The Latest Breaking News from Budget

The retail giant reports a substantial half-year loss but ‘optimistic’ it can turn it around with Christmas trading

However, the employee-owned group said it is still ‘well positioned’ to deliver profit growth for the full year.

COMMENT: As British workers make record withdrawals from their pension pots, amid fears that the chancellor is about to reduce the tax-free limit in her autumn Budget, James Moore worries that some people might be prompted to make bad decisions that will affect more than just their later years

Lenders have raised rates on some deals amid a ‘fraught political and economic climate’, with more expected to follow

Sources tell The Independent the chancellor favours raising capital gains tax and introducing a gambling levy

There are concerns that the Chancellor will be forced to hike taxes as she seeks to plug a black hole in the nation’s finances.

Financial markets have been heavily focused on the upcoming Budget, with the sell-off in gilts largely down to worries over Britain’s public finances.

THE INDEPENDENT VIEW: Editorial: Keir Starmer and his chancellor Rachel Reeves have less than two months to devise a Budget that addresses people’s real concerns. A limited reshuffle of Downing Street personnel is a good place to start

July retail sales were up 2.5 per cent on 2024 but they were not close to covering the the last budget’s £7 billion in new costs on the sector

There are growing questions over how the government will fill a black hole in the public finances at the next budget

The Office for Budget Responsibility’s warning piles fresh pressure on Rachel Reeves ahead of the autumn Budget