Starmer will fail to improve living standards – but it isn’t all his fault February 11, 2026 Between the mid 1960s and the mid 2000s, the living standards of the poorest half of households doubled. Increasing by 1.9 per cent a year, it took four decades to make this leap. To emulate that progress again, starting from today, would take 137 years. This is not a state of affairs that can be [...]
Britain’s failed net zero experiment is a wake-up call February 10, 2026 A net zero revolt is underway in the West, driven by the unsustainable economic costs of aggressive net-zero mandates, says Bjorn Lomborg A new pragmatism is infusing the climate debate in the West, driven by voters weary of soaring energy bills and annoyed by increasingly hysterical and patronising climate rhetoric. From Washington to Westminster, Berlin [...]
Ask the expert: I’m in my 40s. Should I start derisking my pension? February 10, 2026 Fidelity personal finance specialist Marianna Hunt is back to help a reader who wants to retire early but is unsure on how to protect the value of their investments as they prepare to stop working. Q: I’m in my late 40s and calculate that I’ve got enough saved into pensions to retire at age 57. [...]
Sanae Takaichi rolled the dice and won – what next? February 9, 2026 Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi secured a commanding victory in a snap general election, clinching a two-thirds supermajority that signals a new, more assertive phase in the country’s economic and foreign policy, says Helen Thomas Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi’s decision to call a snap general election was a high-risk move. Just like investment theory [...]
How London fell back in love with the office February 7, 2026 With workplace leasing enjoying a major post-pandemic bounceback, it's clear that, once again, the office is seen as critical to success.
Is Japan about to have a Liz Truss moment? February 6, 2026 Japan’s upcoming election could trigger a global economic crisis similar to the UK’s “Liz Truss moment” due to the country’s high debt, plans for fiscal expansion by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, and the potential for a bond selloff, says David Stritch The Japanese election this Sunday may seem remote to British observers – especially with [...]
Households to pay more for BBC TV licence, government confirms February 6, 2026 Households across the country will see their bills rise after the Labour government increased the TV licence fee that funds the BBC. The Department of Culture, Media and Sport said on Friday that the annual levy will be increased to £180 from 1 April. This marks a £5.50 yearly increase. The move follows rules brought [...]
Starmer future speculation sparks sell-off in long-dated bonds and pound February 5, 2026 Speculation over Keir Starmer’s future has unleashed a fresh round of market unease, with investors dumping the pound, UK equities and long-dated government bonds amid the political uncertainty. The gulf in price between the UK’s short- and long-term debt – known as the yield curve – reached its highest since 2018, in a sign investors [...]
I left London to go back to Venezuela – here’s the brutal, hopeful truth February 5, 2026 Jeanmiguel Uva returned to Caracas after Donald Trump toppled Maduro. He found a patchy recovery and a people yearning to be part of a thriving economy again When my father moved to Venezuela in the 1960s, the country was open to the world. Waves of immigrants, particularly from Italy, Spain and Portugal, followed the oil [...]
Bank of England raises alarm on unemployment as interest rates unchanged February 5, 2026 The Bank of England has held interest rates but policymakers warned that the spiralling unemployment rate and weak growth was weighing down on price growth. In its decision on Thursday, the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee voted 5-4 to leave interest rates at 3.75 per cent. But economists warned that unemployment could jump higher over the [...]