Sainsbury’s threatens to crack down on shoplifters caught swapping eggs April 18, 2026 UK supermarket giants Sainsbury’s has threatened shoplifters with police action if they are caught swapping premium eggs into cheaper boxes. Sainsbury’s has placed signs in stores telling customers that egg swapping is “regarded as theft”, claiming that any footage of shoplifting would be shared with police. In a picture posted on social media by retail [...]
‘Concerned but not surprised’: Three-quarters of UK landlords and sole traders miss digital tax launch April 18, 2026 Only a quarter of sole traders and landlord who need to sign up for the UK’s new digital tax system have done so, despite the scheme already having come into effect this month. From 6 April, anyone who earned more than £50,000 in the 2024/25 tax year from property or self-employment income was required to [...]
‘Bond market tantrum risks’: Gilt traders brace for Labour leftward pivot as Starmer future uncertain April 17, 2026 Bond traders are bracing for the prospect of a surge in gilt yields as uncertainty over the future of Keir Starmer’s term in office could pave the way for a more left-wing successor. A Starmer defenestration could be just weeks away amid renewed scrutiny over the botched appointment of Peter Mandelson as Washington ambassador and [...]
UK economy ‘too weak’ to suffer from sky high inflation April 17, 2026 The UK economy will not suffer from a return of persistent high inflation because its labour market is too weak for staff to demand pay rises, a top investment bank has said. In a research note, Berenberg said that the government’s tighter grasp on the public finances and its rapidly deteriorating jobs market mean households [...]
City of London urges action on Swiss border as EES holds up business travellers April 17, 2026 City of London officials are pressing Switzerland to allow UK travellers to use automated passport gates to end the long airport queues that have become a regular gripe for business travellers. The new EU Entry/Exit System (EES), which covers the Schengen area, rolled out last week, and it has resulted in lengthy queues at airports [...]
Bank of England will set ‘high bar’ for any interest rate change April 17, 2026 Policymakers at the Bank of England will set a ‘high bar’ for making any interest rate change later this month despite growing expectations of rising inflation, top City analyst Simon French has said. The previous energy shock suffered by the UK following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 saw inflation spike to as high [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks jittery as Starmer makes play to reopen Strait of Hormuz April 17, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The UK and France are set to co-chair a meeting with allies later today in a bid to strum up ways to re-open the Strait of Hormuz. The vital waterway, which sits off Iran’s coast, sees around a fifth of the world’s oil supply flow [...]
The £4.2m CMA sledgehammer over drip pricing that is totally out of proportion April 17, 2026 There’s a particular kind of institutional vanity that mistakes noise for impact. It’s particularly prevalent in Whitehall and abundant especially in those – like many in our government today – who have only ever worked in the bureaucratic state or legal profession. The CMA’s triumphant announcement this week — it’s very first fine under the [...]
UK suffered biggest unemployment surge in G7 April 16, 2026 UK unemployment rose at a faster pace than any country in the G7, the OECD has said, with a sharp rise in joblessness particularly damaging for the youngest people. Unemployment levels across the country rose sharply by 0.8 percentage points over the year to 5.2 per cent between the last three months of 2024 and [...]
‘Pet projects’: Tories slam pension mandation powers as Labour refuse to back down April 16, 2026 The Conservatives have slammed the controversial mandation powers in the Pension Schemes Bill, after parliament swept aside the amendments put forward by the House of Lords. Labour has come a step closer to finalising the bill, after it used its government majority to stamp out more than 80 amendments put forward by the upper house, [...]