City AM Shadow MPC urges Bank of England to hike interest rates November 4, 2026 The Bank of England should raise interest rates on Thursday in order to “protect credibility” and stamp out any risks of inflation spiralling out of control, top economists have said. City AM’s Shadow Monetary Policy Committee, which consists of leading economists across industry and academia, has called on the Bank to lift interest rates by [...]
House prices set to fall until 2028, with London hit hardest November 4, 2026 House prices are not expected to recover from the UK’s property market slump until the second half of 2028, with London set to be the country’s worst-hit region. The average house price in the UK is set to fall by a further 1.5 per cent in 2027, according to new research from estate agency Savills, [...]
Minimum wage hikes push up cost of employing a single worker ‘by over £4,000’ November 3, 2026 Minimum wage increases brought forward by the Labour government have pushed up the annual cost of employing a single worker by over £4,000, new analysis has shown, adding to a mountain of cost pressures facing businesses. Estimates by the Centre for Policy Studies, a free-market think tank, found that between 2024 and 2027 the annual [...]
Barclays and HSBC bankers donate over $500k in US midterms November 3, 2026 Barclays and HSBC bankers donated over half a million dollars to US political candidates ahead of the midterm elections. Bankers who are employed at the two UK-headquartered giants flooded cash into US political figures as millions of Americans headed to the polls. Donors listing Barclays or one of its subsidiaries as an employer contributed just [...]
Private workers to get guaranteed pension income for life in bid to close savings gap November 3, 2026 Private sector workers are set to be given access to guaranteed pension income for life, as the government aims to close the retirement savings gap between the public and private sector. Under new plans set out by pensions minister Torsten Bell on Tuesday, providers will be required to offer workers an annual income as standard [...]
Mortgage squeeze looms for millions as more families ‘financially strained’ November 3, 2026 More people are feeling a financial strain than at any other time in the last two years, polling has shown, with a rise in mortgage bills set to put household budgets under greater pressure. New City AM/Freshwater Strategy polling has suggested that half of mortgage holders will come off fixed-rate deals by the end of [...]
Voters expect ‘no difference’ to UK economy after Healey’s modest Budget November 3, 2026 John Healey’s Budget will make “no difference” to the UK economy, voters have said, as concerns over stealth taxes and defence spending overshadowed a series of giveaways in the Chancellor’s maiden fiscal statement. Polling by City AM/Freshwater Strategy showed that about half of voters expected the Budget to make “no difference” to Britain’s economic fortunes. [...]
London’s house builders and consumer groups targeted by short sellers November 2, 2026 House builders and consumer groups are coming under pressure from short sellers as investors bet on a downturn across both sectors in the coming months. The number of London-listed firms with over five per cent of their shares held short more than doubled from 27 to 60 in the three months to October, according to [...]
Banks battle for mortgages ahead of looming interest rate hike November 2, 2026 Britain’s biggest banks are battling for mortgage market share on razor-thin margins even as borrowers rush to remortgage ahead of looming interest rates hikes. The central bank is expected to lift its base rate to four per cent on Thursday – its first hike in three years – following a sharp resurgence in inflation. The [...]
What the Scotch whisky industry wants from government November 2, 2026 There was a mixture of dismay, exasperation and righteous indignation in the Scotch whisky industry when, in his first Budget as chancellor last Wednesday, John Healey ignored longstanding pleas for a fairer approach to excise duty on spirits. The Scotch Whisky Association’s CEO Mark Kent, said afterwards: “Another increase – the fourth in as many [...]