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 [...]
Federal Reserve earns rebuke from Trump after interest rate hike September 17, 2026 Kevin Warsh’s Federal Reserve has raised interest rates for the first time since 2023 and effectively pencilled in another hike this year, defying President Trump’s demands for looser monetary policy. On Wednesday, Warsh joined a unanimous decision to raise the US’s central rate by 25 basis points – or a quarter of a percentage point [...]
Natwest chair: Boost investment in UK or risk ‘inter-generational crisis’ September 17, 2026 The chair of Natwest has warned the UK is in a “moment of national crisis” that can only be fixed by firing up investment in the country’s flagging economy. Rick Haythornthwaite, the City grandee who has also chaired the boards of Mastercard and Ocado, told City AM that years of political instability and poor decision-making [...]
WH Smith warns on profit again as discounting hits margins September 16, 2026 WH Smith has cut its profit target again after warning that intense discounting and “inflation headwinds” are hitting its bottom line. The convenience retailer had initially told investors it could make as much as £105m in pre-tax profit this year, before slashing the target to between £75m and £90m. On Wednesday, the group reduced its [...]
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 [...]
Can cautious Wolfson keep stunning Next shareholders? September 16, 2026 Lord Simon Wolfson has become a shareholder darling over his 25 years in charge of Next. Felix Armstrong asks whether he can keep on surprising them. Few companies listed on the London Stock Exchange are more bound up with the personality of their chief executives than Next. Lord Simon Wolfson, the long-time boss of the [...]
London-listed builder exits ‘challenging’ housing sector after property market slowdown September 15, 2026 A top listed construction firm has pulled out of the UK’s “challenging” housing sector after a slump in demand for new homes across the country. FTSE 250 firm Kier told shareholders on Tuesday that it is pulling all capital out of the residential property sector in a bid to “de-risk” its portfolio. The group’s pre-tax [...]
Barratt Redrow hopes to defy housebuilding gloom by splashing cash September 15, 2026 As some of London’s listed housebuilders take emergency measures to cut costs amid rising building costs and stagnant demand for homes, one firm is splashing the cash. Barratt Redrow, which will announce its full-year numbers on Wednesday, defied the miserly approach taken by its rivals earlier this summer when it said it will buy back [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 stocks led higher by software firms; oil at four-month high September 14, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The price of oil has smashed a four-month high following on from last week’s nine per cent rally. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – rose towards $108 per barrel on Monday morning following the news that Saudi Arabia had shut a major crude pipeline [...]
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 [...]