Sluggish economy spooks small housebuilders March 20, 2026 Small and medium (SME) housebuilders are being put off from investing in new projects by the UK’s economy and housing market, according to a new report. As many as 70 per cent of SME building firms said current market conditions are reducing their appetite for starting new sites and a quarter expect to cut back [...]
Carabao Cup: Arsenal and Manchester City tailgaters to be deemed criminals March 20, 2026 Arsenal and Manchester City fans will be deemed criminals this weekend should they enter the Carabao Cup final without a football match ticket, the Home Office has announced. The move, introduced by crime and policing minister Sarah Jones, comes into force today and will cover all of football, and is part of a wider response [...]
Bank of England’s Bailey: Interest rate cuts not on the horizon March 19, 2026 The Bank of England’s Andrew Bailey has ruled out the prospect of any interest rate cuts in the near future, warning that the sustained conflict in the Middle East constitutes a major shock to energy supply that could leave long-term scars on the British economy. In an interview with LBC set to air on Thursday [...]
London IPO market may yet recover in 2026, Peel Hunt says March 19, 2026 The London IPO market could still see a revival before the end of the year, according to City broker Peel Hunt, as a number of blue chip firms wait patiently for geopolitical tensions to die down before firing the starting gun on their own floats. Brian Hanratty, head of equity capital markets at Peel Hunt, [...]
Bank of England rebuffs calls to speed up ‘shadow banking’ stress test March 19, 2026 The Bank of England has rejected calls to speed up its inaugural stress test of the private credit industry, despite growing fears that a downturn in so-called shadow banking may pose a systemic threat to the global financial system. In a letter to the House of Lords’ Financial Services and Regulation Committee seen by City [...]
Streaming surpasses free-to-air TV in key European markets, research shows March 19, 2026 Streaming has already surpassed linear television in key European markets, new research released this week shows. Fans now consume a larger share of sport via digital platforms than free-to-air television in Italy and Spain, with Iberian audiences watching around 40 per cent more of their sport through streaming services, according to Altman Solon’s Global Sports [...]
Reeves hosts top UK scale-ups as new cohort revealed in growth drive March 19, 2026 Rachel Reeves will host the latest cohort of the UK’s top scale-ups at Number 11 tonight, as the government looks to reinforce its pitch as a home for high-growth tech firms. The new intake of Tech Nation’s future fifty programme brings together 25 late-stage companies spanning AI, healthtech, cybersecurity and climate technology, sectors ministers see [...]
‘Confidence exits UK economy’: FTSE 100 dips below 10,000 mark March 19, 2026 The FTSE 100 dipped below the 10,000 mark as stocks plunged on Thursday on fears the war in the Middle East was set to bring regional energy production to a halt. Traders sold off assets en masse over the course of the day, with the FTSE 100 falling by some 2.5 per cent amid turmoil [...]
HSBC job cut plans add to mounting AI warnings for banks March 19, 2026 HSBC is weighing up cutting as many as 20,000 jobs across its global business as part of a longer-term push towards automation and AI, forming the clearest signal yet of how the technology is beginning to reshape the banking workforce. According to reports, the lender is understood to be considering reductions equivalent to around 10 [...]
FCA chief clashes with investment industry on over-reliance March 19, 2026 The investment industry must stop being over-reliant on regulators and solve their own problems in order to make investors less risk averse and boost economic growth, the financial watchdog has said. Speaking in an interview with City PM, Simon Walls, interim executive director of markets at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), argued that despite the [...]
