UK house prices see modest growth amid London slump February 18, 2026 UK house prices ticked up last year, but the London market continued to lag after property tax speculation and high mortgage rates constrained affordability. The average UK house price increased by 2.4 per cent annually in December 2025, slowing from 2.8 per cent growth in the year to November, according to the latest data from [...]
Starmer sticks to youth minimum wage pledge despite jobs fears February 18, 2026 The government will stick to the Labour party’s manifesto commitment to equalise the minimum wage despite speculation it would row back on the pledge over unemployment fears, the Prime Minister has said. Speaking on Wednesday, Sir Keir Starmer said: “We’ve made commitments to young people in our manifesto, and we will keep to those commitments, [...]
Inflation eases to three per cent boosting interest rate cut hopes February 18, 2026 Inflation fell to its lowest level in nearly a year last month, new figures show, giving a further boost to hopes that the Bank of England will cut interest rates in March. The headline rate dipped to 3.0 per cent in January, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), down from 3.4 per cent [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Inflation falls to near year-low; BAE leads stock rally February 18, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Inflation has fallen to a near year-low this morning hitting its slowest pace since March and fuelling hopes that the Bank of England will take the chop to interest rates next month. New data from the Official for National Statistics showed rose the Consumer Price [...]
Bank of England took ‘eye off ball on inflation’, says Jenrick February 18, 2026 Robert Jenrick is set to make his first major pitch to the City, in his first major outing as Reform’s spokesman on Treasury matters. The Newark MP is expected to commit to the independence of the Bank of England but pledge to “strip the Bank of distractions which have been loaded onto it”. “We will [...]
Jefferies: Starmer unlikely to be in office by July February 17, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer is likely to be ousted from office before the end of July, according to a top investment bank which warned that irrespective of whether there’s a change in leadership the Labour party is likely to lurch leftwards on economic policy. Analysts at Jefferies said the Prime Minister had been left vulnerable by [...]
Is AI really to blame for Britain’s rising unemployment? February 17, 2026 Unemployment has risen to 5.2 per cent, the highest level since 2021, as the UK’s labour market continues to cool. But how much of that stagnation can reasonably be attributed to AI? The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show the jobless rate climbed in the three months to December, while the number of [...]
Hamilton Lane’s Erik Hirsch: We’re seeing a private credit witch hunt February 17, 2026 Depending on which central banking chief you talk to, the burgeoning private credit industry is either a cause of insomnia, a “dark corner” of finance or an arcane lending practice whose participants are behaving like bankers in the run-up to the global financial crisis. To Hamilton Lane boss Erik Hirsch, though, it is simply an [...]
Unemployment hits post-pandemic high as wage growth slips February 17, 2026 The labour market continued to loosen in the final quarter of last year, official figures show, with wage growth easing and unemployment climbing steadily higher. The rate of joblessness crept up to 5.2 per cent between October and December, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the highest level since early 2021 and slightly [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Unemployment rises; Debenhams’ £35m raise February 17, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The UK unemployment rate has risen again this morning, with fresh data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showing the rate had surged to 5.2 per cent in the three months to December 2025. This was up from 5.1 per cent in the latest [...]