Reeves’ Spring Statement gave us little to be cheery about March 4, 2026 Rachel Reeves put on a brave face when she stood up at the dispatch box yesterday afternoon to unveil her Spring Statement. And although we were subjected to the usual staccato delivery, the Chancellor’s performance was more confident than usual. But a cursory glance at the latest Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) projections show there [...]
Reeves to meet North Sea oil bosses amid inflation ‘uncertainty’ March 3, 2026 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has revealed she will meet North Sea oil and gas bosses on Wednesday in London, with a market price surge putting the UK economy’s path towards lower inflation in jeopardy. Reeves told MPs during her Spring Statement that she would meet energy bosses from companies operating off Scotland as the government looks [...]
Construction recovery remains fragile amid high costs March 3, 2026 The construction sector is recovering but its growth remains fragile as developers contend with high wages, planning delays and labour shortages. The industry will grow over the next year due to major infrastructure projects but confidence in the housebuilding and commercial sectors remains shaken, according to a report by construction firm McBains shared exclusively with [...]
Spring Statement: Reeves defends Labour’s agenda as growth forecast slashed March 3, 2026 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has defended Labour’s high tax and expenditure policies as new economic forecasts provided a bleaker outlook on growth and unemployment this year. In a statement to the House of Commons, Reeves said updated forecasts by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) showed her decisions as Chancellor were “starting to pay off”. Her [...]
Borrowing costs spike as Middle East conflict rages March 3, 2026 The cost of UK government borrowing spiked on Tuesday morning, while the pound plummeted as markets continued to digest the impacts of the intensifying conflict in the Middle East. The yield on the 10-year Gilt jumped 0.15 percentage points to 4.46 per cent while 2-year Gilt yields, which closely track interest rate expectations, spiked 0.16 [...]
UK gas prices spike over 90 per cent amid US-Iran war March 3, 2026 Gas prices in the UK have nearly doubled as the war between US and Iran ramped up since the weekend. The price of UK wholesale gas prices – which reflect the costs energy suppliers pay to producers for natural gas before selling to household and businesses – has rocketed by 93 per cent in just [...]
Oil price surge pushes investors to bet against interest rate cut March 2, 2026 Investors have pared bets that the Bank of England will cut interest rates in March, as analysts worry that the surge in oil and gas prices could prop up inflationary pressures in the economy. European gas prices were up over 40 per cent on Monday while oil prices gained seven per cent to hover around [...]
Investment in UK renewable energy is back on track – now let’s secure its future February 27, 2026 While the UK’s recent clean energy auction secured a record amount of offshore wind projects, there’s more to be done to sustain this investment momentum, says Samuel Pachoud The results of the recent clean energy auction – Contracts for Difference Allocation Round 7, or AR7 – were heralded by the government as a “monumental step” [...]
Rolls-Royce shares rally after unveiling bumper buyback plan February 26, 2026 Rolls-Royce has laid out plans to return billions to investors over the next two years after the blue-chip giant’s profit rocketed, leading to an upgrade of targets. The aerospace titan revealed plans for a £7bn to £9bn multi-year share buyback from 2026 to 2028, which comes as the firm wraps up a £1bn buyback from [...]
FTSE 100 Live: WPP sinks; LSEG, Rolls-Royce bumper buybacks February 26, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. After a few days of tariff-induced risk aversion, the FTSE 100 was back on blistering form on Wednesday, finishing the day’s trading session with a new record. London’s blue-chip index soared over one per cent to seal yet another record close at 10,806.41p. This was [...]