Business news live: Gilt yields spike on Reeves exit speculation, AstraZeneca latest

Chancellor Rachel Reeves appeared to cry in the Commons as Sir Keir Starmer declined to guarantee she would remain in place until the election.

The Prime Minister faced MPs after being forced to scrap key planks of his welfare reforms, leaving an almost £5 billion black hole in Ms Reeves’ spending plans and fuelling speculation she could be forced to hike taxes.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said Ms Reeves looked “absolutely miserable” and challenged the Prime Minister to say whether the Chancellor would keep her job until the next election.

Sir Keir dodged the question about whether Ms Reeves would be in place for the remainder of the Parliament, saying Mrs Badenoch “certainly won’t”.

President Trump has been full of soundbites again recently and most are regarding trade tariffs once more.

The approaching end of his 90-day pause in theory means blanket levels of levies will come into play again for those who have not yet agreed trade deals.

But the president wouldn’t confirm whether or not he’d extend that deadline when asked.

US stocks are set to slightly fall today upon opening, no doubt in part due to that investor uncertainty.

Futures show the Nasdaq 100 down 0.2 per cent, the S&P 500 totally flat and the Dow Jones just about up at 0.1 per cent.

Recently, news broke of London Stock Exchange-listed precision equipment firm Spectris recommending a takeover bid by Advent International.

Another private equity firm, KKR, have tabled a £4.7bn offer including debt – a 96 per cent premium price to Spectris’s shares level before the initial bid came in.

Spectris shares are up 4 per cent again today on news of that improved offer, with the firm set to leave the FTSE 250 as a result.

Shares in Spanish bank Santander, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, rose more than 3 per cent this morning.

That follows last night’s confirmation that they are set to buy TSB and make the third-largest bank in the UK.

While the purchase still has to be agreed by shareholders and regulators, The Independent understands Santander feel it will make them more able to drive innovation with product offerings.

Santander shares are up 69 per cent across 2025 so far.

Italy have given an estimation of a €20bn (£17bn) loss in exports next year, along with 118,000 job losses, if the US sticks to a blanket 10 per cent tariff on EU products.

“Italy does not just export luxury products – with a demand that isn’t very sensitive to prices – but mainly machinery, means of transport, and leather goods,” said Confindustria president Emanuele Orsini to national media.

A 10 per cent tariff would be “unsustainable” for Italy, he said, due to the weakness in the dollar which would contribute to an effective 23.5 per cent price rise in the course of a year.

The Bank of England are canvassing public opinion on the design of future banknotes.

Themes, famous faces and history are given as examples by the BoE during the consultation but Brits don’t have the best track record of taking these things too seriously.

Ben Perks, managing director at Orchard Financial Advisers, predicted we would then end up with Banky McBankface if history repeats.

“I remember fondly when the National Oceanography Centre asked the public to name a £200m boat, and we went for Boaty McBoatface,” he pointed out.

“It’s nice of the Bank of England to ask, but we never take these things seriously and I look forward to seeing Joey Essex’s face on a fiver in no time.”

The pharmaceutical firm however is far bigger by market capitalisation, currently worth just over £161bn – more than BP, National Grid and Lloyds Bank combined.

The Independent understands the company acknowledges the CEO’s concerns as being longstanding, especially regarding new products, while conversations are ongoing with the UK government over support for the wider pharmaceutical industry, particularly when it comes to supporting the commercial environment to become a global superpower in the sector.

Donald Trump’s self-set deadline for trade deals is fast approaching and while the UK has already agreed one, the same cannot be said for many others.

The EU remain in talks having broadly agreed a 10 per cent tariff but seeking exemptions or lowered fees on some industries.

Japan, however, could be set for far higher numbers based on the US president’s latest thoughts.

The Asian nation may have to “pay 30, 35 per cent or whatever the number is that we determine, because we also have a very big trade deficit with Japan,” he said. “We’ve dealt with Japan. I’m not sure we’re going to make a deal. I doubt it.”

Japan’s initial Liberation Day tariff was 24 per cent.

Two-thirds of small and medium UK businesses would now vote to remain in the EU after seeing their profits harmed by Brexit, new analysis shows.

A survey of more than 500 importers and exporters found 66 per cent would choose to stay in the bloc, up from 53 per cent who voted that way during the referendum in 2016. The percentage of those who would vote to leave was 29 per cent, down from 32 per cent.

The findings, from research carried out by Critical Research, appear to be a direct response to the fact that costly rising regulations and red tape burdens have harmed the profitability of their businesses.

65 per cent of responders said the increased demands on them to comply with trade regulations have “significantly” affected their overall profits. More than half (56 per cent) said Brexit has directly made their business less-competitive within the context of the global marketplace.

…and here are the top savings accounts for you to consider, with interest rates predicted to drop next month.

You can still earn close to 5 per cent on your cash for now though, depending on the type of account you need.

Cash ISA, general easy access savings, fixed-term deals…we’ve got the full roundup here.