UK debt ‘hits £3 trillion’ milestone August 6, 2026 The size of the UK’s national debt has now risen above £3 trillion, analysis has suggested, reflecting the burden facing taxpayers across the country. A tracker by a rightwing campaign group and think tank has suggested that national debt had reached the long-awaited milestone after an explosion in spending since 2020. The Taxpayers’ Alliance based [...]
Starling plans to ‘come out swinging’ in diversification bid August 6, 2026 Bernadette Smith has a spring in her step as she sits down in Starling’s headquarters to discuss her new role. The fintech’s new banking boss is buzzing with energy that she wants to pass onto customers and investors. “I want everyone to be talking about us,” she says, envisaging how she will measure success in [...]
22 months of cuts: Jobs crisis deepens despite growth boost August 5, 2026 A jobs slump across the services sector deepened despite new data suggesting that the UK economy benefitted from a boost to growth. Researchers at S&P Global showed that employment had been cut across the private sector for the 22nd straight month. The overall purchasing managers’ index score for the UK economy, which is a leading [...]
Net zero and DEI targets cut from procurement rules as firms pressed to raise pay and hire NEETs August 5, 2026 Net zero, modern slavery and equality rules are set to be stripped from procurement rules as Andy Burnham’s premiership looks to force firms to prioritise job creation. Several major tenders for government contracts feature a list of “conditions of participation” that require firms to report on net zero, diversity, ESG –environmental, social, and governance for [...]
Where are Andy Burnham’s economic advisers? August 5, 2026 Andy Burnham’s allies boasted that highly-regarded economists had been lured as advisers. Mauricio Alencar and Ali Lyon report on the non-appointments of some of Britain’s best economists – and what the Prime Minister and Chancellor’s new teams look like. In the end, all it took was a few rumours. In the weeks leading up to [...]
Argan, Inc. Expands Teledata Footprint into New England with Acquisition of ValCor Communications August 4, 2026 Argan, Inc. (NYSE: AGX) (“Argan” or the “Company”) today announces that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Southern Maryland Cable Inc. (“SMC”), has completed the acquisition of ValCor Communications, LLC (“ValCor”), a Connecticut-based provider of installation, maintenance, and repair services for information, communication, and data networks serving customers across New England. The transaction closed July 31, 2026, with [...]
How patient can the Bank of England be? August 4, 2026 Will policymakers be forced into an unexpected rate hike? Investec Chief Economist Philip Shaw explains how energy prices, wages and inflation expectations will shape the Bank of England’s next move – and reveals what he expects to happen. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) kept the Bank rate at 3.75 per cent this month, in line [...]
Rupert Lowe axes pensions triple lock and pledges tax cuts in economic plan August 4, 2026 Rupert Lowe, the hard right leader of the Restore Britain party, has said he would back scrapping the triple lock pension and ordering three-year freezes on departmental budgets. Lowe, who has mainly focused on the issue of immigration since breaking from Reform UK over a year ago, published a pamphlet outlining his new party’s economic [...]
What are we to make of John Healey? Time will tell. August 4, 2026 Who exactly is in charge of this government’s economic policy? In a bid to find out, I’ve tasked two of our journalists to hit the phones, mooch around the bars of Whitehall and track down Westminster’s new power brokers. I’ll let you know what we find out, but he fact that the answer to this [...]
Trump suspends strikes amid new peace hopes August 2, 2026 President Trump has said the “perimeters of a deal” have been agreed with Iran, prompting him to call off strikes in the Middle East. The US president said that Iran and Gulf region countries had “asked” the US to suspend strikes due to the workings of a new peace deal. In a Truth Social post, [...]