The chancellor has failed to say whether she supports the construction of a third runway at Heathrow, which campaign groups have called “catastrophic” and “irresponsible”.
But when asked in the Commons on Tuesday about the rumours, which were initially reported by Bloomberg, Ms Reeves replied: “I’m not going to comment on leaks”.
Plans to increase passenger capacity at the three London airports have prompted a furious reaction from environmental groups.
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Image: West London could be affected by the expansion of Heathrow. Pic: PA
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Jenny Bates, transport campaigner at Friends of the Earth, called the proposal for another runway at Heathrow “hugely irresponsible in the midst of a climate emergency”.
Alethea Warrington, from climate charity Possible, agreed: “Approving airport expansions would be a catastrophic misstep for a government which claims to be a climate leader.”
The prime minister’s spokesperson told Sky News: “The government is determined to get the economy growing, any airport expansion must demonstrate it contributes to economic growth and fits with environmental obligations.”
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London mayor Sadiq Khan has been a fierce critic of attempts by Heathrow to build a third runway in west London, on the basis of the impact on air quality, noise and net-zero targets.
Despite construction receiving parliamentary approval in 2018, the plans have been delayed by legal challenges and the coronavirus pandemic.
Image: Aircraft noise is just one concern for campaigners against a third runway. File pic: PA
A spokesperson for Heathrow would not comment on reporting about a third runway, but said “growing the economy means adding capacity at the UK’s hub airport which is full”.
In a statement to Sky News, the airport added it was “looking at potential options to deliver a third runway at Heathrow in line with strict tests on carbon, noise and air quality”.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has a deadline of 27 February to make a decision on a second runway at Gatwick, which would effectively involve modifying an existing taxiway.
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Image: Gatwick Airport wants to use an emergency runway, currently a taxiway, for routine flights. File pic: PA
Gatwick’s majority owners, VINCI Airports, said the £2.2bn project would create 14,000 jobs and generate £1bn a year in economic benefits.
In a statement to Sky News, CEO Stewart Wingate said the airport in West Sussex could “be a major part of the government’s drive for growth”.
“We have put forward a strong and compelling case focused around making best use of our existing infrastructure, minimising noise and environmental impacts,” he said.
But Communities Against Gatwick Noise and Emissions (CAGNE) insisted they would legally challenge any second runway.
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Meanwhile, Luton Airport, owned by the local council in Bedfordshire, has applied to build a new terminal and asked for permission to increase its passenger numbers to 32 million a year. It carried about 16.7 million in 2024.
Image: Pic: London Luton Airport
The airport’s CEO, Alberto Martin, suggested it would bring more jobs and long-term local benefits.
He described the expansion plans as fully aligning “with the government’s sustainable growth agenda by making best use of existing infrastructure”.
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But Andrew Lambourne, from anti-noise campaign group LADACAN, described the prospect of expansion at Luton as “reckless folly”.
“We had hoped the Labour government understood what responsible economic sustainability means – but clearly not,” he told Sky News.
Dr Alex Chapman, senior economist at the New Economics Foundation (NEF), also suggested the suggested growth benefits of UK airport expansion don’t stack up.
He added: “The massive climate damage caused by these schemes will create deep physical and economic hardship for millions and will wipe out any benefit from the government’s other climate policy efforts almost overnight.”
Ark Invest CEO and CIO Cathie Wood says she’s “very happy with the interval fund structure” and it “seems to be a better wrapper” for public, private funds. She speaks with Scarlet Fu, Katie Greifeld and Eric Balchunas on “ETF IQ.” (Source: Bloomberg)
Pension advisers and wealth management chiefs have issued stark warnings to the Treasury over plans to apply inheritance tax (IHT) to pension funds, cautioning that the proposed changes could cause severe delays and increased costs for bereaved families.
The changes, announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her autumn Budget, aim to raise £1.5billion annually for the Treasury by 2030 by making pension funds part of inherited estates.
Industry leaders have described the proposals as “flawed and potentially damaging” in responses to Government consultations closing this week. The Government estimates its proposals will bring approximately 1.5 per cent more estates within the scope of death duties by 2027-28.
This increase comes on top of the four per cent of estates that already exceed the £325,000 nil-rate band. The threshold can rise to £500,000 in cases where a property is passed on.
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Under the new proposals, personal representatives of inherited pension funds would need to identify the funds and calculate any inheritance tax owed, considering other assets in the estate.
Do you have a money story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing money@gbnews.uk.
The Government is making changes to inheritance rules impacting pensions
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Pension scheme administrators would then be responsible for paying the inheritance tax before releasing the funds. The Society of Pension Professionals has warned that the government’s plans “impose unrealistic and impractical timescales”.
The trade association expressed concern about interest charges and penalties that could be imposed on pension scheme administrators for delays “over which they have little or no control”.
Steve Hitchiner, chair of the Society of Pension Professionals (SPP), said issues relating to the reporting and payment of inheritance tax on pensions was “vitally important”. He added that the current proposals “will result in numerous problems and challenges which could be largely avoided”.
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Chief executives from major UK wealth managers, including Interactive Investor, Quilter and AJ Bell, have written directly to Reeves about their concerns over the looming raid from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
Britons are preparing for drastic changes to inheritance tax rules GETTY
In their letter, seen by the Financial Times, they warned: “The complexity of the proposed approach, namely bringing all pensions into estates for IHT, will lead to substantial delays paying money to beneficiaries on death and cause distress for bereaved families.”
The executives called on the Government to “work with the pensions industry to agree a simpler method of achieving the policy aim”. Under current rules, inherited pensions can be paid more quickly to beneficiaries and used for urgent expenses like probate costs and funeral charges.
Anna Rogers, a senior partner at Arc Pensions Law, warned that the new process would disproportionately affect those with lower incomes. “The (new) process is complicated and it will punish lower earners,” she said.
“Wealthy people don’t need the money quickly . . . it seems the harm will be disproportionately to those who aren’t wealthy and those who die young.” Lawyers have expressed particular concern about the six-month window between death and the inheritance tax payment deadline.
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Jeremy Harris, the partner at Fieldfisher, noted that pension scheme rules typically allow two years to pay death benefits, highlighting potential timing conflicts. He said: “There may be a need to sell assets to pay the tax, but there might be cases of people not being able to pay, for example if a property needs to be sold.”
Death in service benefits could face significant inheritance tax bills in cases where they are part of registered pension schemes. “It’s got the potential to be quite a mess . . . at some point there will be a backlash,” Harris added.
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Britons are being warned about the looming inheritance tax raid
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Kate Smith, the head of public affairs at Aegon, highlighted a lack of clarity over what falls within scope of the changes. She noted that “nobody thinks [the proposals] will work”.
The Treasury defended its position, stating: “We continue to incentivise pensions savings for their intended purpose of funding retirement instead of them being openly used as a vehicle to transfer wealth.”
The SPP has suggested alternative approaches, including leaving the calculation and payment of inheritance tax to personal representatives and HMRC.
Alternatively, they proposed that benefits could be taxed at the full 40 per cent rate and paid promptly by scheme administrators in cases where pensions are subject to inheritance tax. These alternatives aim to address the industry’s concerns while maintaining the government’s revenue objectives.
Another tidbit just dropped following Wednesday’s Samsung Unpacked event. This one comes courtesy of Adobe, which notes that the new Galaxy S25 line will be the first handsets to support the Content Credentials standard, aimed at labeling AI-generated content as such.
The Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA) group — of which Samsung is now officially a part — describes the standard as a “nutrition label for digital content.” The information presented includes how the content was generated and edited, as well as if any generative AI technologies were used in the process.
The standard arrives amid increasing concern around AI’s ability to propagate fake news and other misinformation. In addition to its presence in still images, it will be extended to include video, audio, and documents.
Content Credentials can be found in an image using Adobe’s Content Authenticity tool, which is now in beta.
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Along with Samsung and Adobe, the C2PA includes some top names from media, social media, AI, and hardware, including Google, Intel, Microsoft, OpenAI, Amazon, BBC, Meta, Sony, Publicis, and Truepic.
The Galaxy S25 line is now up for preorder and set to start shipping February 7.
Trump could multiply his estimated wealth if his family’s conglomerate suddenly sells its substantial ownership in the token, finance professor Leonard Kostovetsky says. Read More
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Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.
Investors pivot from Cardano and Shiba Inu to Remittix, eyeing 50x-100x growth in global payments solutions.
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A seismic shift in the crypto market is occurring as investors look away from established players like Cardano (ADA) and Shiba Inu (SHIB), setting their sights on a new token with 50x to 100x potential.
This fresh PayFi project, Remittix, is drawing attention for its unique technology and applications, as it seeks to solve inefficiencies in the lucrative global payments market. So why is Remittix seeing so much attention and why are Cardano and Shiba Inu holders taking note?
Cardano’s short growth spurt is stopped abruptly
Cardano came into 2025 on strong footing after a rally in November and December, before wobbling its way through early January. Though Cardano saw many fluctuations in this time, Cardano’s value saw a net increase, rising by 9.9% in the last 30 days. This came off the back of the successful release of Node v.9.1.1, which fixed issues related to the Conway era and improved transaction reliability.
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The blockchain’s push toward decentralization remains on track, with plans for a community-driven governance system in 2025. Cardano’s price has now plateaued after its short lived growth spurt and the asset even saw a minor loss today. Its steady pace has left some investors seeking faster, higher-growth opportunities.
Shiba Inu: Meme magic losing momentum?
Shiba Inu has posted losses on monthly, weekly and daily timeframes, putting the price of Shiba Inu down to $0.00002083 with a most recent loss of 2.3% over the past week. This bleak price outlook makes Shiba Inu’s ATH of $0.00008845 in 2021 seem like it happened in a different universe altogether.
Although Shiba Inu’s popularity grew from its passionate community and meme appeal, recent losses have seen its appeal dwindle. These losses aside, some good things have come out of Shiba Inu’s developer team recently, such as tweaks to Shibarium and a pivot into NFTs that might pay dividends for Shiba Inu down the road.
Transforming global transactions
With Remittix, users can convert more than 40 cryptocurrencies into fiat currencies and transfer funds seamlessly to bank accounts worldwide. Unlike conventional systems weighed down by high fees and extensive delays, Remittix provides a cost-effective and efficient alternative.
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Featuring flat-rate fees and clear pricing, the platform removes hidden charges and variable conversion rates, ensuring recipients receive the full intended amount. Whether it’s individuals sending money to family abroad or businesses handling global payments, Remittix delivers a reliable and efficient solution.
This approach resonates with both individuals and businesses, especially those seeking predictable and transparent cost structures for international transactions. By emphasizing simplicity and fairness, Remittix is building trust and appealing to users who value transparency in their financial activities.
Privacy and security are critical in today’s financial ecosystem and Remittix excels in both areas. Transactions through the platform are treated like standard bank transfers and when they are listed on statements, they show no connection to cryptocurrency.
Remittix is in prime position to disrupt the PayFi space
Currently, Remittix is excelling in its presale phase, approaching the $4.4 million milestone. Tokens are available at an appealing entry price of $0.0239, making this project accessible to a wide range of investors.
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With analysts forecasting an 800% price surge by the presale’s conclusion and a further 5,000% rally post-launch, Remittix is positioned to change the $190 trillion cross-border payments market. By overcoming the barriers that have long impeded global payments, Remittix is on course to emerge as a dominant force in the PayFi industry, reshaping financial transactions in 2025.
Disclosure: This content is provided by a third party. crypto.news does not endorse any product mentioned on this page. Users must do their own research before taking any actions related to the company.
Investors in Klarna have been told to indicate their interest in selling their shares by early next month, in a further indication that the buy now pay later (BNPL) giant is about to kickstart a US listing valuing it at about $20bn.
Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan has shared his thoughts on the future of crypto in the banking sector.
Speaking in an interview with CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, Moynihan stressed that the industry is ready to embrace crypto for transactions, but only if the regulatory landscape is well-defined.
Crypto Adoption Depends on Clear Rules
In the discussion, the executive stated that if directives were implemented that would make it feasible to conduct business, then the industry would strongly engage.
“If the rules come in and make it a real thing that you can actually do business with, you will find the banking system will come in hard on the transactional side of it,” he said.
He also pointed out that these organizations would need ‘non-anonymous, verified’ transactions to move forward with crypto adoption.
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Further, he highlighted that BOA has already invested in blockchain technology, mentioning that it holds hundreds of patents in the area. The organization also already processes most transactions digitally.
When asked whether he saw crypto and Bitcoin as a threat to the U.S. dollar, Moynihan did not express concerns. Instead, he viewed digital assets as another payment method that could be used alongside established options like Visa, Mastercard, and Apple Pay.
These comments come amid ongoing caution within the sector toward crypto, largely due to regulatory uncertainties. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, for example, has openly criticized Bitcoin. In a recent interview with CBS, the chief executive said the flagship cryptocurrency has no intrinsic value, adding that it is often used by criminals and fraudsters. Despite this, he has acknowledged the utility of blockchain technology and that the U.S. will one day have a digital currency.
Regulatory Challenges
The compliance-related challenges for U.S. banks have been compounded by the Biden administration allegedly launching “Operation Choke Point 2.0” to restrict them from developing crypto-related services.
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This included a policy called the SEC’s Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) 121. The rule required financial institutions to treat customer-held crypto as liabilities on their balance sheets, making it harder for them to offer services to such clients. As a result, many U.S. banks have either paused or slowed down any crypto initiatives they may have had.
There have been unsuccessful efforts to address these barriers, including a resolution passed by the U.S. Senate last May to lift the ban on banks offering crypto custody services. Additionally, in September, a group of Republican lawmakers called for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to rescind the “disastrous” SAB 121 rule.
Looking ahead, the situation may shift under the leadership of President Donald Trump, who is expected to clarify guidelines around digital assets. However, the specifics of how his administration will approach such regulation remain unclear, especially since crypto was left off the list of executive orders signed on his first day in office.
But if you want us to truly unpack everything Samsung just revealed, as well as what we think this event means for Samsung as a whole in 2025, then you’ll need to watch our brand-new Samsung Unpacked January 2025 special episode of the TechRadar podcast.
In it, Josie Watson and I are joined by phone expert Axel Metz, fitness tech guru Matt Evans, and as always the wonderfully wise Lance Ulanoff to break down everything we saw so you can get to grips with the latest tech news.
Samsung Galaxy S25 reactions, Project Moohan predictions and why there’s no Galaxy Ring 2… yet – YouTube
We take a deep dive into the new phones and AI features, give you our thoughts on Samsung’s continued efforts to build an interconnected internet of things ecosystem – which goes beyond anything Apple is currently capable of – and discuss what Samsung needs for Project Moohan and its XR efforts to succeed where others have failed.
You can catch our latest podcast episode via our YouTube channel – or the embedded video above – and you can also check it out on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. You can find all our other episodes there too, including our CES 2025 special.
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Britons are preparing for drastic changes to inheritance tax rules GETTY 
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