High taxes are pushing UK businesses to a critical point, warns Rain Newton-Smith, chief executive of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). In a speech at the CBI’s national business dinner, she will say the private sector cannot endure further cost pressures, pointing out that taxes paid by businesses reached a record £345bn last year – including £27bn from Labour’s NI raid. “That is not free money,” Ms Newton-Smith will argue. “It is not free of consequence. You cannot fix the cost of living without fixing the cost of doing business.”

The financial services sector contributed £290bn to the UK’s GDP in 2025, accounting for 11% of total output, according to TheCityUK’s UK Key Facts report. Productivity in this sector was 2.6 times higher than the overall economy. “Beyond these headline macroeconomic indicators, the data in our report underline the industry’s broader enabling role within the economy,” wrote TheCityUK’s chief economist Anjalika Bardalai.

The OECD has upgraded the UK economy’s growth forecast to 0.9% for this year, up from 0.7%. This increase is attributed to high government expenditure, which is expected to outpace private consumption growth of 0.4%. However, business investment is projected to stagnate. Inflation is forecasted at 3.7%, with the unemployment rate potentially reaching 5.5%, the highest in 11 years. Responding to the figures, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “The conflict in the Middle East poses a significant challenge to the world economy.”

The number of UK starter jobs advertised online has roughly halved over the past decade, from 139,300 a week in 2016-17 to just 71,100 in 2025-26. This comes as a study by the Centre for Social Justice reveals British employers have hired 27 young workers from outside the EU for every British person taken on. The think tank said “starter roles” have been “simply vanishing”, with migrants employed instead. Separate analysis by Oxford University’s Migration Observatory found 64% of hospitality roles in London have been filled by migrants. Country-wide, 31% of hospitality roles are now held by foreign nationals, and 34% of admin and support roles are now held by non-UK citizens.

The Government has asked businesses to provide data on the effects of AI on workers, job roles, skills and quality with its newly created AI Economics Institute.

Research by Unit4 reveals that over 25% of client-facing staff in professional services firms spend significant time on manual administrative tasks instead of core client work. The report, commissioned by Pierre Audoin Consultants, found a quarter of professional services organisations have yet to automate more than 20% of their core systems. Such operational inefficiencies are causing frequent project delays for 30% of firms worldwide. Donna Dobson, director of professional services at Unit4, noted: “Professional services firms are facing possibly the biggest inflection point in a lifetime as technology disruption and volatile economic conditions encourage clients to re-evaluate their use of consulting expertise.”

The Financial Reporting Council’s shifting approach to regulation has been well received by accountancy firms, but they concede the regulator’s judicious use of the stick has improved quality.

The Guardian covers a new report from the World Inequality Lab which advocates for significant wealth taxes on billionaires, reduced working hours, and a shift towards education and health investments. The study claims that if implemented, 89% of the global population could see their incomes double by 2100 while keeping global heating below 2C.