UK borrowing costs surge as Trump declares Iran ceasefire over July 8, 2026 UK borrowing costs surged and the price of oil leapt to a two week-high on Wednesday after Donald Trump suggested his already-fragile ceasefire deal with Iran was over. The yield on ten-year gilts – the primary benchmark for how much it costs the government to borrow – stormed 11 basis points higher to 4.96 per [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 slump as oil soars; Trump says Iran will be ‘hit hard’ tonight July 8, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Global markets are strapping in for a return to risk-aversion after the US and Iran traded strikes overnight following the breakdown of a peace deal in the Middle East. The US kicked off its “series of powerful strikes” late Monday night. The nation’s Central Command said the attacks [...]
Voters expect Burnham to hike taxes July 8, 2026 Taxes will rise to even higher levels under Andy Burnham’s government as the likely-incoming Prime Minister ramps up spending on council housing and public services, voters have predicted. City AM/Freshwater polling has shown that more than half of voters expect taxes to increase under Burnham’s government regardless of which Labour figure takes over from Rachel [...]
London workers most exposed to AI jobs cull July 7, 2026 Workers in London are more exposed to an artificial intelligence-induced jobs cull than in any other major city, according to the world’s leading economics think tank, while growth in hiring for AI talent has been lower than in the EU, Canada and the US. A new OECD report from the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation [...]
Bank of England to relax capital rules despite warning of economic threats July 7, 2026 The Bank of England set out proposals to relax UK banks’ capital rules even as it sounded the alarm on the growing risk of multiple threats hitting the UK economy. In the latest meeting of the central bank’s Financial Policy Committee top officials said it would work with watchdogs on a package of “broad reforms” [...]
Pension pressure to help swell UK debt to three times size of economy July 7, 2026 The growing cost of pensions is set to help swell UK public debt to three times the size of the economy and will place ‘unsustainable’ pressure on the public finances, the budget watchdog has warned, days after Andy Burnham pledged to retain the expensive triple lock after taking power. In its annual report on the [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 rises to defy tech gloom; oil creeps up on fresh Iran tensions July 7, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Donald Trump warned the US will “finish the job” in Iran leaving investors unnerved as he renewed military threats following the funeral of Tehran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil – traded above $72 per barrel on the news, but [...]
Burnham’s encounter with political and economic reality will be brutal when it comes July 7, 2026 This is turning out to be a very strange summer indeed, and I’m not referring to the football. This week, a Prime Minister with no power will attend the NATO summit in Ankara and next week, a Chancellor with just days left in the job will tell a City crowd at the Mansion House banquet [...]
Brits say Burnham should call an election July 7, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer is set to leave Downing Street on 20 July and a majority of Brits believe Andy Burnham should call a snap election when he takes over. Nearly two thirds of voters (65 per cent) believe a new Prime Minister should call an immediate general election as opposed to 29 per cent who [...]
Burnham told to launch £100bn tax reform package July 6, 2026 Andy Burnham has been urged to introduce sweeping tax reforms that could generate over £100bn in extra government revenue by a group of influential economists, which includes his own heavyweight adviser Jim O’Neill. A letter signed by O’Neill, who was formerly a Treasury minister and Goldman Sachs executive, urged the next Prime Minister to introduce [...]