the negotiations. We will obviously look at EU proposals on a range of issues, but we are clear that we will not return to freedom of movement.

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Intel wins lengthy EU legal battle over £880m competition fine

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Chipmaker disputed 2009 decision that it abused its market position in case dating back two decades

The US chipmaker Intel has won a long-running battle to quash a fine of more than €1bn imposed by the European Commission for allegedly abusing its market dominance in the sale of computer chips.

In a final ruling on Thursday, theEuropean court of justice upheld an earlier judgment that had quashed the €1.06bn (£880m) fine and partly dismissed the charges of anticompetitive behaviour.

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Albanese rejects China’s claim that Australia plagued by ‘systemic racism’ – as it happened

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The Rail, Tram and Bus Union of NSW (RTBU) conducted a five-minute work stoppage early this morning, which is leading to delays across the network.

Sydney Trains says this has led to minor delays and “larger than normal gaps in services may be experienced”, according to an alert:

Trains stops and platforms may change at short notice and some trains may be cancelled. Extra travel time may be experienced in some cases and you may need to change to continue your trip.

The action was set to happen in select locations across the network to ensure we could ramp up stoppages whenever needed.

The rail agencies continue to bargain in good faith with the Combined Rail Unions for a new enterprise bargaining agreement. Sydney Trains are working to minimise the disruption to commuters as much as possible.

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Reeves to announce major change to fiscal rules releasing £50bn for spending

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After weeks of speculation, chancellor will tell IMF in Washington that UK’s debt measure will be redefined to permit borrowing for investment

Rachel Reeves will announce at the International Monetary Fund a plan to change Britain’s debt rules that will open the door for the government to spend up to £50bn extra on infrastructure projects.

After weeks of speculation, the chancellor will confirm at the fund’s annual meetings in Washington on Thursday that next week’s budget will include a new method for assessing the UK’s debt position – a move that will permit the Treasury to borrow more for long-term capital investment.

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Project to build German EV microchip factory put on hold

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US firm Wolfspeed and German car parts supplier ZF postpone plans over doubts about viability

A project to build a €3bn factory making microchips for electric vehicles once hailed as part of a “return of the industrial revolution” in Germany has been put on hold, as the crisis in the country’s hi-tech manufacturing industry deepens.

The US company Wolfspeed and the German car parts supplier ZF have postponed plans to build an EV chip factory, adding to problems caused by a delay to two large-scale factories belonging to the US chip giant Intel and possible factory closures being considered by Volkswagen.

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Putin calls for alternative international payment system at Brics summit

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Russian president’s goal to de-dollarize world economy alarms members that do not want bloc to turn against west

Vladimir Putin has opened the expanded Brics summit by issuing a call for an alternative international payments system that could prevent the US using the dollar as a political weapon.

But the summit communique indicated that little progress had been made on an alternative payment system.

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Lloyds backs Reeves budget plans despite mooted tax increases

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Bank expects ‘constructive, pro-growth agenda’ by chancellor next week and seeks to be part of it

Lloyds Banking Group has backed the Labour government’s forthcoming budget and played down the impact of any tax increases, which it said would probably be part of a “constructive, pro-growth agenda”.

The chief financial officer of the UK’s biggest mortgage lender, William Chalmers, said he would welcome a budget package that was consistent with government pledges to kickstart growth and investment in key areas such as energy, infrastructure and housing.

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UK watchdog formally investigates Carlsberg’s £3.3bn takeover of Britvic

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CMA sets 18 December deadline for initial review as it considers whether deal could reduce competition

The UK’s competition watchdog has launched a formal investigation into the £3.3bn takeover of the UK soft drinks maker Britvic by the Danish brewer Carlsberg.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has set a deadline of 18 December for the first phase of its investigation into the deal.

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Coalition’s building standards freeze could see a ‘Grenfell Tower inferno’ in Australia, Labor says

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Peter Dutton’s proposed 10-year freeze to national building codes would be a shame, one industry leader says, ‘given the serious impacts of our changing climate’

The industry minister, Ed Husic, has accused the opposition of condemning Australians to live in “shoddy” homes that could result in a “Grenfell Tower inferno” onshore, after it revealed plans to freeze building standard improvements for a decade if elected.

The proposal has already drawn criticism from housing experts and the independent ACT senator David Pocock, but some industry groups have also distanced themselves from the 10-year freeze to national building codes.

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Thorpe rebuffs Indigenous leaders’ criticism of protest – as it happened

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More on news media bargaining code and funding of media publishers

One of the committee’s key recommendations was a digital platform levy on companies like Meta and Google, which some have described as a tech tax to fund public interest journalism.

So in parts of Europe, for example, there’s a 2% digital services tax. You could look at a public interest journalism levy.

The issue that we have fundamentally here is the … offshoring of the digital platform’s profits, where currently they pay very little tax because they argue that they don’t operate in Australia, even though they’re getting this enormous profit yield of the advertising on their platforms. So that’s another thing that has to be resolved within legislation in order to impose a tax.

But simply imposing a tax and feeding [it] into media organisations … won’t fix the issue if Meta continues to deprecate news content – that is, reduce the exposure of news content to its consumers.

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