Recently we’ve seen gold hit record high prices, then bitcoin, the FTSE 100 and more – now it’s the turn of silver.

While not quite an all time high, the metal has hit 14-year highs, rising to just above $38.50 for its highest peak since 2011.

Then, prices rose to a peak of more than $48, but for most of the last five year it has been between $25 and $30.

That has been widely seen as a positive by most, but not all. In both cases, criticism of Reeves is ongoing.

Richard Wilson, Chief Executive at interactive investor, said: “The Chancellor’s fumbling and indecision means that the overall goal of ISA simplification has been delayed completely. We need action to cut the needless complexity. We’ve said it time and time again – there only needs to be one ISA.”

Jason Hollands, managing director of Bestinvest, said:

“This is welcome news for savers and a victory for the lobbying efforts of banks and building societies, as well as personal finance press. The rationale behind limiting Cash ISAs, that it would somehow drive people into investing in stocks and shares instead and boost the UK economy, was pretty questionable.

“While I would certainly encourage more people who have excess cash to invest it for the longer-term, simply restricting people’s ability to save cash tax-efficiently is unlikely to drive a fundamental change of behaviour. The only certainty behind such a move would have been to expose more of their hard-earned savings to tax.”

Victor Trokoudes, CEO and founder of ISA provider Plum, said:

“We welcome the news reports that Rachel Reeves has decided to put Cash ISA reforms on hold. We fundamentally believe in giving people a choice over how they make their money work for them.

“We’ve called for a wider consultation from the very start to ensure that any proposed ISA reforms are informed by a broad range of views and expertise. So we’re pleased that the Government appears to be committing to this. Our research had found that the suggested reduction to the Cash ISA allowance was unlikely to deliver the outcomes the Government wanted, with more people likely to opt for a standard cash savings account instead of investing.”

JPMorgan analysts have highlighted an improvement in London’s office space market.

Rental growth is continuing and vacancy rates are dropping, the investment bank said.

Great Portland Estates have suggested the price of office real estate could rise this year by up to 10 per cent accordingly.

Paddy Power owner Flutter has taken complete ownership of US betting and gaming business FanDuel.

The London-listed gambling giant said it has purchased the remaining 5% of FanDuel it did not own from Boyd for 1.76 billion US dollars (£1.3 billion).

It now has 100% ownership of the business, which has rapidly grown in recent years on the back of easing sports betting rules in US states, after first investing in the firm in 2018.

The move values FanDuel at around 31 billion US dollars (£22.9 billion).

Looking ahead to the markets opening in the US this afternoon, futures trading shows a fall is incoming.

The S&P 500 is 0.62 per cent down, with the Nasdaq at 0.53 per cent negative.

Smaller firms in the Russell 2000 are down almost a full 1 per cent.

The same red numbers can be seen around Europe today, with the FTSE 100 down 0.5pc, Germany’s DAX down 1pc and Spain’s Ibex 35 down 0.8pc.

Investing platform Robinhood is offering an expanded service for 24-hour trading in Europe.

The company will use tokenised US stocks and ETFs to do so – digital versions of real equities, issued on blockchain.

“Right now, what we’re launching in Europe is that EU customer will have access to 200 plus US stocks and ETF tokens, and the stock token holder will also be able to receive dividends directly into their app,” Robinhood crypto senior vice president and general manager Johann Kerbrat said to Yahoo Finance.

Airlines can expect to be charged more by Heathrow Airport as it bids to invest £10bn in upgrades over the coming five years.

An extra 10m passengers a year would be the upshot if plans are approved.

£2bn will come from shareholders with the other £8bn passed on in costs to airlines – who themselves usually pass on such increases to passengers paying air fare.

The FTSE 100 had enjoyed a good week on the rise but it’s all coming to an end today.

Between poor economic data, more tariff turnarounds and general fatigue, looks like investors are exiting positions en masse ahead of the weekend.

Around a 0.5 per cent drop for the FTSE 100 today so far – in Europe it’s even bigger, with France and Germany seeing their main index down 0.9 per cent or more.

“The UK economy being stuck in the mud and the threat of high tariffs on Canada won’t be a shock to markets, but they are hard to ignore,” said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell.

“European indices are in the red and futures prices imply Wall Street will follow the same path when it opens for trading.

“Whether this is investors being reminded of headwinds or simply pausing for breath, it’s clear that uncertainty will prevail well into the summer.

“The corporate reporting season begins in earnest next week with the big US banks. That will shift the focus to profits and outlook statements, giving valuable insight into how the business world is coping with a multitude of pressures. Any corporate optimism is likely to prompt a tickertape parade on the markets as investors look for confirmation that tariff uncertainty hasn’t caused widespread damage to earnings.”

Rachel Reeves has put her plans to reform cash ISAs on hold after speculation that she was considering reducing the allowance for tax-free cash savings was met with criticism from banks and building societies.

Savers have a £20,000 annual allowance which can be split across ISA types, but the most frequently used version is the cash ISA, which gives people a tax-free savings account. However, the government wants to encourage more people to start investing, to generate better long-term returns.

Next week, the chancellor was expected to use her Mansion House speech to cut the limit on how much money could be put in the cash ISA product annually and potentially announce changes to the Lifetime ISA too, but that reform will now have to wait, with reports saying Ms Reeves wants to continue to consult with industry experts amid conflicting ideas on how to proceed.

The Investment Association has published a report with four key findings in pursuit of better retirement solutions for people.

Those recommendations include:

• Better support for pension contributors who don’t get individual financial advice (so, many of us who are on workplace pensions)
• For advisers to develop better risk practices for people’s risk and loss possibilities in retirement
• Ensuring value for money in retirement
• Reform of rules to allow better retirement-oriented products

Much of this involves changes for firms in the investment industry but with recent law changes over how much guidance can be given to people who don’t get actual paid-for financial advice, the emphasis continues to be a gradual shift towards helping people point toward better long-term decisions and returns.