Mortgage approvals jump to 15-month high despite Iran war chaos June 2, 2026 Mortgage approvals made a surprise jump to a 15-month high in April, despite continued signs that the economic chaos caused by the Iran war is shaking confidence in the property market. Net mortgage approvals jumped three per cent to 65,900 in April, above the six-month average of around 63,100, according to Bank of England data. [...]
Reeves warned Iran war oil shock will lead to government borrowing spike June 2, 2026 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been warned that government borrowing is set to spike as a result of the Iran war as the Office for Budget Responsibility admitted it had underestimated the effects of the last energy price shock. In a review of its forecasting models, the OBR suggested it had learned lessons from Russia’s full-scale [...]
Google taps markets for $30bn AI cash call June 2, 2026 Alphabet will raise up to $80bn (£59bn) from investors to fund its AI expansion, marking one of the largest equity fundraisings in history and a major shift for a company that has traditionally relied on its vast cash generation to finance growth. The Google parent said on Monday it would use the proceeds to expand [...]
UK has ‘lost control’ of its international narrative, says Barclays June 2, 2026 Barclays has laid bare the investment barriers facing the UK in a new report that states the nation has “lost control of its international narrative” leading to an impact on foreign capital. The banking giant has called for a drastic shake-up of how the UK attracts international capital, following its share narrowing to seven per [...]
‘Clients pay for expertise, not process’ – Grant Thornton rolls out Anthropic AI June 2, 2026 Professional services giant Grant Thornton is rolling out Anthropic across its entire UK workforce as the firm seeks to embed AI in its services at a time when the technology is upending the industry. The accountancy firm’s UK arm said it will roll out Anthropic’s generative AI service, Claude, to all partners across its audit, [...]
No ‘capacity’ for Ed Miliband’s warm homes plan, says British bank boss June 2, 2026 A UK banking chief has warned the government does not have the “capacity” to meet its ambition to transition millions of homes to low carbon-heating technologies. Nigel Terrington, the boss of specialist lender Paragon Bank, said Labour faced an “operational capacity constraint” in its bid to implement its warm home plan. The £15bn initiative, which [...]
London luxury property at mercy of Labour chaos, not Iran war June 2, 2026 Labour party infighting, not the Iran war, is the primary factor shaping the ongoing slump in London’s luxury property market, experts have said. While inflation fears caused by the Iran war had been blamed for the capital’s stagnant prime property market, speculation around the tax regime of a potential successor to Starmer is emerging as [...]
Borrowing costs fall as interest rate hike fears ease June 2, 2026 Government borrowing costs fell sharply on Tuesday, after a dovish speech from Bank of England governor and revived hopes of a Middle East peace deal led traders to pare back bets on central bank interest rate hikes. Gilts rebounded across the curve, outperforming their European peers. The UK’s two-year and 10-year government bonds fell as [...]
Lime trialled fast-food lane that let Deliveroo riders bypass speed limits June 2, 2026 Lime has scrapped a trial that allowed Deliveroo riders to bypass speed restrictions on its rental e-bikes after questions were raised over the policy. The scheme, first reported by London Centric, gave riders using Lime’s new Delivery Pass access to areas where ordinary users would automatically be slowed down by the company’s “turtle mode” system. [...]
Surging military spending boosts London-listed defence sales June 2, 2026 Two London-listed manufacturing contractors are reaping the benefits of a surge in defence spending as the period of geopolitical turmoil boosts sales across the sector. FTSE AIM-listed firm Gooch & Housego’s saw its profits before tax surge by nearly 16 per cent in the first half of the financial year, up to £3.3bn, driven by [...]