FTSE 100 Live: Natwest shares fall after deal; Political jitters in bond market February 9, 2026 Good morning and welcome to the City AM liveblog. Markets will have a lot to catch up on this morning after the latest escalation in political dramas over the weekend. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff announced his exit from government amid mounting pressure over the appointment of Peter Mandelson to US ambassador. [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Starmer unease rattles markets; Big tech sell-off February 6, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Speculation over Keir Starmer’s future has unleashed a fresh round of market unease as investors dumped the pound, UK equities and long-dated government bonds amid rising political uncertainty. The gulf in price between the UK’s short- and long-term debt – known as the yield curve – reached [...]
Starmer future speculation sparks sell-off in long-dated bonds and pound February 5, 2026 Speculation over Keir Starmer’s future has unleashed a fresh round of market unease, with investors dumping the pound, UK equities and long-dated government bonds amid the political uncertainty. The gulf in price between the UK’s short- and long-term debt – known as the yield curve – reached its highest since 2018, in a sign investors [...]
Starmer apologises to Epstein victims over Mandelson role as Badenoch calls on PM to quit February 5, 2026 Keir Starmer has vowed to stay on as Prime Minister, denying knowing the “depth and darkness” of Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein when he appointed the disgraced politician as US ambassador. Speaking at an event in east Sussex, the Prime Minister apologised to Epstein’s victims saying he was “sorry for having believed Mandelson’s lies [...]
UK government borrowing overshoots expectations in November December 19, 2025 UK government borrowing exceeded expectations in November but still fell year-on-year after tax receipts surged following Rachel Reeves’ first Autumn Budget. The latest release from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed public sector borrowing topped £11.7bn in November. City economists expected government borrowing to come in at £10.2bn over the month. Despite this, the [...]
Bank of England sounds alarm on leveraged hedge fund bond bets December 3, 2025 The Bank of England has sounded the alarm on international hedge funds snapping up record levels of UK government debt, warning that their highly leveraged bets leave Britain increasingly exposed to a bond market meltdown. In its biannual Financial Stability Report, the central bank said the large share of UK government debt held by risk-seeking asset [...]
FTSE 100 Live: OBR chiefs face MP grilling; Food inflation slows December 2, 2025 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) admitted its “worst failure in the 15-year history” of the fiscal watchdog on Monday. This morning, from 10am, two of its remaining spokespeople will be facing a grilling from the Treasury select committee of MPs. The sensational leak of [...]
Reeves ends Budget week with more unanswered questions than she started with November 29, 2025 It was supposed to be the week that ended months of uncertainty. But Rachel Reeves has finished Budget week with more questions to answer than she started with. Not all of it was bad. Increasing the fiscal headroom was prudent. Cutting back motability spending was sensible. Removing a loophole that allowed private hire firms to [...]
City readies up for Labour’s borrowing spree November 26, 2025 Fixed income investors are readying for the Debt Management Office (DMO) to boost its gilt issuance for the current financial year, otherwise the level of UK government debt sold to traders, as the Labour government ploughs ahead with its borrowing spree. The DMO, an independent government body that oversees the sale of UK government bonds, [...]
Bond market braces for gilt and sterling tremors November 26, 2025 Bond market participants are bracing for a fresh round of turbulence in the aftermath of Wednesday’s Budget, with investors rejigging their exposure to gilts having warned the Chancellor’s fiscal plans are “very much under the microscope”. Rachel Reeves is expected to use her second major fiscal shake-up mount a historic tax and spend consolidation in [...]