Maximise cash savings in a falling rate landscape January 26, 2026 The new year tends to bring personal finances into focus and is therefore an optimal time to consider savings strategies, including protecting the value of existing savings. The economic backdrop has changed significantly over the last few years. Inflation has finally started to cool and monetary policy is easing. The Investec economics team is currently [...]
Andy Haldane: Labour has ‘no nose for business’ January 26, 2026 The Labour government lacks anyone with a “nose for business”, Andy Haldane, the former chief economist of the Bank of England, has said in his latest critique against ministers’ quest for growth. Haldane, whose criticism of Budget leaks last year added to pressure on Rachel Reeves, has taken aim at ministers leading Labour’s growth mission [...]
Farage’s revenge on the banks proves he is more Trump than Thatcher January 26, 2026 Nigel Farage's promise to tax banks more shows his Trumpian revenge coming out to play, writes Eliot Wilson.
Consumer confidence has been negative for 10 years January 23, 2026 Consumer confidence inched up slightly this month despite remaining in negative territory, a leading survey has indicated, indicating a degree of “resilience” despite a decade of consumer pessimism. The overall index score on GfK’s closely monitored consumer confidence survey rose by one point while feelings about personal finances over the next 12 months edged [...]
On this day 1571: The Royal Exchange is opened January 23, 2026 The Royal Exchange was opened by Elizabeth I 455 years ago on this day. Eliot Wilson traces the origins of its success.
Where does Britain stand in the New World Order? January 22, 2026 A new world order has been declared and described by Canada’s Mark Carney. Is he right, and if so, is there room in it for Britain? Davos, that alpine gathering of the great and the good, is normally a predictably dull affair. To give you a flavour of its worthiness, consider the formal title for [...]
Nigel Farage: Reform will tax the banks even if they don’t like it January 22, 2026 Nigel Farage has confirmed Reform will slap a tax on the UK’s banking giants in the latest dramatic escalation of his party’s tensions with the City. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in the Davos, Farage said: “This will be tough for banks to accept but I am sorry – the drain on public finances [...]
‘Liz Truss-lite’: Is Japan in the midst of a sovereign debt crisis? January 22, 2026 Japan’s long-dated bonds suffered their worst sell-off this century on Tuesday. Ali Lyon asks whether the rout could spark a full-blown debt crisis? For decades, the world’s fixed income investors have been sucked in – and spat out – by an alluring trade on Japan’s government bonds. Secure in their belief that the securities’ unfathomable, [...]
Legal accounts controversy: Who should fund the broken justice system? January 22, 2026 First, the government tried to go after the LLPs, but that failed. Now its eyes are on law firms’ client accounts under the narrative that it will be used to help the crumbling justice system, but lawyers are seeing it as just another tax raid. Law firms earn substantial income from interest on client accounts, [...]
Northern Powerhouse Rail has more to do with votes than growth January 22, 2026 With Northern Powerhouse Rail now given the green light, the North-South divide now benefits the North over London, writes James Ford I have long thought that the North-South divide was far more cultural than economic. One end of the country prefers gravy on their chips and chooses to eat them watching Coronation Street whilst the [...]