Oil hits five-month high as global stocks wobble on AI fears; retail sales

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

While less red tape will be welcome news for small businesses, the chancellor is still facing pressure from bigger companies in the UK for more support.

Earlier this month some of the UK’s biggest retailers and hospitality businesses, including Tesco, CostaCoffee and the Co-op, met JohnHealey to urge him to cut the cost of employing young people in his first budget.

It’s not right that pointless bureaucracy gets in the way of people working hard to build something that matters to their high street.

So we’re getting government off their backs and giving businesses the breathing space to grow. Because when businesses succeed, they create good jobs, strengthen their communities and bring growth to every part of the country.”

British firms are fed up with form-filling and pointless paperwork that eats into valuable time and money when they simply want to get on with running their businesses.

That is why we are cutting unnecessary bureaucracy and giving businesses the breathing space they need to invest, innovate and create good jobs.”

The test now is delivery. Cutting unnecessary admin can free firms to invest, compete and grow – and business will want to see that ambition translated quickly into meaningful reductions in the burden they face.”

Continue reading...