Iran war sparks sharp reversal in European ETF rally April 9, 2026 European ETF flows ran out of road in March, as the Iran war pared back market gains from the first two months of the year and investors returned to the sidelines. The European exchange-traded fund (ETF) and exchange-traded commodities (ETC) market saw a sharp decline in investment during March, gathering only €9.4bn (£8.1bn), according to [...]
Bank of England: Interest rate hike predictions cool as trader sentiment resets April 8, 2026 Fears of several interest rate hikes being made have eased as traders raved at the news of a ceasefire in the Middle East. Markets are now pricing in just one interest rate hike as the two-year gilt yield dropped to 4.1 per cent. The current interest rate is set at 3.75 per cent by the [...]
On This Day in 1980: America severs diplomatic relations with Iran April 7, 2026 The United States severed diplomatic relations with Iran on April 7, 1980, after the Ayatollah Khomeini refused to order the release of the American hostages who had been held at the US Embassy since the previous November, writes Eliot Wilson If you remember good relations between the United States and Iran, you are at least facing [...]
14 charts reveal the massive challenges facing UK and NATO defence spending April 7, 2026 Defence spending is casting a shadow over Downing Street. Military officers are in a state of despair. The choices facing Sir Keir Starmer are stark. The political calculus for the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has become more complicated than ever as the Iran war puts public finances in danger. Their difficulties go back to February 2025 [...]
Costs up, demand down: Manufacturers suffer biggest squeeze since 2022 April 1, 2026 Costs for the UK’s manufacturing sector have risen at the fastest pace in three and a half years, new data has indicated, as the energy price shock from the Iran war hammers businesses. S&P Global research has found that manufacturers suffered the highest increase in input prices since late 2022 when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine [...]
Starmer moots closer ties with EU amid Trump row April 1, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has mooted building closer ties on various sectors of the economy with the European Union after President Trump suggested he was considering pulling the US out of Nato. In a press conference on Wednesday, Starmer billed strengthening ties with the EU at an upcoming summit as part of a wider push to [...]
Cavendish warns Iran conflict could damage long-term growth April 1, 2026 Heightened geopolitical tensions, including the Iran war, could damage investor confidence and suffocate long-term growth if they persist, UK investment bank Cavendish has warned. The AIM-listed group noted that while certain “macroeconomic conditions had been trending more positively”, including gradually declining interest rates and rising capital allocation into European markets, investor sentiment continued to be [...]
Ukraine is turning West in its economic thinking April 1, 2026 Ukraine and Russia once shared a Soviet system but are now moving in opposite directions. One is becoming more aligned with the economic values of Western democracies; the other remains rooted in a tradition of state control, says Rainer Zitelmann A quiet but consequential shift is underway in Eastern Europe. While geopolitical attention has focused [...]
Chief executives blame sleepless nights on their own senior team April 1, 2026 An angry board, a languid share price, mutiny in the junior ranks. All things you would expect the fiduciary-responsibility-bound chief executives of major listed companies to worry about. But new research suggests bosses at the helm of the world’s largest firms have a more immediate source of sleepless nights: their own leadership team. According to [...]
FTSE 100 suffers worst month since Covid as Iran war rages on April 1, 2026 The FTSE 100 suffered its worst month since the coronavirus in March, after the United States’ war in the Middle East sparked a historic market reaction that has seen government borrowing costs sprial and oil prices subjected to their largest single-month jump on record. Despite a relief rally on Tuesday, London’s blue-chip index fell more [...]