‘Chance of 2026 recession’ despite interest rate cut – follow live December 18, 2025 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The Bank of England has handed Chancellor Rachel Reeves and the Labour government a highly-desired Christmas present today. The central bank confirmed a chop to interest rates falling to 3.75 per cent – the lowest in nearly three years. It comes after inflation undershot expectations on Wednesday providing [...]
For Starmer, things can only get worse December 18, 2025 It’s been a bad year for Starmer, characterised by scandals, economic woes and plummeting poll ratings – and it looks 2026 is going to be no better, says Tom Harwood As we all enjoy late December’s time honoured if questionable traditions of frantic Christmas shopping, parties and hangovers – please spare a thought for one [...]
Paypal becomes latest fintech to capitalise on Trump’s deregulation December 16, 2025 Paypal has its sights set on acquiring a banking licence in the US as it becomes the latest fintech aiming to jump on President Donald Trump’s deregulatory agenda. The payments giant on Monday said it had submitted applications to the Utah Department of Financial Institutions and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to form Paypal Bank. [...]
Redundancies hit highest level since pandemic as unemployment climbs higher December 16, 2025 The UK unemployment rate jumped above the 5 per cent mark and redundancies surged to their highest level since the pandemic. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published damning figures on Tuesday morning that will likely send chills throughout the Labour government ministers ahead of the Christmas break. It said the number of payrolled employess [...]
Public sector jobs and pay increase while private sector struggles December 16, 2025 Public sector employment jumped in September while the number of workers in the private sector fell, official statistics have shown. Employment in the public sector increased by 7,000 in the three months to September 2025 as total employment reached 6.2m. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said employment in central government hit a record high [...]
Global recruiter SThree hit by ailing UK jobs market December 16, 2025 Global recruiter SThree has felt the pinch of the deteriorating UK jobs market with the region becoming the group’s worst performing large market. The consultancy – which specialises in connecting workers in science, tech engineering and mathematics with companies in need of staff – recorded a 26 per cent slump in fees in the UK [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Ofwat £11m fine; Unemployment at four-year high December 16, 2025 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. We received another gloomy snapshot of the economy ahead of the ever-important Bank of England rate decision on Thursday. New unemployment data showed another blow for the Labour government, which has denied that its policies have had an on the ailing jobs market. The UK [...]
Starmer addresses leadership rumours amid bond market warnings December 15, 2025 Keir Starmer has acknowledged that speculation over his leadership is “rife” amid fresh concerns that a change in Prime Minister could spark panic in the bond markets. The PM vowed to take action on leaks and briefings coming from Downing Street over the last few months, adding that he had previously dismissed officials for sharing [...]
Tories tell Labour to return donor’s funds amid antisemitism row December 15, 2025 The Tories have called on Labour to return donations made by top donor Dale Vince after he provoked backlash with a social media post on antisemitism following the Bondi Beach terror attack. In a post on X, Vince — an energy tycoon who gave Labour more than £5m last year — linked the attack on [...]
Inflation to remain sticky before interest rates call December 15, 2025 Inflation is expected to remain stubbornly high in fresh data to be released on Wednesday, adding greater scrutiny to the Bank of England’s upcoming interest rates decision. Price growth is set to remain at 3.5 per cent in the year to November, a slight fall from the month before, according to consensus established by Trading [...]