Monday newspaper round-up: OBR, Rolls-Royce, small businesses
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Monday 02 Mar 2026
(Sharecast News) - Rachel Reeves must reform the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to open the way to more public investment, an alliance of thinktanks has argued ahead of the chancellor's spring forecast on Tuesday. With Keir Starmer's government under intense pressure after Labour's defeat by the Greens in Thursday's Gorton and Denton byelection, the thinktanks called on Reeves to review the watchdog's remit. - Guardian
The boss of Rolls-Royce has said he would welcome Germany helping to build Britain's next-generation fighter jet, arguing that it would bring in more business for the project. The aircraft, designed to replace the Eurofighter Typhoon, is a joint effort between the UK, Italy and Japan. Rolls-Royce is building the engine for the jet, which has attracted fresh attention as plans for a rival Franco-German warplane edge towards collapse. - Guardian
A US senator has accused those close to Donald Trump of "profiting off war and death" in the wake of suspiciously timed bets predicting a US strikes on Iran. Chris Murphy, a US senator for Connecticut, said he would launch a crackdown on so-called prediction markets after analysts raised concerns about bets on Polymarket. - Telegraph
Property investment firms including the mammoth Grosvenor have been accused of "bad tactics" after choosing not to attend a parliamentary session on the controversial subject of capping ground rents this week. While critics of rocketing ground rents, including Angela Rayner, the former deputy prime minister, and Lord Gove, the former Tory housing secretary, will be giving evidence, neither Grosvenor nor Time Investments, another property company invited to attend, will be at the hearing on Tuesday. - The Times
Small businesses are increasingly restricting their growth to avoid being dragged over the £90,000 VAT threshold, new figures suggest. Data from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) shows the number of British businesses earning under the tax threshold increased to 683,700 in the year ending December 2025, up from 671,000 the year before. In the same period the number earning just above with turnover of between £90,000 and £150,000 declined to 280,400 from 306,300. - The Times
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