Lord O’Neill declines job in Burnham government August 21, 2026 Former Goldman Sachs executive and Tory Treasury minister Lord Jim O’Neill has declined a job in Andy Burnham’s government, in a blow to the Prime Minister as he looks to woo business ahead of the Budget. O’Neill served as an informal economic adviser to Burnham before his election as Labour leader and had been in [...]
Nationwide warns returns from corporate AI are still hard to measure August 21, 2026 Nationwide has warned that the financial returns from workplace AI remain difficult to quantify, even as the building society rolls out the technology to around 16,000 staff. Around 1,000 employees across the combined Nationwide and Virgin Money finance team now have premium Microsoft 365 Copilot licences, while some 2,500 engineers are using Github Copilot. Paul [...]
UK economy’s rebound fails to stem two years of mass job losses August 21, 2026 A rebound in the UK economy over August has failed to turn around the country’s flagging labour market after nearly two years of job losses, new estimates have shown. Data tracked by S&P Global suggested the UK’s private sector grew at the fastest pace in four months in August despite concerns around business costs and [...]
Burnham predicted to raise taxes for ‘fundamental’ cost of living support August 21, 2026 Andy Burnham will struggle to deliver “fundamental” cost of living support without raising taxes, economists have warned, after a spike in government bond yields in recent weeks. Higher than expected government borrowing in July has deepened problems for the UK’s public finances, narrowing the range of extra cost of living measures that could be adopted [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 climbs as markets digest Bessent buyback August 21, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The FTSE 100 has closed 0.6 per cent higher after fresh research showed consumer confidence has risen to its highest level in nearly two years. The GfK consumer confidence index – which polls households on the way they view their finances and economic outlook – jumped three points [...]
Hammersmith Bridge is a test for Burnham’s place-based growth August 21, 2026 Putting forward funds to reopen Hammersmith Bridge is not special pleading for the capital, it is common sense, writes Tolga Inanc.
The decline of Harvey Nichols is a tale of London’s decline too August 21, 2026 The decline and fall of Harvey Nichols is not just another business story. It is a warning about the crisis engulfing London’s high streets.
Consumer confidence extends upward streak in boost to Burnham and Healey August 21, 2026 Consumer confidence rose for the fourth straight month in August in a sign that Brits are buying into the government’s push to tackle the cost of living, a leading survey has suggested. GfK’s consumer confidence index rose to -14 this month, up three points from the net score last month. Consumer confidence has been rising [...]
Healey told tax rises for fiscal remedy are ‘not required’ August 20, 2026 Chancellor John Healey does not have to raise taxes to offer the UK economy “immediate remedial action” at the Budget, a top City economist has said. Panmure Liberum economist Simon French, who formerly worked at the Treasury, said the fiscal outlook for the government would be “broadly in the same position” as in the beginning [...]
Standard Life partners with Goldman Sachs and CVC to fuel pension risk transfer business August 20, 2026 Standard Life has struck a deal with a group of global finance giants including CVC and Goldman Sachs in a bid to accelerate its push into the booming pension risk transfer market. The FTSE 100 group has joined forces with a CVC-led consortium, which also includes insurer Prudential, to commit as much as £2bn over [...]