FTSE 100 Live: Blue-chip stocks boom on Trump and Iran ceasefire April 8, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City PM liveblog. Markets are in line for a major boom this morning after Donald Trump confirmed a two-week ceasefire with Iran shortly ahead of his latest bomb threat deadline. Trump announced the two-week postponement by stating the US and Iran were “very far along” with a “definitive” [...]
Stagflation to batter UK economy as growth grinds to halt April 7, 2026 The UK economy is set to suffer from stagflation over the coming months as growth across the services sector ground to a halt in March, researchers have indicated. The war in the Middle East has brought output growth to its slowest level since last April while input price inflation hit its highest level since the [...]
Interest rate on student loans to be capped April 7, 2026 Interest on student loans will be capped, in an attempt from the government to draw a line under a political row which has engulfed Westminster. Labour has announced that maximum interest rates on Plan 2 and Plan 3 student loans will not rise beyond six per cent from the next academic year starting in September. [...]
JP Morgan to build Canary Wharf’s tallest tower – if there is a tax incentive April 7, 2026 JP Morgan has been given the green light to build Canary Wharf’s largest tower but questions still remain over controversial tax incentives to lure the Wall Street titan in. The US banking behemoth has been in talks with officials from London City Airport regarding height restrictions for the tower. The bank is understood to have [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks dip ahead of Trump’s Iran deadline April 7, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City PM liveblog. The London market is set to return from the bank holiday break with a major hangover. Whilst the City enjoyed an Easter break, volatile trading continued with Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil – hovering around the $110 mark after see-sawing between gains [...]
The madness of a state that spends more on welfare than it raises from income tax April 7, 2026 If it were possible to buy Happy New Tax Year cards you’d surely find them stocked in the ‘With Sympathy’ section. As of yesterday, the state has increased its demands on a host of taxpayers. Dividend tax is up two per cent for basic and higher rate taxpayers, with the latter now hit by a [...]
OpenAI calls for ‘tax on automated labour’ as it sounds alarm on economic risks April 7, 2026 OpenAI has called for a tax on automated labour as the firm laid bare the scale of the structural risks to the global economy that could be wrought by the rise in artificial intelligence. In a wide-ranging set of proposals in a paper described as “Industrial Policy for the Intelligence Age”, the ChatGPT maker called [...]
‘A whole civilisation will die tonight’: Trump ramps up Iran threats as deadline draws nearer April 7, 2026 Donald Trump has dialled up his threats on Iran warning a “whole civilisation will die tonight” ahead of his latest looming deadline for Iran. The chaotic sentiment has rocked markets across Europe after indexes struggled to find direction during early trading. The FTSE 100 see-sawed between gains and losses as the City market returned from [...]
14 charts reveal the massive challenges facing UK and NATO defence spending April 7, 2026 Defence spending is casting a shadow over Downing Street. Military officers are in a state of despair. The choices facing Sir Keir Starmer are stark. The political calculus for the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has become more complicated than ever as the Iran war puts public finances in danger. Their difficulties go back to February 2025 [...]
The 2026 tax year has started. Here’s what you need to know April 6, 2026 The tax year countdown has officially ended and a new year has begun on 6 April, bringing with it an ISA allowance reset and silent tax hikes. While many investors and savers will be breathing a sigh of relief, thinking they have completed their financial admin for at least a few months, being proactive at [...]
