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 [...]
Bond traders: Bank of England gilt shake-up would ‘concentrate risks’ in market meltdown April 2, 2026 Bank of England plans to reduce the bond market’s vulnerability to a Liz Truss-style crash would fail to improve financial stability and could make stress points worse, according to gilt traders and hedge funds polled by the Bank. Responses to the central bank’s plans to overhaul its regulation of the gilt repo market showed market [...]
Bank of England: Businesses sharply raise inflation expectations April 2, 2026 Businesses’ inflation expectations shot up in March according to a closely-watched Bank of England survey, as bosses braced for a surge in energy costs as a result of the Iran war. The Banks’ decision makers’ panel, a monthly poll of thousands of execs, found that the average expected inflation rate in the next year was [...]
Farage slammed over pledge to keep ‘unsustainable’ triple lock pension April 2, 2026 Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has come under fire after committing to maintaining the triple lock pension, the financial mechanism that ensures pensioners’ earnings are increased by whatever is higher out of inflation or wage growth even in times of economic crisis. In a press conference on Thursday, Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick said pensioners were worried about [...]
ESG is still undermining fiduciary duty April 2, 2026 Donald Trump may have forced many banks and asset managers to drop the term ESG, but trendy diversity and net zero requirements are still very much alive, and they’re undermining your property rights, says James Graham For some years, the term ‘ESG’ (Environment, Social, and Governance) dominated the world of finance, a shorthand for trendy [...]
UK banks blast regulations for ‘penalising’ good risk management April 2, 2026 Top lenders have laid bare their frustrations with UK banking regulation in a bombshell new report that urges the removal of “excessive conservatism”. In response to the Bank of England’s review of capital requirements, the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) – which represents over 150 global banks, including the UK’s Big Four – [...]
The Capitalist: Warning – this is an April Fool’s joke! Haha! April 1, 2026 April Fool's, AI 'writers' and economists playing football; catch up on the latest City gossip in this week's The Capitalist.
Bank of England: UK economy risks ‘large and overlapping’ shocks April 1, 2026 The Bank of England has issued a major warning that the financial system is facing increasing risks of “large, frequent and potentially overlapping shocks” amid the volatility from the Middle East war‘ and ongoing market risks’s impact on energy and global markets. In the latest meeting of the central bank’s Financial Policy Committee top officials [...]
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 [...]
UK business confidence plunges to another record low April 1, 2026 Business confidence in the future of the UK economy has plunged to another record low as directors fear the war will damage investment plans and increase costs, a leading survey has found. Research by the Institute of Directors recorded business confidence dropping to a net figure of -76 in March, compared to -63 in February. [...]