Business
Banks hold FTSE 100 back on windfall tax worry
The FTSE 100 ended Friday on the back foot as banking stocks came under pressure amid reports that the UK Government is considering a windfall tax on the sector.
The FTSE 100 index closed down 29.48 points, 0.3%, at 9,187.34.
The FTSE 250 ended 138.68 points lower, 0.6%, at 21,605.72 but the AIM All-Share finished up 2.89 points, 0.4%, at 764.10.
For the week, the FTSE 100 shed 1.3%, the FTSE 250 fell 1.0% and the AIM All-Share rose 0.4%.
Banking stocks in London were rocked by reports that Chancellor Rachel Reeves could target the sector to help shore up public finances.
Lenders NatWest, Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays PLC fell 4.9%, 3.4% and 2.2% respectively in London.
On Friday, a report by the Institute for Public Policy Research said the Treasury should impose a new levy to recoup “windfalls” made by lenders as a legacy of the Bank of England’s quantitative easing programme, undertaken in the wake of the financial crisis.
The think-tank said the UK taxpayer is spending £22 billion a year compensating the BoE for losses on the programme.
The scheme entailed the BoE purchasing hundreds of billions of pounds of government bonds, buoying commercial bank reserves at the central bank.
These are now being remunerated at the BoE’s official rate, which stands at 4.0%.
The IPPR recommended that the Treasury introduce a QE reserves income levy on commercial banks to save £7 billion to £8 billion a year over this parliament.
In addition, it suggests the BoE slows down quantitative tightening, by ending its fire sale of government bonds, to save more than £12 billion a year.
The Financial Times on Friday said fears are mounting that the autumn budget will target banks to help fill a £20 billion fiscal hole.
“Politically it is an easy target,” a senior banker told the FT. “No-one likes banks, they are seen as a whipping boy for the Government.”
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said August has seen a “torrent of leaks” from government and the Treasury about potential tax rises, ahead of the autumn budget.
“Tax rises that have been proposed include increases in capital gains tax, property tax rises, national insurance hikes on rental income and a levy on banks, among others.
“The impact of this drip feed of potential tax rises is eroding confidence and dimming the prospects for the UK economy. It is also starting to impact UK asset prices,” she said.
Faring better, ConvaTec, which rose 1.4% as interim chief executive Jonny Mason and interim chief financial officer Fiona Ryder picked up £167,000 of shares between them.
They took their interim roles after chief executive Karim Bitar went on a medical leave of absence earlier this month.
Prudential rose 2.3% as Bank of America said the insurer was its top sector pick, highlighting forecast dividend growth and share buybacks.
In New York at the time of the London equities close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.4%, the S&P 500 was 0.7% lower, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.0%.
Across the pond, traders weighed a pick-up in inflation, albeit in line with expectations.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis said the headline personal consumption expenditures price index rose 0.2% month-on-month in July, slowing from 0.3% growth in June, and by 2.6% year-on-year, the rate unchanged from June.
Excluding food and energy, core PCE price index increased 0.3% on-month, the same pace of growth as in June, and by 2.9% on-year, accelerating from 2.8% in the 12 months to June.
The figures were in line with FXStreet-cited market consensus.
Core PCE is the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflationary gauge, and Friday’s reading will play an important part in how the FOMC acts at its September meeting.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was at 4.22%, flat from Thursday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was 4.93%, stretched from 4.89%.
The pound eased to 1.3510 US dollars late on Friday in London, compared to 1.3513 US dollars at the equities close on Thursday.
The euro rose to 1.1699 US dollars, against 1.1668 US dollars. Against the yen, the dollar was trading lower at 146.92 yen, compared to 147.02 yen.
In Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris ended down 0.7%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt closed 0.6% lower.
In London, takeover activity kept traders busy.
John Wood finally agreed a bid of about £210 million from long-term suitor Dar Al-Handasah Consultants Shair and Partners Holdings, known as Sidara, worth 30 pence for each Wood share.
In addition, Sidara said it will provide a 450 million US dollar capital injection into John Wood to provide financial stability, although the long-running takeover saga remains subject to several conditions.
John Wood chief executive Ken Gilmartin said the deal brings “us closer to finalising a challenging chapter in Wood’s history”.
“The acquisition by Sidara will solve our near-term liquidity challenges and strengthen the company in the longer term,” he added.
The agreement is subject to a number of conditions including publication of 2024 audited accounts on or before the end of October and the audit opinion not being the subject of any modified opinion in relation to the 2024 balance sheet.
Shares in Wood are currently suspended at 18.20p pending publication of 2024 accounts.
Meanwhile, JTC shot up 18% for a market value of £1.92 billion as it said its board has rejected a takeover proposal from private equity firm Permira Advisers.
Earlier on Friday, Permira said it approached the Jersey-based professional services company regarding a possible cash offer for the business.
Permira and JTC did not detail the terms of any potential offer.
However, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter, that Permira has made a proposal to purchase JTC that values it at about £2 billion.
“We think there is quite a good chance of a bid – this is a market that PE has been active in and that Permira knows well,” analysts at RBC Capital Markets said.
A barrel of Brent traded at 67.41 US dollars late Friday, down from 67.51 US dollars on Thursday. Gold climbed to 3,445.38 US dollars an ounce against 3,407.04 US dollars on Thursday.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Rentokil Initial, up 9.0p at 365.0p, Prudential, up 22.2 pence at 988.6p, Fresnillo, up 35.0p at 1,788.0p, Endeavour Mining, up 44.0p at 2,536.0p, and ConvaTec, up 3.2p at 236.5p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were NatWest, down 26.0p at 510.6p, JD Sports Fashion, down 4.0p at 96.0p, Lloyds Banking Group, down 2.7p at 79.5p, Barclays, down 8.2p at 360.4p and Kingfisher, down 5.9p at 257.4p.
Monday’s local corporate calendar has a trading statement from Workday partner and provider of IT services, Kainos Group, and half-year results from leisure and entertainment company, XP Factory.
The global economic calendar on Monday has a slew of manufacturing PMI releases, eurozone unemployment figures, and UK mortgage approvals data. US financial markets are closed for Labour Day.
Contributed by Alliance News
A sign for the CDC sits outside of their facility at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Roybal campus in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., May 30, 2025.
Megan Varner | Reuters
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told staff it expects them to return to offices by Sept. 15, roughly five weeks after a gunman’s deadly attack on the agency’s headquarters in Atlanta, CNBC has learned.
“Your safety remains our top priority. We are taking necessary steps to restore our workplace and will return to regular on-site operations no later than Monday, September 15,” Lynda Chapman, the agency’s new chief operating officer, said in an email sent Thursday that was viewed by CNBC.
Chapman said all staff will be expected to return to their offices by that date, according to the email. For employees whose workspaces remain impacted by the shooting — including physical damage from the gunman’s attack — the CDC will provide alternative spaces on its campus, Chapman wrote in the email.
She said the agency has made “significant progress” on repairs at the CDC Roybal Campus in Atlanta. CDC leadership and a “Response and Recovery Management” team are working to address staff concerns and ensure a safe environment as the agency transitions back to in-office work, Chapman added.
CDC staff had been instructed to work remotely following the Aug. 8 shooting, with options to return to the office in the weeks that followed, according to two people familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity for fear of retribution for speaking to the media.
The Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The internal announcement comes at a tumultuous time for the CDC and its workforce. The shooting didn’t result in injuries among CDC staff but shell-shocked a workforce that was already reeling from sweeping changes under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., including staff cuts and heated controversy over his efforts to change CDC immunization policies and fire the agency’s panel of vaccine advisors.
The return-to-office guidance also comes as the CDC grapples with a leadership upheaval: The White House earlier this week said President Donald Trump had fired the agency’s director, Susan Monarez. Four other top officials resigned, some of them citing the politicization of the agency and a threat to public health.
Authorities identified the gunman behind the shooting at CDC headquarters as Patrick Joseph White and said they recovered five guns and more than 500 shell casings from the scene. During the attack, agency employees were forced to barricade themselves in offices.
White fatally shot a responding police officer, 33-year-old David Rose, and then killed himself. White had blamed the Covid-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal.
Before her firing, Monarez appeared to directly blame the role of misinformation in the shooting, according to an email sent to staff on Aug. 12 that was viewed by CNBC.
In the note, Monarez said, “the dangers of misinformation and its promulgation has now led to deadly consequences. I will work to restore trust in public health to those who have lost it- through science, evidence, and clarity of purpose. I will need your help.”
Business
How Costly A House Should You Buy & How Much EMI Is Best? The 5-20-3-40 Formula Will Guide You
For most people, the dream of buying a house goes hand in hand with the fear of overwhelming debt. Home loans may have made ownership easier, but many buyers still struggle with questions of affordability: How expensive should the house be? How much down payment is enough? How big should the loan be? To answer this, financial experts point to a simple but effective calculation: the 5-20-3-40 formula. (News18 Hindi)
This four-part rule lays out the balance between income, down payment, loan amount, and monthly installments in clear terms. It begins with the 5 percent cushion, which suggests that a buyer should always keep at least five percent of the property’s value in cash. On a Rs 50 lakh house, that comes to Rs 2.5 lakh readily available to manage initial costs or emergencies. (News18 Hindi)
The second component is the 20 percent principle, which emphasises that a buyer should ideally cover one-fifth of the home’s cost upfront, keeping the loan capped at 80 percent of the property’s price. Financial planners say this step is crucial because it reduces the interest burden and shortens the repayment period. (News18 Hindi)
The third measure, known as the 3X rule, links the value of the house to the buyer’s income. The advice is straightforward: never buy a house priced at more than three times your annual earnings. So, someone making Rs 15 lakh a year would be safe purchasing a home worth Rs 45 lakh, but stretching beyond that amount risks straining long-term finances. (News18 Hindi)
Finally comes the 40 percent ceiling, which applies to EMIs. The formula warns against committing more than 40 percent of monthly income to loan repayment. For a buyer earning Rs 1 lakh a month, the EMI should not exceed Rs 40,000. Staying within this limit ensures there is still room to manage daily expenses, savings, and unexpected costs. (News18 Hindi)
Taken together, the formula provides a realistic picture of what a person can afford. Consider an example: a professional earning Rs 15 lakh annually wishes to buy a house worth Rs 45 lakh. According to the formula, they should have Rs 2.25 lakh in cash for the initial cushion, make a down payment of Rs 9 lakh, borrow no more than Rs 36 lakh, and limit their EMI to around Rs 30,000 a month. In this case, the purchase falls comfortably within all the recommended limits, leaving the buyer financially secure while pursuing home ownership. (News18 Hindi)
Experts stress, however, that while the 5-20-3-40 formula offers a valuable framework, it should not be treated as an unbreakable law. Each household has its own financial realities, whether that includes children’s education, health care needs, or investment goals. The formula is best used as a guide, a way to set boundaries that prevent overextension, while still allowing flexibility depending on individual circumstances. (News18 Hindi)
Last Updated:
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal had reaffirmed that India is open to trade talks with the United States but will never succumb to pressure amid a tariff hike.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal. (File Photo: PTI)
Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday assured that the Indian government is committed towards sustainable economic growth, after India’s GDP grew at 7.8% in the first quarter ending on June 30, 2025, as per official data.
“We are committed to working with all of you, and we would like to ensure that this GDP growth of 7.8% is sustainable,” he was quoted as saying by NDTV at an event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry in Mumbai.
“It can happen, as in adversity, we Indians shine out. We all have the ability to put that little extra,” Goyal said. His remarks came after US President Donald Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Indian imports as a penalty for purchasing Russian oil, impacting key trade sectors such as textiles and shrimp.
India has condemned the tariffs as “unfair and unreasonable”, citing the US and Europe’s own imports from Russia. The Finance Ministry has said that the immediate impact of recent US tariffs on Indian exports may appear limited but their secondary and tertiary effects on the economy pose challenges that must be addressed.
‘India Will Never Back Down’
On Friday, Goyal said India was open to trade talks with the US, but would never succumb to pressure or appear weak in the face of punitive tariffs. “We are always ready if anyone wants to have a free trade agreement with us,” he said at the curtain raiser event of Bharat Buildcon in Delhi.
“However, any form of discrimination affects the self-respect of India’s 140 crore Indians, and we will neither bow down nor ever appear weak. We will continue to move together and capture new markets,” he added.
Goyal also expressed confidence that the recent trade agreements with various countries will help the Indian economy to grow. He also assured that the government will soon introduce various measures to expand the domestic outreach and boost exports.
He also said there was “no need to fear”, citing India’s management of nuclear sanctions and the Covid-19 pandemic. “The government is committed to make sure that all of you do not face any stress or difficulties in managing the current situation emanating from some unilateral actions,” he said.
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international…Read More
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international… Read More
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