Business
Reeves lays ground for painful Budget, but will it be worth it?
Dharshini DavidDeputy economics editor
Getty ImagesThe chancellor’s pitch: the Budget will be painful, due to the actions of others, but it will be worth it, to tackle debt, help public services and promote growth.
How does that add up?
Rachel Reeves pinned the need for expected tax rises on the actions of previous governments – post-Brexit trading arrangements, austerity – as the underlying reasons for a disappointing assessment by the official forecasters of the economy’s productivity.
That productivity has been held back by years of poor investment, and improvements have been slow. Lower productivity means weaker growth in the economy, hitting tax income and affecting assumptions about how much money the chancellor has to find to meet her financial rules.
Reeves also pointed to other external forces – tariffs and supply chain disruption – for the underwhelming performance of growth and inflation.
But some of these were foreseeable. Even if the official assessment is worse than thought, productivity – a measure of the output of the economy per hour worked – has long been problematic.
And when it comes to external factors, President Trump’s trade hostilities, for example, are expected to have a very limited impact on growth.
Economists say the chancellor may need tax rises totalling some £30bn to meet her financial rules by a comfortable margin.
Reeves accused past Conservative governments of prioritising political convenience, but her fiscal position also reflects similar actions by her own government.
The public purse is having to find several billions of pounds to fund U-turns over welfare and Winter Fuel Payments.
Analysts, including those at the Bank of England, also point to the chancellor’s own tax rises in last year’s Budget as hindering growth and employment, and adding to inflation pressures this year.
It was always risky for Reeves to suggest she wouldn’t be back for another hefty tax raid. She met her financial rules by only a slim margin last year. The gamble didn’t pay off, but it can’t just be blamed on ill winds from elsewhere.
It now appears that taxes are going to rise – and significantly. The chancellor argues money is needed to support the extra funding that has been put into public services, but the performance of these services depends on more than just cash.
Official figures indicate that in the year after Labour came to power, the public sector, and in particular healthcare, became less efficient as productivity dropped. There’s more work to be done if we’re to get bang for our buck.
For the actual detail on which taxes will rise, we’ll have to wait until the Budget.
But by skirting around the issue of whether manifesto pledges will be adhered to, while claiming to have inherited a dire environment, the chancellor has stoked speculation that income tax rates may rise.
The pledges of not increasing the main rates of VAT, employee National Insurance Contributions and income tax always seemed risky to economists – the “big three” account for the majority of tax take. But they are also the most visible taxes for the public, and their inclusion in the manifesto made them appear taboo, glass only to be broken in cases of emergency.
A rise in, say, income tax rates may come to pass (perhaps accompanied with a cut in National Insurance to offset the impact on workers). But it may not.
The Budget is still being put together. The door to breaking manifesto pledges may have been deliberately nudged open so that if it doesn’t come to pass, then an alternate package of tax rises, however large, would be greeted with relief.
There are a multitude of other options to consider– a levy on banks or the gambling industry, a further freezing of the thresholds at which different rates of taxes on incomes become applicable (so-called fiscal drag), a change in the liability of partnerships for National Insurance and even the tax treatment of pension levies have all been mooted.
And those tax rises will still be substantial, and felt primarily in the pockets of the better off.
Finding tax rises of the tune of £20-£30bn – sucking that amount out of the economy – is impossible without affecting incomes or profits, which risks damaging the outlook for growth.
However big the tax bill, this Budget may not deliver everything the chancellor wishes for.
Hyderabad: Pharma player Hetero on Friday said it has rolled out exports of its generic semaglutide injection portfolio as part of a multi-year plan to widen access to treatments for type 2 diabetes and obesity in more than 75 countries.The Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company said initial rollouts are under way in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, with additional launches planned in other markets subject to regulatory approvals.The injectable therapies will be sold under the brand names Truglyx, Rolmodl and Moto G. Semaglutide belongs to the GLP-1 class of medicines, which are used in diabetes care and weight management.Hetero said the export launch is part of its broader strategy to improve access to advanced cardio-metabolic therapies, particularly in emerging markets.The company said the products will be offered in multi-dose disposable pen devices designed in line with innovator formats and will be available in several strengths, including 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg, 2 mg, 1.7 mg and 2.4 mg, allowing dosing flexibility for both diabetes and obesity treatment.Hetero said it is also awaiting approval from India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) after completing clinical trials in type 2 diabetes and obesity and plans an India launch after regulatory clearance.Hetero managing director Dr Vamsi Krishna Bandi said the company aims to provide high-quality, affordable generic semaglutide through a single global product platform backed by its manufacturing and development capabilities.He said Hetero would use its commercial networks across Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America to support supply and access. The Hyderabad-headquartered Hetero operates in more than 145 countries and employs over 30,000 people.
Business
India-US trade deal update: Piyush Goyal meets USTR Jamieson Greer, discusses next steps in BTA talks – The Times of India
Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Friday met US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and reviewed the next steps in negotiations for the proposed India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA).The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 14th ministerial conference (MC14) of the World Trade Organisation in Yaounde, Cameroon, where both sides also exchanged views on issues related to the WTO agenda.“Had a very productive discussion with @USTradeRep Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of the WTO Ministerial Conference. Exchanged views on the #WTOMC14 agenda, next steps in the India-US BTA negotiations and explored ways to further deepen our economic cooperation and bilateral trade ties,” Goyal said in a social media post.The development comes amid ongoing efforts by both countries to finalise an interim trade pact. Last month, India and the US announced that they had finalised a framework for the first phase of the agreement, though it is yet to be signed.The two sides had earlier announced a trade deal on February 2, followed by a joint statement on February 7 outlining the contours of the agreement.As part of the framework, the US had agreed to reduce tariffs on Indian goods to 18%. However, the tariff structure has since undergone changes after the US Supreme Court struck down sweeping tariffs imposed under earlier measures.Following the ruling, US President Donald Trump introduced a 10% tariff on all countries for a period of 150 days starting February 24.In view of these developments, a planned meeting between chief negotiators of India and the US — aimed at finalising the legal text of the agreement — has been postponed. The pact was earlier expected to be signed this month.An official had earlier said that the interim trade agreement would be signed once the new global tariff framework of the US is fully in place.
When you think of an investor, what kind of person comes to mind? What are their interests, their job? Are they an older man wearing a pin-striped suit and a bowler hat?
It might surprise you that the average investor age in the UK is 49 years old – down from 55 years old over the last five years.
And with more than 13 million DIY investor accounts in the UK, it’s likely that the average investor looks more like one of your mates than someone out of The Wolf of Wall Street.
The UK is historically quite wary of investing, and it’s been something that the financial industry and governments have been trying to tackle for years.
We’re starting to see the fruits of these efforts trickle through; latest Boring Money data reveals that DIY investing accounts grew over 19 per cent in the last year. Roughly one-third of the population now invests, up from about a quarter in 2020, and it’s becoming more mainstream by the day.
Start small, stay consistent – let the market do the work
It’s a common misconception that you need to have a lot of money to be an investor. The median amount invested by DIY investors is around £15,000, but you can start with as little as £1.
Neither does it have to be done in one big hit. Lots of providers allow you to set up regular investing – often £25 a month minimum, but a few let you regularly invest less.
Setting up these direct debits can also be a good idea – you drip feed into markets and average out the price which you buy at, so smoothing out any ups and downs along the way.
And you don’t have to be a maths genius or obsessively checking the markets – there are plenty of tools and account types that can do this for you.
Get a free fractional share worth up to £100.
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Robo-advisors are automated, algorithm-driven financial planning and investment services requiring little to no human supervision. A typical robo-advisor asks questions about your financial situation and future goals when you set up the account, then will match you to one of their ready-made portfolios and automatically invest for you.
Find your investment “playlist”
If you don’t want to go down the robo-route, but aren’t sure which to pick, you can take a look at some of last year’s best-selling funds for inspiration. These four funds below appeared on multiple investment platforms’ best-selling lists every month in 2025.
They are all low-cost global collections of shares which are well diversified. Think of them like an investment playlist curated for you to serve up a bundle of shares in one easy-to-buy package.
The idea is that you can buy one product which is very broadly spread around lots of different companies which minimises the risk of any one thing going horribly wrong.
Fidelity Index World: a very cheap way to buy about 1,300 of the world’s largest companies in one go, pre-wrapped into one single investment product which costs about £1.20 a year for every £1,000 invested here.
HSBC FTSE All-World Index: a similar global option with over 3,000 companies and emerging markets too, so you get exposure to India, China and Brazil too, for example. Good if you don’t want too much exposure to the US.
Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap Index: a very diversified option. It has shares in about 7,000–8,000 companies with a small proportion in smaller companies, about 10 per cent in emerging markets, and slightly less in the US than some peers – a bit pricier than some trackers but still really good value – about £2.30 a year for every £1,000 invested here.
Vanguard LifeStrategy 100% Equity: one with a heavier British weighting – about 20 to 25 per cent invested in the UK.
Starting from scratch
If you’re a total beginner and want one of these global options to get started, you could compare platforms which will let you buy funds and won’t cost a lot for a small amount. Hargreaves Lansdown and AJ Bell are good options if you have small balances and want to buy a fund like the above. Or you can open an ISA with Vanguard and pop one of their ready-made ‘LifeStrategy’ funds into it.
If you prefer to buy and sell shares or exchange traded funds then Trading 212 and Freetrade are good low-cost ISA providers for smaller balances.
Investing has never been easier.
The average investor age is dropping, the amount you need to invest is low, and people are investing less, but more regularly. There are plenty of different platforms, things to invest in and ways to invest.
People talk about “time in the market, not timing the market” – that means if you’re in it for the long-haul, and can afford to invest small amounts regularly, you’ll be in a great place further down the line. The most important thing is to just get started and build up over time.
When investing, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than invested. Past performance doesn’t guarantee future results.
Hetero rolls out generic semaglutide exports to over 75 countries – The Times of India
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