6:38 am, October 23, 2026
Healey plans to slash ‘pointless paperwork’ in bid to save businesses £800m
The Chancellor has set out plans to cut back on ‘form-filling and pointless paperwork’ that aim to cut some £800m worth of red tape for businesses.
The measures designed to give businesses ‘breathing space’ come ahead of John Healey’s first Budget next week, in which he has said he wants to ease cost pressures on both companies and households.
He and prime minister Andy Burnham are due to meet small business leaders at No 10 North on Friday. They are part of efforts to cut back the regulatory admin businesses are required to do by 25% by the end of this Parliament.
Barclays to cut 5,000 jobs this year as AI makes work more efficient
Barclays has revealed it expects to have cut around 5,000 staff by the end of 2026 after turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to make the bank more efficient.
The banking group said this is the equivalent of about 5% of all its employees, which totalled around 93,000 globally at the end of 2025. Some 1,000 of the roles were cut during the first half of 2026, and the remainder are spread out over the second half of the year.
The majority of the reductions relate to operational and functional roles across the bank.
Chery goes off-road-focused with new Tiggo X7
Chery has given its range of SUVs a more off-road-inspired model with the new Tiggo X7.
Arriving as the first car in a new range of Tiggo-X-badged models, the Tiggo X7 aims to bring a far more adventurous feel than the standard Tiggo 7. It gets a more chunky design and off-road tyres.
The X7 was unveiled alongside a facelifted Tiggo 7 at the Chery Global User Summit this week. It’s unclear whether the X7 will arrive in the UK.
The markets
The FTSE 100 ended lower on Thursday as a tech sell-off and surging oil prices put equities firmly on the back foot.
It was down 27.85 points, 0.3%, at 10,725.03. The FTSE 250 ended 228.07 points lower, 0.9%, at 24,211.71, and the AIM all-share shed 12.19 points, 1.6%, at 750.93. n European equity markets on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris ended down 1.4%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt fell 1.1%.
The pound was quoted at 1.3365 dollars, down from 1.3389 dollars. Against the euro, sterling edged up to 1.1933 euros from 1.1930 euros.
Streeting urges public be ‘alert not alarmed’ amid call to stock up for a crisis
Defence secretary Wes Streeting said he wanted people to be ‘alert but not alarmed’ as he defended against accusations that a call for the public to stockpile days’ worth of food and water for crisis situations was scaremongering.
Under a new government ‘be ready’ campaign, households are being urged to be prepared if everyday services are temporarily disrupted with three days of key supplies.
The checklist released advises stocking up with three days’ worth of bottled water and non-perishable food, a battery or wind-up FM radio to receive updates during outages and cash in case electronic payments or cash machines are disrupted.
Storms Austen and Boelo to bring strong gusts and heavy downpours
The UK is braced for ‘damaging’ winds and heavy downpours with two named storms expected to wreak disruption on Friday and over the weekend.
Storm Austen, the first named storm of the season, could bring gusts of up to 80mph to parts of south-west England, with 60-70mph winds expected widely in the region. The Met Office has issued an amber warning for wind, covering Cornwall, Devon and the Isles of Scilly, coming into effect from 1am and remaining in place until 10am.
Over the weekend, Storm Boelo will affect Northern Ireland, Scotland and parts of northern England with what the forecaster described as ‘impactful winds’.
Thursday on Car Dealer
Sytner turnover falls by almost £1bn as plunging used car sales drag profits down in 2025
Dealer giant Sytner saw its turnover fall by almost £1bn last year as a sharp drop in used car sales dragged down revenue and profits.
Duncan McPhee confirmed as new Athenea CEO after quitting loss-making Hendy Group
Industry heavyweight Duncan McPhee has been confirmed as the new CEO of Athenea as the dealer group continues to bring Brayleys Cars and Johnsons Cars together under a single brand.
Only a third of used car buyers trust dealers as concerns are raised over hidden damage
Almost two thirds of used car buyers do not trust dealers, amid major concerns over hidden and undisclosed damage.