Ministers urge cyber crackdown as Anthropic AI fears grow April 20, 2026 Ministers have ramped up pressure on UK businesses to strengthen their cyber defences amid concerns that the next generation of AI could supercharge hacking threats. In a new push led by cyber minister Baroness Lloyd of Effra, nearly 200 business leaders were told to sign a new “cyber resilience pledge”, as fears mount that powerful [...]
Airfares, petrol pumps, rent: Inflation to jump due to Iran war April 20, 2026 Inflation is expected to jump to 3.3 per cent as the first effects of the war in Iran will be recorded in a new set of data. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is expected to reveal that inflation inched up in the year to March due to soaring fuel prices and tremors across financial [...]
‘No more Mr Nice Guy’: Oil prices spike as Trump renews Iran power plant threats April 20, 2026 The price of oil has been driven higher by the latest round of escalations in the Middle East renewing fears of a drastic global energy shock. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – jumped over six per cent on Monday morning to over $96. It follows a weekend of tensions where shipping [...]
Unemployment to peak at 5.8 per cent as jobs market faces ‘biggest hit’ since pandemic April 20, 2026 Britain is set to be “pushed to the brink of a technical recession” in the coming year as the economic fallout of the war in Iran dampens growth prospects and sends unemployment soaring. The latest Item Club report sees the UK economy flatlining in the second and third quarters as it digests the consequences of [...]
Rachel Reeves to meet Lloyds and Natwest chiefs over Iran war April 20, 2026 Rachel Reeves has called in the bosses of Britain’s top banks for a summit this week to discuss the economic impact of the war in Iran. The Chancellor has invited executives from Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Natwest, Santander UK as well as the UK’s biggest building society Nationwide for a meeting this Wednesday. The meeting – as [...]
Consumer confidence suffers biggest drop in four years amid Iran inflation fears April 20, 2026 Consumer confidence fell at the fastest rate in four years as Brits tightened their purse strings amid fears the Iran war will spike inflation. Brits’ confidence in their spending power fell by three per cent at the start of this year, as it reached its lowest level since 2023 and made the biggest drop since [...]
London house prices jump by £3k as market slows April 20, 2026 The average asking price of a home in Britain rose by nearly £3,000 in April, but London’s property market is showing clear signs of strain as higher mortgage rates and a surge in supply curb momentum. New figures from Rightmove show asking prices increased by 0.8 per cent month on month to £373,971, a £2,929 [...]
Bank of England’s Breeden warns Iran war could set off bond and private credit crisis April 17, 2026 The energy crisis set off by Donald Trump’s war in Iran has made a financial crash more likely, according to the Bank of England’s financial stability chief, who warned that private credit, sky-high sovereign debt and stock market exuberance posed salient threats to the global economy. Sarah Breeden, the central bank’s deputy governor for financial [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]