Nationwide fires starting gun on mortgage deals ahead of interest rate decision Banking Nationwide has slashed its mortgage rates for the second time in the space of a week, ahead of the Bank of England’s interest rate decision on Thursday. The building society has taken the chop to its home loan prices, with a 0.28 percentage-point reduction. It follows a 0.12 cut on 10 June. The move comes [...]
Bank of England should hold interest rates, City AM Shadow MPC says Economics The Bank of England should hold interest rates as inflation could stay above three per cent for several months, top economists have said. City AM’s Shadow Monetary Policy Committee, a group of leading economists who have provided responses independently of their respective organisations, said interest rates should be kept at 3.75 per cent. Economists warned [...]
Thames Water on cusp of public ownership after ‘weak’ deal Water Thames Water is on the cusp of being placed in temporary public ownership after the government raised concern with a proposed £10bn rescue by its lenders. It was reported last night that the environment secretary Emma Reynolds had outlined a number of concerns to the industry regulator Ofwat ahead of a final decision on the [...]
Apple and Google face age-check showdown as Starmer’s social media ban widens June 16, 2026 Apple and Google could be forced to carry out age checks on millions of British users under plans being considered by ministers, as Sir Keir Starmer presses ahead with a landmark ban on social media for under-16s. The Prime Minister unveiled the crackdown on Monday, confirming that children will be barred from platforms including TikTok, [...]
Rathbones to suspend thousands of client account inflows after FCA probe deals £530m blow June 16, 2026 Rathbones is set to lose out on hundreds of millions of pounds of inflows after it suspended contributions from thousands of customers following an independent investigation into its business amid concerns from the Financial Conduct Authority. The review into the company, known as a skilled person review, uncovered compliance shortcomings in its UK wealth management [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks inch up as US-Iran peace in spotlight at G7 summit; oil falls again June 16, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Global leaders are gathering today in France for the G7 summit as markets digest the latest developments in the US-Iran peace deal. Relief spread across global markets yesterday after the US and Iran were confirmed to have sealed a deal to stop the fighting in [...]
Fuse boss attacks planning rules as a ‘self-imposed bottleneck for growth’ June 16, 2026 Alan Chang believes Britain’s energy crisis is largely self-inflicted. The founder of Fuse Energy, the $5bn (£3.72bn) energy supplier and infrastructure developer, argues that the UK already has the ingredients needed to drive investment in the sector. What it lacks, he says, is a planning system capable of turning that potential into projects. “There is [...]
Tiktok falls under ban just as brands ramp up ad spend June 16, 2026 Tiktok’s UK ad business has been growing 40 per cent year on year, with brands increasing spending ahead of what the firm expected to be its biggest trading period on record. But that momentum now faces a test after Keir Starmer confirmed plans to plan under-16s from accessing the platform. The social media giant, which [...]
Badenoch: City’s risk culture should be ‘championed’ to boost UK growth June 16, 2026 Tory leader Kemi Badenoch will pledge that the role of the City of London would be one of her central levers for driving economic growth, whilst suggesting that financial regulators have buckled to pressure from media and political leaders in recent years. In an address to City financiers, Badenoch will argue that the Square Mile [...]
‘Political point-scoring’ over bank rules risks investment exodus, top Nomura exec warns June 16, 2026 London’s biggest financial institutions could shift operations away from the UK if the government intensifies its regulatory grip on the City, a top City banker has warned. Chris Barlow, head of legal and compliance at Japanese bank Nomura’s European arm, said “short-termism and political point-scoring” in Westminster over financial regulation could exacerbate the burden faced by [...]