ENERGY Government expands energy cost relief scheme The Daily Telegraph BBC News The Times The Government has expanded its energy cost relief initiative for manufacturers, allowing up to 25% reductions in electricity bills. Around 10,000 energy-intensive manufacturers...

ECONOMY IMF downgrades UK growth forecast BBC News City AM The Times The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has downgraded the UK's growth forecast for 2026 by 0.5%, now predicting a rise of just 0.8%. This marks the largest downgrade among G7 nations, with the...

INVESTMENT Banks deepen ties to shadow banking Financial Times The Daily Telegraph Banks are increasingly engaging with private credit amid rising concerns about associated risks, the Telegraph reports. In 2025, banks executed 27 significant risk transfers (SRTs), the...

TAX Tax changes threaten AIM stability The Times Government tax changes are destabilising the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), prompting a surge in investment schemes designed to circumvent inheritance tax (IHT). AIM fund managers, led by Araminta Le Flufy of...

OUTLOOK EU will still be hit by 'stagflationary shock', Brussels warns Bloomberg Financial Times The EU is preparing for a "stagflationary shock" of low growth and rising inflation, according to Valdis Dombrovskis, the EU economy commissioner. He indicated that the...

OUTLOOK Construction jobs slashed as inflation spikes The I City AM Construction firms are cutting jobs rapidly due to soaring inflation, which reached its highest level in over three years. S&P Global reported that the month-to-month inflation increase in March...

OUTLOOK Businesses brace for new cost pressures The Daily Telegraph City AM Businesses in Britain are preparing for increased costs and hiring challenges as the Employment Rights Act takes effect. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) warns that while some provisions,...

OUTLOOK Confidence climbs but remains negative The Times Small business confidence improved in Q1, rising to -53 from -71 in the previous quarter - but remained negative for the eighth consecutive quarter, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). Rising...

OUTLOOK Firms brace for price hikes The Guardian The I Daily Mail City AM UK companies anticipate a 3.7% price increase over the next year, up from 3.4% in February, according to a Bank of England survey of over 2,000 chief financial officers. The rise is attributed...

REGULATION Lenders call for overhaul of banking regulation City AM Some of the UK's leading lenders have expressed their frustrations with UK banking regulation in a new report from the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME). The report criticises current...