Business news live: Rachel Reeves in savings tax crackdown and mortgage lender launches new 3.8% offer

Savers could see tax due on interest payments deducted directly from their salaries in future after Rachel Reeves approved rule changes on banks sharing customer details.

The chancellor wants it to be easier for HMRC to charge people the tax due on their savings, with an estimated 300,000 more people than five years ago now passing the threshold for when that payment kicks in.

Independent readers are sharply divided over whether Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves should raise income tax to help fill the £50bn shortfall in the public finances this autumn.

Some see it as the fairest option, targeting those most able to pay. “A penny or two on the rates of income tax might just work wonders,” said one, while others argued it is long past time to align capital gains with income tax rates or reform property taxes.

Opponents warn that raising income tax could damage growth and hand political advantage to Reform leader Nigel Farage. “A rise in income tax across the board would be a political disaster for Labour,” cautioned another.

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Looking ahead to the afternoon, futures markets are showing US stocks set to rise.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are both up 0.3 per cent in pre-trading – plenty can of course change across the rest of the day once the political crew wake up and start talking, but the main index is flat for the week so far so will be looking for a reason to climb.

Nvidia, the world’s biggest company by market capitalisation value, is up about 0.6 per cent in pre-trading following news that it’s likely to be exempt from 100 per cent tariffs on semiconductor chips, due to manufacturing in the US.

Not a whole lot of movement in the FTSE 100 index today which is up just 0.05 per cent.

Smaller firms are down with both the FTSE 250 and AIM dropping, 0.1 and 0.3 per cent respectively.

Among the bigger firms it is the miners who lead the way.

Fresnillo (3.29%) and Glencore (2.39%) are the highest risers, with Rio Tinto (1%) also one of just 11 companies showing a share price rise of at least that level.

Drug maker GSK has secured a payment of up to $500 million (£372 million) after a patent row over Covid vaccines was settled in the US.

GSK told investors it will receive a $370 million (£275 million) settlement from CureVac, which it had worked with on the development of mRNA vaccine technology.

The London-based business will then be entitled to receive an additional $130 million (£97 million) depending on if a planned takeover of CureVac by BioNTech closes, which would settle a lawsuit outside of the US.

Bitcoin has gently fallen over the past week or two after hitting highs well above the $120,000 mark. After falling back to about $112k last week, it has risen 1.2 per cent over the past day and is now back to $116,500.

That’s partly on news that US president Trump signed an order allowing people to hold crypto in their 401(k) accounts – effectively the States’ version of a pension savings and investment account.

Gold is also up after that earlier news that imported bars should be subject to tariffs, up 1 per cent to $3,488 – while many analysts are still suggesting $4,000 this year is possible.

Brent crude oil is up 0.2 per cent but at $66.58 is lower than the price has generally been for the past two months.

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Another day, another tariff – Trump is putting a tariff on imports of a very specific product that you and I may not be exactly in the market for every week: one-kilo gold bars.

That’s a hit to Switzerland, where most gold is cast into specific sizes.

Meanwhile investors are digesting interest rates, jobs data and the latest company earnings reports.

“The FTSE 100 was just about keeping its head above water to stay above the 9,100 mark on Friday morning,” said AJ Bell head of financial analysis Danni Hewson.

“Overall it has been a mixed week for the index with the split vote and hawkish tone adopted by the Bank of England yesterday lifting sterling and hitting the relative value of the Footsie’s dominant overseas earnings.

“US gold futures hit a fresh record high on reporting that the Trump administration has imposed tariffs on imports of one-kilo bars. Sustained by factors like its safe haven credentials and a weakening dollar in 2025 – this latest development will have gold bugs eyeing the $4,000 level.

“The news is more bad news for Switzerland after being hit by a shock 39% export tariff to the US, given it is one of the biggest precious metal hubs globally.

“The move higher in gold helped to lift shares in gold and silver miner Fresnillo in London, extending its advance year-to-date to more than 160%.

“Pharmaceutical giant GSK was also among the gainers on Friday morning as it secured a positive outcome from the settlement of a patent dispute involving CureVac with which it has a licence agreement. The dispute related to mRNA vaccines and gives GSK a modest, though still welcome, cash injection and the prospect of sales royalties.”

A hoped-for summer boost to retail has failed to materialise for the second consecutive year as high-street football continues to decline.

Shopping centre footfall was down by 0.3 per cent but visits to retail parks were up by 1.7 per cent on a year ago, reflecting continued new openings by major brands.

The figures also revealed that one in seven shops lie empty.