Banks called on to slash mortgage borrowing costs May 7, 2025 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has called on lenders to take informed risks in the mortgage market to improve consumer support. The City regulator has launched a consultation on mortgage rules which targets reducing the overall cost of borrowing through term reductions and access to cheaper products when remortgaging. It said discussions will include “consideration [...]
Fed expected to hold interest rates and vex Trump May 7, 2025 The US Federal Reserve will not bring interest rates down until July, Goldman Sachs has predicted, in what may spark a fresh conflict between President Trump and Fed chair Jerome Powell. The world’s most powerful central bank has held back from making interest rate cuts due to a foggy outlook on what a trade war [...]
US dollar ‘structural downtrend’ set to benefit pound says UBS May 7, 2025 UBS has said investors should expect strengthening of the pound against the US dollar over the next year as fears grow over the American currency’s “fragility.” The pound has surged almost 10 per cent against the US dollar since its recent low in mid-January, now sitting at $1.33. However, UBS analysts expect the surge to continue towards [...]
Interest rates are dropping – is it time to fix your savings? May 7, 2025 The Bank of England has begun cutting interest rates, and with concerns over a global trade war seeping into growth forecasts, it is likely that the rate cuts will continue. Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey has confirmed that interest rates are on a declining path, despite inflation stubbornly remaining above the central bank’s target of [...]
UK universities should focus on excellence, not DEI May 7, 2025 The UK university sector won’t solve it’s financial problems by prioritising diversity goals over research quality, says Paul Ormerod The university sector in the UK often seems to live in a dream world. Research England, for example, is proposing to order them to “robustly” promote diversity and inclusion in order to qualify for access to [...]
Revealed: The 2025 City AM Awards Winners May 7, 2025 The winners of the 2025 City AM Awards were unveiled at a glittering ceremony in the heart of the Square Mile last night in front of 500 guests. The gongs were handed out on stage in the Guildhall, following a speech from former Bank of England Chief Economist Andy Haldane. City AM Editor-in-Chief, Christian May, [...]
Bank of England to delay interest rates decision – by two minutes May 6, 2025 The Bank of England will delay the release of its latest decision on interest rates this Thursday – by two minutes. The highly unusual change was made to accommodate a two-minute silence to commemorate Victory in Europe Day this week. It means Brits will only be informed about the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)’s decision to [...]
Natwest to ‘outperform’ sector with bumper year, analysts predict May 6, 2025 RBC analysts slapped a “Sector Outperform” rating on Natwest after the lender beat expectations in its first-quarter report. The analysts upgraded full-year profit before tax estimates by three per cent to £7.1bn, compared to £6.2bn in 2024, and upped the stock’s target price to 475p from 465p. They said the upgrades were driven by net [...]
FTSE 100 extends record win streak as gold miners rally May 6, 2025 The FTSE 100’s record run, fuelled by a recovery in investor sentiment following a pullback in US tariff threats, extended to 16 days on Tuesday. The blue-chip index had another nail-biting session fluctuating between small gains and losses before scraping a 0.01 per cent win. Gold miners led the risers as Endeavour and Fresnillo topped [...]
UK services sent into decline amid ‘market turbulence’ May 6, 2025 UK output was sent into decline by “market turbulence” in April for the first time in one and a half years, prompting fears that Chancellor Reeves’ £40bn tax raid last autumn was damaging the country’s services economy. The services sector, which is seen as the engine behind UK growth, had been on a 17-month winning [...]