UK manufacturing at four-year high but costs rise at pandemic pace Economics The UK manufacturing sector broke to a four-year record in April but the constraints triggered by the Iran war threatened to upend growth prospects. The latest Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) from S&P Global put the industry’s reading at 53.7 – its best since May 2022. This marked its sixth consecutive month above the neutral 50.0 [...]
‘And so it begins’ – Mortgage lenders kick rates back up amid Middle East crisis Banking A number of mortgage lenders are kicking the their rates back up, with more expected to follow, as market conditions remain volatile due to the unfolding crisis in the Middle East. HSBC UK has said it will increase some of its mortgage rates for first-time buyers, movers and re-mortgagers and the UK’s largest building society, [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Inflation falls to near year-low; BAE leads stock rally Markets Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Inflation has fallen to a near year-low this morning hitting its slowest pace since March and fuelling hopes that the Bank of England will take the chop to interest rates next month. New data from the Official for National Statistics showed rose the Consumer Price [...]
Inflation tipped to fall to year-low in boost to interest rate cuts February 16, 2026 Inflation is tipped to fall back to its lowest level for nearly a year in a busy week for UK economic data, with hopes the drop will help accelerate the Bank of England’s rate-cutting cycle. Economists are expecting the Office for National Statistics to show a sharp reprieve in the Consumer Price Index – the [...]
Soaring food costs send shop price inflation higher January 6, 2026 Soaring food costs pushed shop price inflation higher in December, fresh data has revealed, as Brits faced the crunch during the Christmas season. Food inflation reached 3.3 per cent in the final month of 2025, up from three per cent in November, with fresh produce rising to 3.8 per cent from 3.6 per cent previously. [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Inflation eases more than expected ahead of rate decision December 17, 2025 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. We’ve had the latest inflation data this morning, which has shown the consumer price index (CPI) rose by 3.2 per cent in the 12 months to November 2025. This eased from 3.6 per cent in October 2025. It also beats figures pencilled in by economists, [...]
Ashtead: Profit down at equipment giant as revenue slows September 3, 2024 Equipment rental group Ashtead’s revenue grew just two per cent, and profit fell during the three-month period ending 31 July, as a construction slowdown across the US hit the company. The equipment hire giant, the FTSE 100’s 25th largest firm, reported revenue of $2.75bn (£2.1bn) for the period, up from $2.7bn (£2.06bn) in the prior [...]
Keller: Engineer and HS2 contractor’s shares surge on record profit thanks to ‘Bidenomics’ August 6, 2024 Shares in engineer Keller shot up by over nine per cent at market open on Tuesday, after firm’s profit more than doubled in the first half of the year. Profit before tax at the FTSE 250 constituent, which is the world’s largest specialist in earth and ground engineering and was one of the main contractors [...]