Business news live: Price of silver shoots to 14-year high and FTSE 100 falls before weekend

Good morning and welcome to our final day of the week covering the rolling business and stock market news.

Any attempt by Rachel Reeves to plug the gap in the UK’s public finances through a wealth tax would be “naive”, with very few success stories from other nations, experts have warned.

The chancellor may need to find as much as £30bn in savings through either cutting costs or raising taxes ahead of her Budget, with Keir Starmer’s government under pressure to find ways of raising funds for the public purse.

But a leading tax lawyer told The Independent a wealth tax would actually have a detrimental effect on the UK’s tax take – and that the government would be “arrogant” to think it would work in this country.

Former chancellor Lord Norman Lamont has told the government that the loss of AstraZeneca, the biggest public listed company on London’s FTSE 100, would be a huge blow.

He said: “The loss of AstraZeneca, were it to happen, would be a devastating blow to the London Stock Exchange.

“Is it not therefore very important, if we are to retain the listings, that the Government have a supportive policy for life sciences in particular?

“Is it not regrettable, first, that the life sciences review has not yet appeared and, secondly, that the Government refused to back the vaccine plant at Speke near Liverpool?

“Is it not important that, if we want to retain the listings, which will mean retaining the research, development and employment, we have a proper strategy with these companies and do not just regard them as cash cows but valuable investments to be encouraged?”

The FTSE 100 had been on a fairly flat trajectory for most of the week up until the last couple of days – and yesterday was a bumper day with the index closing 1.2 per cent up.

Barring some pretty bad news it should finish in positive territory for the week, given it’s up almost 1.8 per cent all told, but profit-taking is always possible after the index hit a new all time high level.

The 9,000 milestone is now very close indeed.

May figures are in for the UK’s GDP and it’s more bad news for Rachel Reeves and co.

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows the economy shrinking 0.1 per cent following April’s more stark 0.3 per cent contraction. Lower production and construction were partly to blame for May’s disappointing figures.

“May’s fall in production was driven by oil and gas extraction, car manufacturing and the often-erratic pharmaceutical industry,” said ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown.

“While services grew overall in May with a strong month for legal firms, which recovered from a weak April, and computer programming, these were partially offset by a very weak month for retail sales.”

On those economic figures, chancellor Rachel Reeves said:

“Getting more money in people’s pockets is my number one mission. While today’s figures are disappointing, I am determined to kickstart economic growth and deliver on that promise.

“The choices we have made in our first year in government have seen us extend the £3 bus fare cap, fund Free School Meals for over half a million more children, press ahead with plans to deliver free breakfast clubs for every child in the country and increase the National Minimum and National Living Wage, giving a pay rise to 3 million workers.

“There’s more to do, that’s why in the Spending Review we boosted investment and jobs, through better city region transport and record funding for affordable homes, as well as backing major projects like Sizewell C.”

Bitcoin has shot up again, with a six per cent rise putting it to a new all time high.

That put it briefly above $118,000, though it has now fallen back slightly to $117,500, still well above the $107-109k band it travelled along at for some time.

Our tech expert Anthony Cuthbertson notes that the new record puts bitcoin’s market cap above $2.3 trillion, ranking it above tech giants like Alphabet and Meta. While still only a fraction of gold’s estimated market cap of $22 trillion, it has now overtaken silver.

With interest rates still projected to fall slightly across the rest of this year, the forward-looking mortgage market has seen lenders slash rates in a bid for custom.

Well over 1.5m people are expected to renew mortgage deals across 2025, making it a key time for custom for the biggest banks and building societies.

As of today, two more products have been cut by Barclays to sub-4 per cent interest rates, joining the likes of NatWest and HSBC in offering such low repayment terms.

As David Stirling, director at Mint Mortgages & Protection, notes however – you do need a sizeable amount of cash in your pocket to benefit from the very best deals.

“The mortgage market is heating up as many major lenders deliver back-to-back rate cuts, signalling fierce competition ahead as borrowing costs tumble,” he said. “Momentum is really gathering pace this week as Barclays, Leeds and TSB enter the fray and announce rate cuts, with many sub-4% deals now available – if you’ve got a chunky deposit.”

A slow start to the day for the FTSE 100, down 0.08 per cent.

BP is the biggest riser so far, up 2.5 per cent, but there’s a lot more red than green across those hundred companies on Friday.

That said, it has generally been a strong week for the index of the biggest UK firms.

Overnight, Asian stocks were mostly up except Japan’s Nikkei 225, which took another hit.