🇬🇧 United Kingdom: market & economy news today

Bank of England probes Barclays over private credit loans - report

Healey plots Budget raid on family businesses

John Healey has reportedly drawn up plans for a tax raid on family businesses ahead of his first Budget, as he scrambles to avoid spending cuts. The Chancellor is considering proposals to levy income tax when business owners hand their company down to their children, potentially almost doubling the tax bill, according…

Surging mortgage rates ‘biting harder’ on fragile housing market

Rising mortgage rates are starting to “bite harder” on the UK’s fragile housing market by forcing sellers to push down asking prices. The average two-year fixed mortgage rate has risen to 5.55 per cent, up from 5.29 per cent last month and 4.25 per cent since before the war in Iran, according to homes portal

FTSE 100 Live: Stocks to dip as AI and oil pressures remain elevated

Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 liveblog. London’s blue-chip index is shaping up for a modest dip on open as investors digest the shifting pressures on global markets. Asian stock markets mostly dropped on Monday following continued jitters over AI funding needs.

Profit warnings from UK-listed firms at highest level in two years as Iran war drives up costs

Consultancy says companies quoted on London stock market issued 65 in three months to end of September The number of profit warnings from UK-listed companies has risen to the highest level in two years, as the war in the Middle East triggers a surge in costs for businesses before the budget.

BoE scrutinises Barclays over claim traders misrepresented private credit exposure

Regulator received complaint that UK lender understated the risk of derivatives it used to finance private credit loans

Rising interest rates derail property recovery as buyers recut deals

‘Dire’ mood in sector as surging bond yields threaten deals agreed just a few months ago

Anthropic says it will commit 5% of its shares to 'public benefit fund'

The announcement comes as Anthropic lays the ground for a blockbuster stock market listing.

Anthropic commits 5% of shares to ‘public benefit’ fund

AI start-up has faced growing public backlash over safety and economic concerns

UK housing market showing signs of mortgage rates impact, Rightmove says

UK company profit warnings surge as Iran war drives up costs

Profit warnings from London listed businesses reached the highest levels in nearly two years over the summer, as an energy shock brought on by the Iran war fuelled inflation. Businesses issued 65 profit warnings during the period, up from 59 in the second quarter, according to the latest analysis from EY.

Evercore appoints co-presidents as it sets up CEO succession contest

Reshuffle elevates Nigel Dawn and Naveen Nataraj, with John Weinberg to remain chief executive for at least three years

Small business owners are doing OK – but will that help Trump overcome his low approval ratings?

Overall, economic sentiment for Trump is poor, but small businesses seem fairly confident, according to several surveys There are 34m small businesses in the United States. They employ approximately half of the country’s workers and generate about half of the country’s GDP. They’re an important voting block.

MPs press competition watchdog to probe live music industry’s ‘dominant’ firms

A government committee has urged the competition watchdog to launch a probe into the UK’s live music industry and the most “dominant firms”. The Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee said on 18 October it is “pressing” the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to launch a full market investigation into…

Back businesses to employ more Neets, Tory shadow minister says

Shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately has said the government needs to “take action in the Budget” to “back businesses to employ more young people”, referring the one million young people who are not in employment, education or training (Neets).

World Bank says ‘small AI’ could transform developing countries

Bank’s chief knowledge officer says the tech could speed up economic development from centuries to decades The World Bank is urging developing countries to kickstart the creation of “small AI” models, which can run on a mobile phone with low connectivity, to reap the full benefits of artificial intelligence.

Heat pumps and insulation would cut UK living costs more than new oilfields, study suggests

Warm homes plan would create 50,000 jobs, compared with about 1,100 for Rosebank oilfield, thinktank finds Insulating Britain’s homes and investing in heat pumps would do more to cut the cost of living, create jobs and boost the UK’s economy than drilling for new oil, research suggests.

Global economy set for AI-driven surge, FT survey suggests

Poll of 94 economists points to benefits reaching far beyond the US and China

Listings in south-east Asia gain momentum with $1bn IPO

Owner of digital wallet GCash set to start trading in region’s biggest debut this year

SNP says campaign for next referendum on independence ‘has already begun’

John Swinney tells party conference SNP will use ‘six-figure war chest’ to renew argument for leaving UK John Swinney has said that the second referendum campaign for Scottish independence “has already begun”, revealing a nationwide effort to renew the argument for leaving the UK in his keynote address to the SNP…

Bank of England governor walks out of IMF summit in protest against Russia

Andrew Bailey among finance leaders to leave session in Bangkok when Russian finance minister addressed group The Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, has taken part in a walkout of finance leaders who left an International Monetary Fund meeting in protest against Russian involvement.

‘Countries are defying gravity at all income levels’: how long can global economy resist chaos?

Sky-high oil prices and geopolitical turmoil have made less of a dent than feared … just don’t bank on it to last Inside the vast, glass-walled Queen Sirikit conference centre in Bangkok, the air-conditioned atmosphere was calm as policymakers from more than 100 countries gathered this week for the International…

UK-U.S. relations strained as Trump shifts stance on Russia-Ukraine war

Are we sleepwalking into World War III?

As regional conflicts rage and revisionist powers challenge the established order, warnings of a new global conflagration are growing louder

‘Inflation will make people poor’: Airlines brace for years of pain

Carriers fear customers may be unwilling to stomach more price rises if energy costs stoke further inflation