News

Bond markets may force Rachel Reeves to deliver a second budget if investors react negatively to next week’s fiscal plans, a senior City investor has warned, underscoring the fragile backdrop the chancellor faces ahead of 26 November. David Zahn, head of European fixed income at the $1.69 trillion asset manager Franklin Templeton, said the biggest risk to Reeves was that markets “disappoint” rather than celebrate the Budget — a scenario that could push up gilt...

Chancellor Rachel Reeves should use the Autumn Budget to spell out how the government plans to deploy the £2 billion earmarked for the UK’s AI Opportunities Action Plan, according to leading audit, tax and advisory firm Blick Rothenberg. Evelina Panchal, a director at the firm, said businesses urgently needed clarity on how the funding would be allocated, arguing that proper investment planning could unlock transformative gains for the economy. “Research from Microsoft suggests AI represents...

Jeff Bezos is returning to a chief executive role for the first time since leaving Amazon in 2021, launching a new artificial intelligence venture called Project Prometheus — a start-up already reported to have secured $6.2 billion in early-stage funding. According to The New York Times, the new company will be co-led by Bezos and Vik Bajaj, a former senior figure at Google X who worked closely with co-founder Sergey Brin and helped launch the...

UK inflation has eased to 3.6% in the year to October — its lowest level in four months — helped by slower increases in household energy costs and falling hotel prices. However, food inflation picked up again after a brief dip, underlining the ongoing pressure on household finances just a week before the government delivers its highly anticipated Budget. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show inflation slipping from 3.8% in...

Hewlett Packard has submitted a final claim of almost $1.8 billion (£1.4 billion) against the estate of Mike Lynch, intensifying one of the longest and most expensive corporate fraud battles in UK legal history. The latest claim is substantially lower than the $5 billion HP originally sought over its ill-fated 2011 acquisition of Autonomy, but still far exceeds the late entrepreneur’s estimated £500 million estate. Lynch, once hailed as Britain’s answer to Bill Gates, died...

Jet2 chief executive Steve Heapy has urged Chancellor Rachel Reeves to stop using the airline and holiday industry as a “cash cow”, warning that any further increase in aviation taxes will hit lower earners hardest and risk pricing families out of foreign travel. Heapy — who runs Britain’s largest package holiday provider and the UK’s third-biggest airline by passenger numbers — said that higher taxes would “inevitably” be passed on to passengers, pushing up fares...