The government is expected to push ahead with a contentious plan to limit the amount of money that savers can put into cash Isas each year as part of efforts to revive Britain’s troubled stock market, Ben Martin writes.
There has been speculation for months that Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, will reform the rules governing the tax-free accounts in a bid to encourage more of the public to invest. Currently, individuals can save £20,000 a year in a range of Isa products, of which cash Isas are by far the most popular.
However, Reeves is preparing to impose a lower limit on cash Isas, while keeping the overall £20,000 allowance unchanged, according to the Financial Times. It is unclear where the new threshold for cash will be set.
The chancellor could unveil the revamp when she delivers her next speech to City grandees at Mansion House on July 15, when she is due to set out the government’s growth and competitiveness strategy for the financial services industry.
Read in full: Rachel Reeves set to cut amount savers can put in cash Isas
Aviva’s £3.7bn takeover of Direct Line cleared
The competition regulator has cleared Aviva’s acquisition of the motor and home insurer Direct Line for £3.7 billion.
The deal will create one of the biggest motor insurers in the UK. It is expected to result in around 2,000 job cuts as the group moves to capture £125 million of cost savings.
Sainsbury’s sales rise 5 per cent in first quarter
Britain’s second-largest food retailer said warm weather and market share growth helped quarterly sales rise more than expected.
Sales at Sainsbury’s grew by nearly 5 per cent in the first quarter after an aggressive price campaign, boosting its market share to a nine-year high.
Simon Roberts, the chief executive, said: “Boosted by a sunny spring, we’re already off to a great start.”
For the full year, the group is sticking to forecasts for retail underlying operating profit of around £1 billion and retail free cash flow of more than £500 million.
House price growth slows in June
The annual rate of house price growth slowed to 2.1 per cent in June from 3.5 per cent in May on weaker demand following the increase in stamp duty at the start of April, data from the mortgage lender Nationwide showed.
The average price of a home is £271,619, down from £273,427 in May.
Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said: “Nevertheless, we still expect activity to pick up as the summer progresses, despite ongoing economic uncertainties in the global economy, since underlying conditions for potential homebuyers in the UK remain supportive.”
He said the unemployment rate remains low, wages are rising after stripping out inflation and borrowing costs are likely to fall in the coming quarters.
Northern Ireland remained the top-performing area, with annual house price growth of 9.7 per cent. East Anglia was weakest, with 1.1 per cent year-on-year rise.
Smythson sold to private equity
Smythson sold its New Bond Street store last year during the slowdown in the global luxury sector
ALAMY
Smythson, the 138-year-old leather goods maker which holds a royal warrant, has been sold to a private equity company after several years of losses and declining sales, writes Isabella Fish, Retail Editor.
The company has been bought for an undisclosed sum by Oakley Capital, founded by the financier and chief executive Peter Dubens. It has been owned by Tivoli Group, one of Italy’s largest handbag makers, since 2009.
Smythson, which sold its Bond Street store last year as it struggled amid a global luxury slowdown, warned earlier this year that demand in the luxury sector remained “uncertain” as it posted another decline in annual sales.
Smythson was started in 1887 by Frank Smythson, who opened a New Bond Street boutique promising “stationery and fancy articles of a high-class character”.
Trump’s tax bill and tariffs weigh on dollar
US senators are expected to vote into Tuesday morning on a series of amendments to President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill”
ALAMY
The dollar has weakened overnight as President Donald Trump’s spending bill fueled fiscal concerns and uncertainty around trade deals hit sentiment.
The dollar index, which measures the dollar against six other currencies, slipped to 96.612, its lowest since February 2022. Sterling rose against the dollar to $1.3742.
Stock markets in Asia edged higher, except for Japan’s Nikkei index, which fell on uncertainties around US-Japan trade talks. Trump wrote on Truth Social that Japan’s reluctance to import American-grown rice was a sign that countries have become “spoiled with respect to the United States of America”.
The gold price rose, with the safe-haven asset supported by the weaker dollar and uncertainty over tariff policies ahead of Trump’s July 9 deadline. The price rose 0.8% to $3,329.63 an ounce.
