Rachel Reeves defends decision not to restore bankers’ bonus cap

Published

1 year ago

February 1, 2024

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Rachel Reeves has defended her decision not to restore a cap on bankers’ bonuses, arguing businesses do not need “more chopping and changing”.

The shadow chancellor said that when the government scrapped the cap under Liz Truss, Labour did not “feel that was the right priority in that budget”.

But she said much stronger rules were now in place since the 2008 financial crash, when the cap was first introduced, and that it was no longer her priority to restore it.

“What I hear loud and clear from business is that what it will take to get them to invest in Britain is stability and the last thing they need is more chopping and changing,” she said.

“The chopping and changing has got to end if we’re going to give stability to business and that’s why we will not be bringing that back.”

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Addressing Labour’s business conference in central London this morning, Ms Reeves also announced she would not increase the headline rate of corporation tax of 25% during the first term of a Labour government but left the door open to changes in the rate in the future.

She said: “There have been 26 changes to our corporation tax arrangements in this parliament alone. We can’t go on like this.

“The next Labour government will make the pro-business choice and the pro-growth choice: We will cap the headline rate of corporation tax at its current rate of 25% for the next parliament.

“And should our competitiveness come under threat, if necessary we will act.”

Ms Reeves also said Labour would maintain full expensing and the annual investment allowance and would provide a “road map” for business taxation within the first six months of government.

Ms Reeves has sought to portray herself as pro-business during her time as shadow chancellor, in contrast to her predecessor John McDonnell, who led Labour’s economic policy when Jeremy Corbyn was the leader of the Opposition.

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However, the shadow chancellor is facing scrutiny over Labour’s pledge to spend £28bn a year on green projects until 2030 if the party comes into power.

In a Q&A following her speech, Ms Reeves failed to commit to the policy, which some in Labour want Sir Keir Starmer to drop because it allows the Conservatives to cast doubt on the party’s commitment to fiscal discipline.

Asked by Sky News’s political editor Beth Rigby whether the pledge had become “an albatross around your neck” that “threatens to unravel all the hard work you’ve done to be trusted with economic competence”, Ms Reeves said there were “big opportunities to invest alongside business in the jobs and the industries of the future”.

But she said it was “absolutely essential that all of our policies are consistent with our fiscal rules” and that the green prosperity plan “was no exception to that”.

The shadow chancellor said that after the next budget, the party will “set out our plans and ensure they are consistent with our fiscal rules because they will always take precedence to guarantee the economic security of family finances and of businesses as well”.

Tories attack Labour over bonus cap change

The cap on bankers’ bonuses was first introduced in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to limit annual payouts to twice a banker’s salary, but it was scrapped by former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng during Ms Truss’s short time as prime minister.

During Prime Minister’s Questions this week, Rishi Sunak seized on the issue to argue that voters “cannot trust a word he [Sir Keir Starmer] says”.

“I was genuinely surprised that, after recently and repeatedly attacking not just me but the government for lifting the bonus cap, the shadow chancellor has announced, just today, that she now supports the government’s policy on the bankers’ bonus cap.”

Ms Reeves and other senior Labour figures had been vocal critics of the government’s decision to axe the cap during a cost of living crisis, saying only three months ago that the decision to allow unlimited bonuses to be earned again “tells you everything you need to know about this government”.

The issue has caused some division within Labour, with Anas Sarwar, the party’s leader in Scotland, previously criticising Ms Truss as a “Thatcher tribute act” who would rather “boost bankers’ bonuses than help those in need”.

He told reporters in Westminster today that he stood by his previous words but added: “You have got to look at it in the balance. We have got to inspire confidence for them to make the strategic investments, but we can’t return to a situation where they get away with it.

“I’m not here to defend bankers’ bonuses, I’m not here to defend banks. That is something the UK Treasury has got to keep an eye on.”

Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s leader in Westminster and Labour’s main opponent in Scotland, sarcastically praised Mr Sunak for convincing the Labour Party to agree to a “bleak future”, saying it was a “great achievement” for the government.

Business

Microsoft is now worth over $4 trn, becoming only second firm ever to pass milestone

Published

2 hours ago

July 31, 2025

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Microsoft has become only the second publicly traded company after Nvidia to surpass $4 trn (£3.03trn) in market valuation, after registering huge earnings.

On Thursday, shares rose on Wall Street with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq climbing to new record highs.

Stocks in Microsoft jumped after posting better-than-expected results, helped by its Azure cloud computing platform, which is a centrepiece of the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) efforts.

Shares in Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, Meta, also surged after beating sales and profit targets.

Technology giants Apple and Amazon will report their results after Wall Street’s close.

Microsoft first cracked the $1trn (£760bn) mark in April 2019, but its move to $3trn (£2.27trn) took longer than technology giants Nvidia and Apple.

Nvidia tripled its value in just about a year and clinched the $4trn milestone before any other company on 9 July. Apple was last valued at $3.12trn.

In comparison, the biggest UK company by market value is drug manufacturer AstraZeneca, worth $235.97bn (£178.55bn).

Companies ranked by market value (USD), according to tradingview.com

1. Nvidia (US) $4.43trn
2. Microsoft (US) $4trn
3. Apple (US) $3.12trn
4. Amazon (US) $2.47trn
5. Alphabet (US) $2.35trn
6. Meta (US) $1.95trn
7. Saudi Arabian Oil (Saudi Arabia) $1.56trn
8. Broadcom (US) $1.42trn
9. Berkshire Hathaway (US) $1.03trn
10. Tesla (US) $1.02trn
11. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (Taiwan) $1trn
29. Samsung Electronics (South Korea) $338.06bn
36. Alibaba (China) $284.62bn
52. AstraZeneca (UK) $235.97bn

While sweeping US tariffs had investors worried about tighter business spending, Microsoft’s strong earnings have shown that the company’s books are yet to take a hit.

Microsoft’s multibillion-dollar bet on OpenAI is proving to be a game changer, powering its Office Suite and Azure offerings with cutting-edge AI and fueling the stock to more than double its value since ChatGPT’s late-2022 debut.

On Wednesday, the firm announced Azure sales surpassed $75bn (£56bn) on an annual basis, while Azure revenue jumped 39% in the April-June quarter.

Overall revenue rose 18% to $76.4bn (£57.81bn) over the same period.

It is also forecasting a record $30bn (£22.7bn) in capital spending over the first quarter to meet soaring AI demand..

Business

Christmas food price shock looms, chancellor warned

Published

17 hours ago

July 31, 2025

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Christmas food price shock looms, chancellor warned

Food inflation will rise to 6% by the end of the year – posing a “significant challenge” to household budgets in the run-up to Christmas, industry leaders have predicted.

The British Retail Consortium is warning that the chancellor risks “fanning the flames of inflation” if she hikes taxes in the coming budget.

Despite intense price competition between supermarket chains, the BRC has sounded the alarm over the pace of grocery price hikes.

As of this month, food inflation has risen 4% year on year – its highest level since February 2024.

The BRC said this increase is linked to global factors, such as high demand and crop struggles.

Beef, chicken and tea prices are among those that have risen the most this year – but some of the blame is being laid squarely at the chancellor’s door too.

The BRC said it was inevitable that a £7bn burden, through changes to employers’ national insurance contributions and minimum pay rules after last October’s budget, had been partly passed on to customers in the form of higher prices.

It published the results of a survey of retail industry finance chiefs to illustrate its point – that nerves about what Ms Reeves’s second budget could bring were not helping companies invest in either new employment or prices.

Business was promised it would be spared additional pain after it was put on the hook for the bulk of the chancellor’s tax-raising measures last year.

However, speculation is now rife over who will feel the pain this autumn as she juggles a deterioration in the public finances.

A widening black hole is estimated at around £20bn.

The cost of servicing government debt has risen since the last budget, while U-turns on welfare reforms and winter fuel payment cuts have made her job even harder – making further tax-raising measures inevitable.

The survey of chief financial officers for the BRC showed the biggest current fear ahead was for the “tax and regulatory burden”.

Two-thirds of the CFOs predicted further price rises in the coming year, at a time when the headline rate inflation already remains stuck way above the Bank of England’s target of 2%.

It currently stands at 3.6%.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said: “Retail was squarely in the firing line of the last budget, with the industry hit by £7bn in new costs and taxes.

“Retailers have done everything they can to shield their customers from higher costs, but given their slim margins and the rising cost of employing staff, price rises were inevitable.

“The consequences are now being felt by households as many struggle to cope with the rising cost of their weekly shop.

“It is up to the chancellor to decide whether to fan the flames of inflation, or to support the everyday economy by backing the high street and the local jobs they provide.”

She concluded: “Retail accounts for 5% of the economy yet currently pays 7.4% of business taxes and a whopping 21% of all business rates.

“It is vital the upcoming reforms offer a meaningful reduction in retailers’ rates bill, and ensures no store pays more as a result of the changes.”

The Treasury has been approached for comment.

Business

US Federal Reserve defies calls from Donald Trump to cut interest rate

Published

1 day ago

July 30, 2025

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US Federal Reserve defies calls from Donald Trump to cut interest rate

The Federal Reserve has defied calls from US President Donald Trump for a cut to the interest rate by leaving it unchanged.

The decision means it has an effective rate of 4.3%, where it has remained after the central bank, known as the Fed, reduced it three times last year.

“We’re keeping the rates high, and it’s hurting people from buying houses,” Mr Trump told reporters. “All because of the Fed.”

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Mr Trump has repeatedly been asked whether he would fire Fed chair Jerome Powell if he failed to heed his demand to cut the rate.

In June, the US president labelled Mr Powell a “stupid person” after the Fed decided not to change rates. Then less than two weeks later, in a further attack, he said the Fed’s chair should “ashamed” and would “love” him to resign.

The US president has spent months verbally attacking Mr Powell.

There were clear tensions between the pair last Thursday as they toured the Federal Reserve in Washington DC, which is undergoing renovations.

When taking questions, Mr Trump said: “I’d love him to lower interest rates,” then laughed and slapped Powell’s arm.

The US president also challenged him, in front of reporters, about an alleged overspend on the renovations and produced paperwork to prove his point. Mr Powell shook his head as Trump made the claim.

When Mr Trump was asked what he would do as a real estate mogul if this happened to one of his projects, he said he’d fire his project manager – seemingly in reference to Mr Powell.

Unlike the UK, the US interest rate is a range to guide lenders rather than a single percentage.

The Fed has expressed concern about the impact of Mr Trump’s signature economic policy of implementing new tariffs, taxes on imports to the US.

On Wednesday, the president said he was still negotiating with India on trade after announcing the US will impose a 25% tariff on goods imported from the country from Friday.

Mr Trump also signed an executive order on Wednesday implementing an additional 40% tariff on Brazil, bringing the total tariff amount to 50%, excluding certain products, including oil and precious metals.

The committee which sets rates voted 9 to 2 to keep the benchmark rate steady, the two dissenters were appointees of President Trump who believe monetary policy is too tight.

In a policy statement to explain their decision, the Federal Reserve said that “uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated” but growth “moderated in the first half of the year,” possibly bolstering the case to lower rates at a future meeting.

Nathan Thooft, chief investment officer at Manulife Investment Management, described the rate decision as a “kind of a nothing burger” and it was “widely expected”.

Tony Welch, chief investment officer at SignatureFD, agreed that it was “broadly as expected”. He added: “That explains why you’re not seeing a lot of movement in the market right now because there’s nothing that’s surprising.”