As it happened: Stocks slip as London’s rally loses momentum September 18, 2026 Welcome back to City AM‘s FTSE 100 liveblog. Stocks in London fell this morning as a three-day rally faded and erased much of the gains made following the Bank of England’s decision to hold interest rates yesterday. The FTSE 100 was trading down nearly one per cent at 12:50pm, dragged lower by falls for Shell [...]
Borrowing costs fall after Bank of England ‘surprises’ markets with bond sale change September 17, 2026 The government’s borrowing costs fell on Thursday, after the Bank of England voted to hold interest rates and chose to end its long-term gilt sales in a major overhaul of its bond sale programme. The yields on both short- and long-term government bonds fell in the aftermath of the decision, as traders pared back bets [...]
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 [...]
Burnham warns of ‘challenging’ Budget and hits back at ‘socialists with TikTok’ jibe September 16, 2026 Andy Burnham has warned Brits to expect a “challenging” Budget as he hit back at his former adviser for accusing him of being a “socialist with better TikToks”. Burnham’s comments will be interpreted as an indication that tax hikes will likely form part of October’s Budget, as his pledge to give households “breathing space” on [...]
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 [...]
Four interest rate hikes loom despite surprise economic growth September 11, 2026 The Bank of England is expected to hike interest rates as many as four times within the next year, City figures have said, after the economy delivered surprise growth in July. The central bank is expected to be buoyed by this morning’s GDP figures, which saw the UK economy grow by 0.4 per cent in [...]
UK economy grew unexpectedly after Burnham took over as Prime Minister September 11, 2026 The UK economy had surprise growth in the month Andy Burnham became Prime Minister. Official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed GDP expanded 0.4 per cent in July, racing ahead of City economists’ forecast of zero growth. This was led by 0.4 per cent growth in the UK’s mammoth services sector, [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 rallies as economy beats forecasts; oil falls back September 11, 2026 Welcome back to City AM’s FTSE 100 liveblog. The UK’s blue-chip index rallied on Friday after the economy beat forecasts in July, surprising those in the City who had expected to see growth peter out. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that the UK economy’s (GDP) grew by 0.4 per cent in July, [...]
Surge in borrowing costs could force Healey to deliver ‘emergency Budget’ September 10, 2026 Surging government bond yields could force John Healey to deliver an “emergency Budget” in which the UK’s new Chancellor drives through a wave of spending cuts in a bid to bear down on Britain’s ballooning debt pile. UK gilt yields have this week surged to the highest rates seen in decades amid rising uncertainty over [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 dives as oil marches to $106; Trump threatens long war September 10, 2026 Welcome back to City AM’s FTSE 100 liveblog. The UK’s blue-chip index shed as much as 0.4 per cent on Thursday morning, as Associated British Foods’ 11 per cent dip cancelled out modest gains from London’s oil majors and consumer giants like JD Sports and Whitbread. Despite recent expectations that the Iran war is far [...]