UK inflation overshoots forecasts in cost of living warning January 21, 2026 Inflation overshot forecasts pencilled in by economists, sending the Bank of England a warning on their steady pace of interest rate cuts. New data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has shown consumer price index (CPI) inflation, the headline measure for price growth, hitting 3.4 per cent in the year to December. Economists [...]
With not much else to offer, Reeves pitches ‘stable’ UK to Davos elite January 21, 2026 The Canadian PM and former governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, told an audience at Davos yesterday that “the old order is not coming back,” and that “there’s been a rupture in the world.” He said the structures we took for granted have been replaced by “a system of intensifying great power rivalry [...]
Andrew Bailey: Muted response to Trump does not bring ‘assurance’ January 20, 2026 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey said the “muted” market response to President Trump’s latest tariff threats did not bring any assurance over global financial stability. Bailey on Tuesday morning suggested that President Trump’s tariffs on the UK and major European economies would not be a “trigger” for a financial breakdown. During a Treasury Committee [...]
FTSE 100 and Wall St sink as EU and Trump war of words heats up January 20, 2026 The war of words between the Trump administration and Europe ramped up on Tuesday as world leaders headed for a showdown in Davos whilst global markets sunk into the red. Ursula Von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said the tariffs imposed on European nations due to their staunch defence of Greenland’s sovereignty [...]
Trump blasts Starmer on Chagos deal in shock change of tune January 20, 2026 President Trump has attacked Keir Starmer for the UK’s giveaway of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, even though he gave his blessing to the deal last year. In a new Truth Social post scolding the Prime Minister over the Chagos deal, which includes a shared US military base at Diego Garcia that will be leased [...]
Thousands more jobs lost as UK businesses hold off hiring January 20, 2026 Thousands more jobs have been lost across the UK, official data has shown, while wage growth also slowed down in further signs of a struggling labour market. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said that the number of employees on the payroll fell by 33,000 in November while an estimate for December said there [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks fall as Trump ramps up pressure; Unemployment at four-year high January 20, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Thousands more Brits exited the jobs market in November as the estimated number of payrolled employees fell by 33,000. New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the UK unemployment rate for people aged 16 years and hit 5.1 per cent in September [...]
Starmer is right to play it cool with Trump January 20, 2026 There was a time, really not that long ago, when Davos concerned itself mostly with feel-good sessions on sustainability, inclusive growth, the promise of net zero and various other progressive causes. Who can forget Bono chatting away on stage with Rwanda’s president on the importance of transparency and good governance? Or 2020’s inspiring theme of [...]
UK financial system exposed to ‘serious harm’ from AI risks January 20, 2026 The Treasury, the financial watchdog and the Bank of England have been handed a stiff warning that the nation’s financial system is not adequately prepared for an AI shock. A group of influential MPs sat on the Treasury Select Committee took aim at the institutions for “not doing enough to manage the risks presented by [...]
Reeves to overhaul visa system for talented migrants in Davos pitch January 20, 2026 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to talk up new visa schemes aimed at highly-skilled migrants working in tech in a pitch to business leaders and top researchers gathered at Davos. Reeves is set to talk up the Labour government’s new immigration policies as she hopes to get the attention of some of the world’s richest [...]