Treasury has ‘limited grasp’ of concerns over booming shadow banking sector, peers say

The UK Treasury has a “limited grasp” of concerns linked to the booming shadow banking sector and may not be prepared for risks the unregulated industry poses to financial stability, peers have said.While a lack of data makes it hard to say whether the $16tn (£12tn) non-bank financial sector could bring the wider financial system to its knees, officials do not seem to be alive to the potential risks, according to a Lords financial services regulation committee report.It says the department’s evidence “demonstrated a limited grasp of the concerns raised during this inquiry, which suggested passivity in the face of potential risks to the UK’s financial stability arising from the growth of private markets”.That raises concerns given the Treasury’s responsibility for “ensuring overall financial stability so that the taxpayer does not serve as a backstop to the financial system”.The report says the UK could be one of the first countries to feel the fallout from a downturn in the US-dominated shadow banking sector, which has quadrupled in value from $4tn in 2008

Reeves’s promise of pub business rates U-turn averts Labour rebellion

Rachel Reeves has avoided another damaging rebellion against her economic policies with the promise of a U-turn on controversial tax hikes for pubs in England, after weeks of protest from her colleagues and the hospitality industry.Government sources said on Thursday the chancellor was finalising a support package for the struggling industry that would include reductions to business rates for pubs, which had been facing a 76% rise on average over the next three years.Industry figures welcomed news of the U-turn, which comes after similar climbdowns over cuts to winter fuel payments, cuts to disability benefits and a rise in inheritance tax for farmers.But with the Treasury yet to publish details of the support package, Reeves’s colleagues say they are willing to push ahead with an amendment to the government’s finance bill if they feel it does not go far enough.Tonia Antoniazzi, the Labour chair of the all-party parliamentary group on beer, said: “I am over the moon, things are moving in the right direction

The Primark machine suffers a continental splutter at a bad moment | Nils Pratley

It is probably a good thing that Associated British Foods has not yet split itself in two, liberating the go-getting and supposedly reliable Primark from the more volatile food and ingredients businesses. In standalone form, Primark would probably have suffered a bigger share price thump than the 14% fall that the still-combined conglomerate sustained after Thursday’s profits warning.The problem at Primark is that it has suddenly become hard to know what to expect. A year ago, the stores in continental Europe seemed to be trading well while the UK ones hit a soft spot. Now the UK end is back on form, regaining some market share, while the continental stores have had a serious skid

‘Shadow fleet’ ships moving sanctioned oil reflagged to Russia at rising rate

Forty ships accused of belonging to a large “shadow fleet” moving sanctioned oil for Venezuela and others were reflagged to Russia last year in an apparent attempt to gain Kremlin protection from American seizure.Analysis by the shipping intelligence publication Lloyd’s List suggests that of those, at least 17 suspicious vessels joined the Russian registry over the past month, compared with 15 ships in the previous five months of 2025.The sudden flurry of activity appears to be linked to Donald Trump’s announcement last month of what he called a US “blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers in and out of Venezuela.The term “shadow fleet” is defined by Lloyd’s List as ships for which deceptive practices are used in order to allow them to transport goods – including oil and gas – in violation of sanctions and price caps.On Thursday, a ship subjected to sanctions by the US over concerns it had been involved in distributing illicit Russian oil was identified as sailing through the Channel under a false name and Cameroonian flag

Software firm belonging to Tory donor Frank Hester pays out £50m dividend

The software company belonging to the Tory donor Frank Hester, a major contractor to the NHS, has paid a £50m dividend after sales and profits surged.TPP Group, which was founded by Hester in 1997 as The Phoenix Partnership, specialises in healthcare technology and provides its SystmOne software to the NHS. The company says it is used by 7,800 NHS organisations, including more than 2,600 GP practices and a third of acute mental health trusts, with 61m electronic health records stored in its database. It has also expanded abroad, including to China, the Middle East and the Caribbean.The company, which is owned by Hester and based in Leeds, had a turnover of £97

Pub chain shares rise on reports of government U-turn over business rates – as it happened

Shares in UK pub and hospitality companies have jumped this morning, as the government prepares to announce a climbdown on forthcoming increases to their business rates.Mitchells and Butlers, whose pub brands include All Bar One, Harvester, O’Neills, and Toby Carvery, are up 2.5%, one of the top risers in the FTSE 250 share index today.Rival Marsons, which has more than 1,300 pubs, bars and inns across the country, are up 2%, while JD Wetherspoons have gained 1.2%