Pension schemes need more carrot and less stick to back the UK April 20, 2026 The Pensions Bills Scheme will empower the government to tell pension schemes where to invest. But telling always ends badly.
Unemployment to peak at 5.8 per cent as jobs market faces ‘biggest hit’ since pandemic April 20, 2026 Britain is set to be “pushed to the brink of a technical recession” in the coming year as the economic fallout of the war in Iran dampens growth prospects and sends unemployment soaring. The latest Item Club report sees the UK economy flatlining in the second and third quarters as it digests the consequences of [...]
Rachel Reeves to meet Lloyds and Natwest chiefs over Iran war April 20, 2026 Rachel Reeves has called in the bosses of Britain’s top banks for a summit this week to discuss the economic impact of the war in Iran. The Chancellor has invited executives from Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Natwest, Santander UK as well as the UK’s biggest building society Nationwide for a meeting this Wednesday. The meeting – as [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks slump on renewed Iran threats; UK to be ‘pushed to brink’ of recession April 20, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City PM liveblog. Markets are returning from the weekend to a fresh round of volatility. The mood ended last week on a high following the re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz but that sentiment was quickly squashed over the weekend as tensions renewed. Shipping in the Strait of [...]
‘Thrown under the bus’: Robbins to defend himself over Mandelson vetting April 18, 2026 Sir Olly Robbins is set to mount a defence of his decision to approve Mandelson’s appointment to Washington after allies accused Starmer of scapegoating him and throwing him “under the bus”. The prime minister sacked the head of the Foreign Office on Thursday night before accusing him of an “unforgivable” failure to warn him that [...]
‘Bond market tantrum risks’: Gilt traders brace for Labour leftward pivot as Starmer future uncertain April 17, 2026 Bond traders are bracing for the prospect of a surge in gilt yields as uncertainty over the future of Keir Starmer’s term in office could pave the way for a more left-wing successor. A Starmer defenestration could be just weeks away amid renewed scrutiny over the botched appointment of Peter Mandelson as Washington ambassador and [...]
Bank of England will set ‘high bar’ for any interest rate change April 17, 2026 Policymakers at the Bank of England will set a ‘high bar’ for making any interest rate change later this month despite growing expectations of rising inflation, top City analyst Simon French has said. The previous energy shock suffered by the UK following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 saw inflation spike to as high [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks jittery as Starmer makes play to reopen Strait of Hormuz April 17, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City PM liveblog. The UK and France are set to co-chair a meeting with allies later today in a bid to strum up ways to re-open the Strait of Hormuz. The vital waterway, which sits off Iran’s coast, sees around a fifth of the world’s oil supply flow [...]
The £4.2m CMA sledgehammer over drip pricing that is totally out of proportion April 17, 2026 There’s a particular kind of institutional vanity that mistakes noise for impact. It’s particularly prevalent in Whitehall and abundant especially in those – like many in our government today – who have only ever worked in the bureaucratic state or legal profession. The CMA’s triumphant announcement this week — it’s very first fine under the [...]
UK suffered biggest unemployment surge in G7 April 16, 2026 UK unemployment rose at a faster pace than any country in the G7, the OECD has said, with a sharp rise in joblessness particularly damaging for the youngest people. Unemployment levels across the country rose sharply by 0.8 percentage points over the year to 5.2 per cent between the last three months of 2024 and [...]
