Business

Just when you thought it was safe to step back into the gilts market… things are getting nervy again. Around lunchtime on Friday the odds on Boris Johnson winning the Conservative leadership battle rapidly shortened. For a moment, the former prime minister was favourite, on Betfair’s betting markets, to become the next PM. Johnson backed

The country’s biggest supermarket chain has raised the price for its popular lunchtime meal deal for the first time in more than a decade as costs soar. Tesco revealed that the package, typically a sandwich, packet of crisps and a soft drink, would rise from £3.50 to £3.90 for customers who are not Clubcard holders.

The latest official data on the state of the public finances and consumer spending makes for grim reading as the country awaits its next leader, with financial markets reflecting renewed jitters over the contenders for PM and the economy. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that public sector net borrowing came in at £20bn

Almost six in 10 UK adults are struggling to keep up with their bills, according to new research from the City regulator. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) estimated that 7.8 million people were struggling to keep up with their bills – an increase of around 2.5 million people since 2020 – when around 5.3 million

The average rent has hit a record high outside London and stood at an average of £1,162 per calendar month in the three months between July and September. Rent prices in London had their greatest ever annual increase, rising 16.1% to an average of £2,343 a month during the period, according to an analysis of

There has been a positive market reaction to the resignation of Liz Truss after just 44 days in office, following the fierce backlash against her economic plan and humiliating climbdown. News that the prime minister was to make a Downing Street statement sparked a rally for sterling versus the dollar – leaving the UK currency

More rail strikes have been announced for 3 and 5 November – this time involving 14 train operating companies. The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) has announced the strikes at the train operating companies – which run the trains – on the same days as other members of the union are planning walk outs

The rate of inflation rose to 10.1% in September, according to official figures, as the economy reels from the effects of rising prices and the fallout from the mini-budget. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the consumer prices index (CPI) measure rose from an annual rate of 9.9% in August to match the recent

Rail workers’ union RMT has announced more strikes next month following what it said was a pay offer “U-turn” from Network Rail. Three days of strike action are set to take place on 3, 5 and 7 November. Negotiations had been under way between the union and the rail operator. The Railway, Maritime and Transport

Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, has been ordered by the UK competition regulator to sell the GIF library Giphy. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the ruling was a “final decision”. The move followed a protracted effort by Meta to overturn a CMA ruling last year that the takeover, which completed in

Nearly all the tax cuts announced in the government’s mini-budget are being reversed – here are seven things you need to know about the U-turn. 1. Let’s start with the fact that actually it wasn’t just a U-turn. It was more. Not only did it reverse the majority of policies in the mini-budget, it went

Financial markets have reacted positively to the new chancellor’s cull of more costly measures in his predecessor’s disastrous mini-budget. Jeremy Hunt revealed in a televised statement that he would no longer be proceeding with almost all the controversial package, including the reduction in the basic rate of income tax from 20% to 19% from next

Unions are close to organising co-ordinated strike action “very soon” following the “horror story” of the past few weeks, a union boss has told Sky News. Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, accused the government of “aiding and abetting” employers earning millions in profits but not handing that to workers. She confirmed Unite, the UK’s

The government is pressing ahead to introduce legislation which will require transport workers to run a minimum service when strikes are taking place. It comes after commuters have been plagued by months of travel chaos caused by industrial action by railway workers, who are calling for better pay, working conditions and job security. But trade

Interest rates will have to be raised higher than initially hoped in the face of inflationary pressures, the Bank of England (BoE) governor has suggested. Speaking at an International Monetary Fund event in Washington, Andrew Bailey also said there had been “a very clear and immediate meeting of minds” with new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on

So farewell, then, Trussonomics. The demise of the country’s second shortest-lived chancellor also brings with it the demise of the country’s shortest-lived economic movement. Liz Truss came into office promising to boost the country’s growth rate through a forensic combination of tax cuts, reforms to the country’s supply side (for which read: things like planning

Jeremy Hunt has been appointed chancellor after the prime minister sacked Kwasi Kwarteng. Mr Hunt returns to the frontbenches after a few years off, after serving as foreign secretary under Theresa May and health secretary and culture secretary under David Cameron. His appointment is a sign that Liz Truss is trying to get her opponents

The financial markets have responded negatively following Liz Truss’s announcement of a U-turn on corporation tax in a bid to reassure investors. As was widely predicted, the prime minister said she was abandoning the government’s commitment to drop the planned tax increase from 19% to 25% – even though it was a central plank of

The head of the International Monetary Fund has delivered a blunt condemnation of the UK government’s mini-budget – pointing out government and Bank of England policies should not be working against each other. Kristalina Georgieva was speaking at a news conference in Washington after the government’s mini-budget unleashed chaos in the markets when it was

US inflation dropped to 8.2% over the 12 months to September. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said the consumer price index (CPI), the measure of inflation, was down from 8.3% in the year to August. A greater fall to 8.1% had been predicted by a Reuters poll of economists. The US central bank