City investors raise alarm on Burnham’s Chancellor pick June 18, 2026 Andy Burnham’s bid to return to parliament poses a risk to financial markets, City analysts have warned, as his next pick as Chancellor could heavily sway traders’ views. City analysts have said they will be closely watching out for developments on Friday as results from the Makerfield by-election emerge in the early hours of the [...]
Kemi Badenoch pledges to wield the axe on post-financial crisis banking regulation June 18, 2026 Kemi Badenoch will today step up her efforts to woo the City as she promises to wield the axe on post-financial crisis banking regulation if she manages to clinch the keys to Number 10. “London is having its lunch eaten” by overregulation, the Tory leader will proclaim as she proposes a shakeup of the financial regime that she hopes [...]
War bonds to lift defence spending ruled out June 17, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has ruled out issuing defence bonds to fund an uplift in spending as a spokesperson said it was “just another form of borrowing”. In his absence at Prime Minister’s Questions, Starmer’s deputy David Lammy appeared to open the door to defence bonds being created to fund a rise in spending. The Liberal [...]
House prices jump as property market ‘treads water in rough conditions’ June 17, 2026 House prices jumped by 0.7 per cent in April, in signs that the property market is “trading water in rough conditions” as the Iran war spikes mortgage rates. The average UK house price rose to £270,000 from March to April, marking 3.8 per cent year-on-year growth, according to new government statistics. But property experts have [...]
Inflation stays below three per cent despite price warning June 17, 2026 Inflation has stayed below three per cent although economists are predicting further price increases later this year. The Office for National Statistics said inflation in the year to May was lower than economists expected with the consumer prices index (CPI) showing a reading of 2.8 per cent. Core inflation, which strips volatile energy and food [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 see-saws after inflation undershoots; Oil at $80 as Trump threatens ‘dropping bombs’ on Iran June 17, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Fresh inflation data this morning showed a reading of 2.8 per cent leading the consumer price index unchanged from May. This came under the expectations of a poll of City analysts by Bloomberg that forecast inflation would come in at three per cent for May. Core inflation, which [...]
Nationwide fires starting gun on mortgage deals ahead of interest rate decision June 16, 2026 Nationwide has slashed its mortgage rates for the second time in the space of a week, ahead of the Bank of England’s interest rate decision on Thursday. The building society has taken the chop to its home loan prices, with a 0.28 percentage-point reduction. It follows a 0.12 cut on 10 June. The move comes [...]
Record number of central banks plan to increase gold holdings amid global volatility June 16, 2026 A record number of central banks are expected to increase their gold holdings over the next 12 months as global volatility continues to rock markets. Nearly 90 per cent of reserve managers anticipate central bank holdings to continue rising in the wake of the precious metal becoming the top reserve asset, overtaking US government treasuries, [...]
Bank of England should hold interest rates, City AM Shadow MPC says June 16, 2026 The Bank of England should hold interest rates as inflation could stay above three per cent for several months, top economists have said. City AM’s Shadow Monetary Policy Committee, a group of leading economists who have provided responses independently of their respective organisations, said interest rates should be kept at 3.75 per cent. Economists warned [...]
What will markets make of the new chair of the Fed? June 16, 2026 Kevin Warsh wants to take us back to a world where the semi-annual Humphrey-Hawkins testimony of the Fed Chair to Congress is effectively the moment where the Monetary Wizard of Oz steps out from behind the curtain to signal the direction for interest rates, says Helen Thomas “I don’t view the Chairman, in his testimony [...]