‘Woke’ banknotes: Bank of England orders money printer to follow ESG rules January 29, 2026 The Bank of England is facing backlash over its plans to make a new banknote printer comply with ESG and diversity standards under a “pass or fail” regime. Bank officials have attracted criticism from shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith over their plans to make applicants for the UK’s new money printing contract follow stringent criteria [...]
Exclusive: Starmer’s opponents receive largest donations in parliament January 29, 2026 Keir Starmer’s fiercest opponents have received the largest sums of cash donations since the General Election, City AM analysis has shown, as moves to weaken the Labour leader’s dominance in Westminster attract financial backing. The Prime Minister has faced intense criticism from all sides of the House of Commons in his first year and a [...]
Banks cool on interest rate cut expectations amid forecasting clash January 28, 2026 Top City banks have pushed back their predictions for the Bank of England’s next interest rate cut as forecasters are split on whether high inflation could upend monetary policy decisions. UBS Investment Bank economist Anna Titareva pushed back a call for the Bank’s next cut from February to March after the Office for National Statistics [...]
Dollar slides as ‘loss of confidence’ in US policy spikes debasement fears January 28, 2026 The US dollar had its worst day since President Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariff onslaught on Tuesday as investors dumped their exposure to the greenback. The DXY index – which tracks the dollar against a basket of other currencies – has slumped over two per cent since the beginning of the year. Amidst the dollar [...]
Starmer warned on ‘severe’ risk of trading with China January 28, 2026 Keir Starmer has been warned about the “severe” risk of trading with China as he said building economic relations with the world’s second largest economy would drive growth. The Prime Minister landed in Beijing on Wednesday for meetings with Chinese officials including President Xi Jinping in the coming days. He has been joined by City [...]
Starmer is wrong to say he doesn’t have to choose between the US and China January 28, 2026 Is Keir Starmer a geopolitical genius? As he jets off to China for the first visit by a UK Prime Minister since 2018, we must at least consider the possibility that he is. Ahead of his departure Starmer said “I’m often invited to simply choose between countries [but] I don’t do that.” The countries in [...]
Public finance bodies need more clarity, says boss of Reeves’ wealth fund January 28, 2026 The boss of Rachel Reeves’ flagship wealth fund has admitted British entrepreneurs want more clarity across public finance bodies as concerns rise over the growing number of institutions. Former RBS boss Oliver Holbourn, who the Chancellor appointed last July to lead the National Wealth Fund (NWF), said “people want more confidence in who they’re going [...]
£300m tax relief for pubs ‘a sticking plaster’ January 27, 2026 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has unveiled a £300m package to support to pubs in their battle against rocketing business rates after widespread backlash to Budget announcements, representing yet another government U-turn on tax plans. The Treasury has announced it will give pubs and music venues a 15 per cent discount on business rates bills from April [...]
Exclusive: George Osborne family business pays out nearly £1m despite losses January 27, 2026 George Osborne’s family has received nearly a million pounds in payments from a wallpaper company that has continued to file losses, official accounts show. The former UK Chancellor is slated to have made up to £877,000 alongside his parents and a finance officer working at Osborne & Little, the family-owned wallpaper business which has existed [...]
Starmer under fire over China trip amid phone-hacking revelations January 27, 2026 Keir Starmer is under fire over his a trade-focused trip to China this week as further reports of espionage emerged. Chinese officials are believed to have hacked the phones of key government officials, according to The Telegraph. Hackers targeted top aides to UK prime ministers including Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, intelligence sources [...]