Author: WTX Business Team

Price hikes are coming as firms battle Reeves tax raid, Bank of England survey suggests Inflationary pressures are likely to persist this year as firms prepare to hike prices to combat the effects of Rachel Reeves’ tax-raiding Budget, a survey from the Bank of England suggests. The Bank’s latest decision maker panel, which surveys finance chiefs around the country, showed that firms’ inflation expectations picked up in December. Expected price growth in the year ahead…

Pound sterling continues to sink as UK economy ‘clearly on very shaky ground’ Pound sterling has continued to sell off this morning, and UK government bond yields have ticked higher as UK risk assets remain under pressure. The pound fell below $1.23 against the dollar in early trade and is currently down 0.7 per cent against the dollar and 0.6 per cent against the euro. Meanwhile, the domestically focused FTSE 250 index opened lower 0.6…

UK fintech funding races ahead of Europe According to new figures, the UK’s fintech sector was beaten by only the US on total investment last year despite a sharp fall in funding on 2023 levels. As global fintech investment fell 20 per cent globally to $43.5bn (£35.2bn), the UK attracted $3.6bn (£2.9bn) of total funding, more than the next five European countries combined, according to data from Innovate Finance. Despite the sharp fall in new…

UK government borrowing costs continued rising on Wednesday, and the value of sterling dropped as investors recalibrated their views on the UK economy.

European leaders warned Donald Trump not to meddle with the continent’s borders on Wednesday, a day after the president-elect refused to rule out taking Greenland by force.

New look to shut stores as Labour’s Budget bites Fashion retailer New Look is set to accelerate store closures and “Chicken King” Ranjit Boparan is pushing supermarkets to swallow big cost increases, as large employers across different sectors grapple with the fallout from Labour’s tax-raising budget. About a quarter of New Look’s 364 UK stores are said to be at risk of closure when leases expire, raising the prospect of significant job losses across its…

Wall Street set for listings rush as private equity sheds holdings Wall Street bankers are gearing up for a revival in initial public offerings as private equity groups seek to tap buoyant US equities markets to offload some of their flagship holdings. Several private equity-backed groups have already filed paperwork with securities regulators for IPOs, including medical devices company Medline and software maker Genesys. https://www.ft.com/content/5dcf3d4e-8e16-470b-b33d-fc73d3043f58

The FT names Donald Trump their Person Of The Year – “after the most dramatic comeback in modern US history, the president-elect promises a new era of sweeping deregulation and a profound shift to the cultural right.”

Bank of England set to hold interest rates after inflation jump The Bank of England is poised to leave interest rates on hold this week after a jump in inflation and uncertainty over the Budget’s economic impact. Policymakers are expected to keep rates at 4.75 per cent at their next meeting on Thursday after making cuts in August and November. Although inflation fell below the BoE’s two per cent target in September, the latest official…

UK companies cut jobs at fastest rate in nearly 4 years The private sector cut jobs at the fastest rate for nearly 4 years in December as firms respond to new tax rules announced in the Budget. The latest S&P Global Flash UK Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) found that while the headline figure for business confidence was unchanged from November, thanks to a marginal increase in business activity, other areas of the economy saw a…

London Stock Exchange suffers biggest exodus in 15 years as former boss sounds alarm The former head of the London Stock Exchange Group has warned its flagship bourse has become “deeply uncompetitive” amid its biggest exodus since the financial crisis. Xavier Rolet, who ran LSEG between 2009 and 2017, said lacklustre trading in London created a “real threat” of more UK firms ditching their listings in the capital for better returns overseas. His comments come…

Bitcoin soared to an all-time high, briefly surpassing $106,000, fueled by optimism over Donald Trump’s pro-cryptocurrency stance ahead of his return to the White House. The cryptocurrency has gained more than 50% since Trump’s election victory on November 5.

Dinosaur bones listed on the stock exchange: “Investing in fossils pays like gold” New York — After dinosaur bones fetched millions of dollars at recent auctions, perhaps it was inevitable: a private company has announced a date on which it will proceed with a public offering to allow investors to buy shares of a stegosaurus fossil. Dinosaur bones listed on the stock exchange: “Investing in fossils pays like gold” https://www.repubblica.it/cronaca/2024/12/15/news/dinosauri_vendita_quote_musei-423887382/?rss

UK’s economy shrinks unexpectedly by 0.1% in October Britain’s economy shrank by 0.1% in October, underlining the scale of Labour’s challenge to get the economy growing. Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the unexpected fall in GDP was driven by declines in construction and production, while the dominant services sector stagnated. Economists, polled by Reuters, had expected the economy to grow by 0.1%. It follows a decline of 0.1% in September and sluggish…

The outage began around 18:00 GMT, according to the tracking site Downdetector, and affected users in the UK, Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, and the US. Reports indicated over 18,000 issues with WhatsApp and more than 22,000 with Facebook.