Gold prices glitter amid geopolitical uncertainty June 4, 2026 Gold saw a significant price rally over the course of 2025, after geopolitical uncertainty and heightened central bank buying drove more people to the safe haven asset. Gold prices rallied 44 per cent last year, reaching $4,550 per ounce in December and recording 56 fresh record highs according to the latest report from Metals Focus. [...]
‘Tipping point’: CBI boss slams £345bn business tax burden amid ‘cost of doing business’ crisis June 4, 2026 The boss of the UK’s most influential business group will use a landmark speech to warn that the heavy business tax burden is nudging British firms towards a “tipping point”, directly linking the Labour government’s troubles to cost pressures on firms. At a speech for the Confederation of British Industry (CBI)’s business dinner, chief executive [...]
Financial services contributed a tenth of UK economic output in 2025 June 3, 2026 The financial services sector contributed over a tenth of the UK’s economic output in the last year as the industry’s productivity outpaced average momentum. The industry provided a £290bn boost to the UK’s real GDP – a macroeconomic measure that adjusts the value of economic output for inflation – in 2025 marking around 11 per [...]
War Horse gallops triumphantly back to the National Theatre June 3, 2026 War Horse | National Theatre (Olivier) | ★★★★☆ This month has seen the revival of two classic equine plays, one about a young lad who is in love with a horse in a good way (War Horse) and one about a young lad who is in love with a horse in a very, very bad [...]
‘Difficult year’ for discount retailer B&M as profits fall almost a half June 3, 2026 A series of updates from London-listed retailers has light on the battle for sales between online and traditional outlets, with household spending under pressure, writes Michael Hunter. FTSE 250 retailer B&M has revealed a drop of almost a half in annual profit in what it called a “difficult year”. It was the most eye-catching piece [...]
OECD: Growth to remain below one per cent as UK economy struggles with unemployment June 3, 2026 What little growth the UK economy will experience this year will be fuelled by high government expenditure, according to the world’s top independent economic organisation. The OECD, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development for long, said public expenditure would “support the economy” even as consumer spending and business investment is set to weaken. The [...]
Is it time to change how we measure inflation? June 3, 2026 Measures of inflation are hugely influential on policy but struggle to account for the pace of technological innovation, says Paul Ormerod During this decade, the rate of inflation has become a key factor in determining living standards. Many benefits are linked to it. It sets a marker for wage demands. And when it goes up, [...]
Andrew Bailey warns on AI: ‘Everybody is currently priced to be a winner’ June 2, 2026 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has suggested that the UK’s growth hopes hinge on productivity gains from a mass AI technology roll-out although he warned that investment levels carried “substantial risks” for market prices. Bailey, who is also the head of the Financial Stability Board, an international body overseeing markets, echoed deputy governor Sarah [...]
Losses widen at UK fintech Monese in eight month delayed accounts June 2, 2026 UK fintech Monese suffered a major widening of losses as its bottom line was hit by restructuring costs amidst its takeover by pseudo-bank peer Pockit. The London-based firm – which provides mobile-only current accounts, multi-currency wallets, and money transfer services – booked a pre-tax loss of £15.9m in the 2024 financial year. Fresh accounts – [...]
Mortgage approvals jump to 15-month high despite Iran war chaos June 2, 2026 Mortgage approvals made a surprise jump to a 15-month high in April, despite continued signs that the economic chaos caused by the Iran war is shaking confidence in the property market. Net mortgage approvals jumped three per cent to 65,900 in April, above the six-month average of around 63,100, according to Bank of England data. [...]