Bank of England holds interest rates and overhauls bond sale programme September 17, 2026 The Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold at a sixth consecutive meeting, but warned that they were likely to rise at future meetings unless the threat to energy markets posed by the Iran war begins to ease. The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee voted six to three to leave rates unchanged, in [...]
Barclays staff revolt against tightened work from home policy September 17, 2026 Barclays is facing growing backlash from its own staff over a decision to tighten its home working policy. Thousands of staff have backed a call to exempt from the bank’s decision to enforce working in the office three days a week. Employees at the London listed bank have also demanded a one-off payment to offset [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 soars after Bank of England holds interest rates September 17, 2026 Welcome back to City AM‘s FTSE 100 liveblog. Investors responded positively to the Bank of England’s widely tipped decision to leave interest rates unchanged at 3.75 per cent on Thursday. Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said that volatile energy prices caused by the Iran war will push inflation up further than its current 3.1 [...]
Interest rates look set to be held amid bond market pressure September 17, 2026 The Bank of England is expected to leave Interest rates unchanged even as bond traders raised expectations for upcoming hikes and the Federal Reserve opted to tighten monetary policy in the US. The Bank’s nine-member Monetary Policy Committee is expected to back leaving interest rates at 3.75 per cent although policymakers are set to be [...]
Burnham considers giving mayors ‘control over water companies’ September 16, 2026 Prime Minister Andy Burnham plans to create nine regional bodies led by mayors that could bring water companies under public control. Under the proposals, regional leaders would sit on boards alongside public health officials, customers and environmental campaigners. Alongside setting company objectives, it is understood the boards will collect customer feedback through consultation mechanisms modelled [...]
Government policy, not the Bank of England will determine future interest rate hikes September 16, 2026 Today’s inflation data does not address two troubling risk on the horizons: a renewed surge in global energy prices and the upcoming Budget, says William Nixon This morning’s inflation data came in close to market expectations, with headline inflation rising to 3.1 per cent in August from 2.9 per cent in July. Compositionally, the increase [...]
How do central bankers decide interest rates when inflation is so unpredictable? September 16, 2026 The Federal Reserve, Bank of England and Bank of Japan all confront the same question this week: how do you set interest rates when inflation is being buffeted by forces well beyond your control? Writes Helen Thomas Three of the world’s most important central banks meet this week, with the Federal Reserve, Bank of England [...]
Inflation inches higher ahead of interest rates decision September 16, 2026 Inflation inched higher in the year to August, official data has shown, adding to pressures faced by the Bank of England ahead of its interest rate decision on Thursday. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said consumer price index (CPI) inflation in the 12 months to August was 3.1 per cent, higher than last month’s [...]
We’re walking an economic tightrope and the wind is picking up September 16, 2026 I spent much of my morning yesterday with a group of City chiefs for a candid (though unfortunately, off the record) chat about the health of our economy and the state of our politics. I feared that my stump speech about the perilous state of our public finances, our low growth rate, the ever-expanding state [...]
Bank of England under pressure to raise interest rates or risk ‘losing credibility’ September 16, 2026 The Bank of England is facing mounting pressure to raise interest rates on Thursday amid a global bond market rout fuelled by concerns over runaway government borrowing and sticky inflation. Investors told Threadneedle Street it was “essential” to rein in prices before the energy shock triggered by the Iran war spreads through the economy and [...]