Farage slammed over pledge to keep ‘unsustainable’ triple lock pension April 2, 2026 Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has come under fire after committing to maintaining the triple lock pension, the financial mechanism that ensures pensioners’ earnings are increased by whatever is higher out of inflation or wage growth even in times of economic crisis. In a press conference on Thursday, Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick said pensioners were worried about [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Dow Jones joins City in red; Oil soars on Iran war fears April 2, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. After a dose of optimism hit markets on Wednesday, that looks to all be eradicated come this morning. In a 19-minute long address to the nation, Donald Trump vowed to “finish the job” in Iran and warned the country would be hit “extremely hard” in [...]
Once again Starmer addresses the nation – with nothing to say April 2, 2026 The Prime Minister held a press conference yesterday to update us all on the Iran war and to confirm that we’re still not in it. That’s Keir Starmer’s most valued line these days; that this isn’t our war and we’re not involved. However, despite our declared neutrality, Starmer had to concede that “the impact of [...]
Costs up, demand down: Manufacturers suffer biggest squeeze since 2022 April 1, 2026 Costs for the UK’s manufacturing sector have risen at the fastest pace in three and a half years, new data has indicated, as the energy price shock from the Iran war hammers businesses. S&P Global research has found that manufacturers suffered the highest increase in input prices since late 2022 when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine [...]
Bank of England: UK economy risks ‘large and overlapping’ shocks April 1, 2026 The Bank of England has issued a major warning that the financial system is facing increasing risks of “large, frequent and potentially overlapping shocks” amid the volatility from the Middle East war‘ and ongoing market risks’s impact on energy and global markets. In the latest meeting of the central bank’s Financial Policy Committee top officials [...]
‘Unprecedented’ – Food inflation to soar to 9 per cent by end of year April 1, 2026 Food inflation will soar from three to nine per cent by the end of this year due to the “unprecedented” energy and supply chain shocks caused by the Iran war, a leading association has warned. The rate of food price growth is currently at 3.3 per cent but will climb to nine per cent by [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks boom as Trump signals end to Iran war; Starmer eyes closer ties to EU April 1, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. President Trump has made his clearest indication yet that the war in Iran might soon come to a close, saying the US will “leave” Iran in “two to three weeks” when they are certain the regime will not be able to build a nuclear weapon [...]
Reeves must listen to supermarkets rather than lecture them April 1, 2026 Supermarkets begin preparing for Christmas at least six months before the anticipated peak of customer demand hits around December 23. Catering for this entirely predictable surge is in itself an astonishing commercial and logistical feat, but a little over six years ago the UK’s supermarkets were in the midst of an unprecedented challenge. As pandemic [...]
UK business confidence plunges to another record low April 1, 2026 Business confidence in the future of the UK economy has plunged to another record low as directors fear the war will damage investment plans and increase costs, a leading survey has found. Research by the Institute of Directors recorded business confidence dropping to a net figure of -76 in March, compared to -63 in February. [...]
Motor finance compensation to ‘to fire starting gun’ on banking M&A March 31, 2026 The financial watchdog’s long-awaited motor finance redress scheme is predicted to “fire the starting gun” on a wave of deals throughout the banking sector. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) launched the final rules for its redress programme on Monday, with the bill for lenders expected to come in at just north of £9bn, down from [...]