For your next course… lab-grown lamb

📍Top line: Lab-grown meat could hit UK shelves in just a few years as the Food Standards Agency (FSA) reviews applications for cell-cultivated steak, chicken, and foie gras. With £1.6 million in government funding to speed up safety assessments, the FSA expects another 15 submissions in the next two years.

✅ The good: Grown from animal cells, cultivated meat is hailed as a breakthrough for sustainability and animal welfare, slashing land and water use while avoiding slaughter and harmful contaminants like E. coli and salmonella. Cultivated chicken has been approved in Singapore and the US, the UK, with its growing base of vegans and flexitarians, is seen as the perfect market.

❌ The bad: Despite the benefits, cultivated meat has received some backlash recently. Italy and two US states have banned the sale of cultivated meat. Outspoken Florida Governor Ron DeSantis rejected lab-grown meat as a plan by the “global elite” to “force the world to eat meat grown in a petri dish”.

UK house prices close to record high

📍Top line: UK house prices continued their upward trend in September, marking a third consecutive monthly increase. Prices rose by 0.3% from the previous month, matching the increase in August, and bringing the average price of a UK home to £293,399—just £100 short of the all-time high recorded in June 2022.

This rise in house prices reflects improving market conditions driven by factors such as increasing worker pay and slightly falling interest rates, which have made mortgages more affordable for some buyers.

The housing market received a boost from the Bank of England's decision in August to lower interest rates from 5.25% to 5% for the first time in over four years.

Elsewhere in the economy:

🏫 The UK government is moving forward with its plan to introduce a 20% value-added tax (VAT) on private school fees starting in January, despite earlier reports suggesting a potential delay due to administrative challenges. This VAT policy was one of the few tax increases Labour promised during its general election campaign, aimed at raising additional revenue.

📈 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has decided against raising taxes on pension contributions in the upcoming budget, following warnings from public sector unions. The proposed tax change, which included reducing the 40% rate of tax relief on pension contributions for higher earners, could have generated £10 billion annually. However, unions argued that such a move would negatively impact nearly 1 million public sector workers, potentially negating the benefits of recent pay increases.

Calls for exit tax to stop wealthy leaving UK

📍Top line: Senior economists have urged UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves to introduce an "exit tax" on wealthy individuals who move abroad to avoid taxes, according to Bloomberg.

This proposal, put forth by the Centre for the Analysis of Taxation, aims to generate up to £500 million annually and discourage wealthy entrepreneurs and investors from relocating overseas. The policy would align the UK with countries like the US, Canada, and Australia, which already tax capital gains upon emigration.

As Reeves prepares her budget, the suggestion comes at a critical time, with the Chancellor facing a £22 billion deficit. An exit tax could help close this gap without causing the exodus of wealth creators that more aggressive tax hikes might provoke.

Elsewhere in business:

🛍️ Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has acquired a significant stake in Selfridges, taking over the position previously held by the Austrian conglomerate Signa, which filed for insolvency in late 2023. Selfridges operates 18 department stores across the UK, Netherlands, and Ireland, including its flagship locations on London's Oxford Street and Manchester’s Exchange Square.

💼 John Lewis is eliminating the role of CEO, less than two years after its creation under former chair Sharon White. Nish Kankiwala will step down from the role by March 2025 and the restructuring will place new chair Jason Tarry in charge of both the executive team and the partnership board, streamlining leadership as the company navigates its recovery efforts amid ongoing challenges in the retail sector.

Morgan Stanley has opened applications for its 2025 Marketing Industrial Placement Programme based in London. Successful candidates will support the creation and execution of creative marketing campaigns. The 12 month programme is open to penultimate year undergraduate students undertaking a year in industry. Apply now here.

Victims of FTX collapse set for refunds

📍Top line: Creditors of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX are set to receive up to $16.5 billion under a bankruptcy plan approved in the U.S. on Monday. This decision marks a significant step toward resolving the fallout from FTX's collapse in November 2022, which left millions of customers worldwide unable to access their funds. The former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, was convicted of misappropriating customer funds and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Under the approved plan, FTX claims that former customers will recover about 119% of their account holdings at the time of the bankruptcy. Payments are expected to start 60 days after the plan takes effect.

Some former customers are discontent with the repayment terms, as they will receive their funds in cash rather than cryptocurrency. Many argue that had they retained their original crypto assets, especially Bitcoin, the value would have increased substantially.

Elsewhere in tech

📦 Amazon's Prime Day has officially begun, offering 48 hours of exclusive discounts on popular brands. Prime members can enjoy "Lightning Deals," with limited-time offers dropping every five minutes, while business owners benefit from extra savings through Amazon Business. With over 100 million products on sale, the event is a great opportunity for shoppers to score significant purchases or begin their holiday shopping early.

📱 A U.S. judge has ordered Google to offer alternatives to its Google Play store for downloading apps on Android phones, marking a major victory in Epic Games’ antitrust lawsuit against the tech giant. This decision is a significant blow to Google's business model, as both Google and Apple currently take a 15% to 30% commission from sales on their app stores. The ruling could empower app developers to bypass these fees and retain a larger share of their revenue, potentially reshaping the mobile app marketplace.

🇨🇳 Chinese authorities have been demanding that schoolteachers and public sector employees hand in their passports, as President Xi Jinping strengthens control over international travel and tightens his grip on society. The move is part of the "personal travel abroad management" policy, which allows local government officials to oversee and limit who can travel abroad, where they can go, and how often.

🇬🇧 Foreign Secretary David Lammy has stated that the UK's decision to relinquish control of the Chagos Islands does not signal a shift in its stance on other British Overseas Territories, such as the Falkland Islands and Gibraltar. Addressing Parliament, Lammy emphasized that these territories remain firmly under British sovereignty and are "not up for negotiation."

👶 Manchester City footballer Jack Grealish and his girlfriend, Sasha Attwood, announced the birth of their first child on Instagram. The couple, who have been together since childhood, shared a heartwarming black-and-white photo of their newborn daughter, Mila Rose Grealish, holding Jack's finger. Wrapped in a patterned baby grow and a knitted blanket, their little girl peacefully slept in the adorable snap.