Motor finance: City watchdog faces legal battle over £9bn scheme April 22, 2026 The City watchdog is set to face a legal challenge to its motor finance redress scheme after being accused of leaving motorists “out of pocket”. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) revealed its highly-anticipated £9.1bn scheme at the end of March, which cut the headline bill for lenders from £11bn. But Consumer Voice – a group [...]
Barclays sweetens mortgage deals as interest rate decision takes focus April 22, 2026 Barclays has become the latest bank to wade into the flurry of mortgage rate cuts as lenders turn their attention to next week’s interest rates decision. The FTSE 100 giant cut rates across more than 20 mortgage products from Wednesday morning. It follows on from a slew of reductions from the likes of HSBC UK, [...]
Tube strikes could cost London up to £760m this year April 22, 2026 Tube strikes planned until June could cost London’s economy up to £760m altogether, analysis provided to Morning Wire has estimated. Lost working days due to uncertainty over the terms of 24-hour strikes is set to lead to hundreds of millions of pounds in lost income, economists have said. The Centre for Economics and Business Research [...]
War propels UK inflation in new risk for interest rate hikes April 22, 2026 Inflation sped up in March, official data has revealed, giving the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee a headache as policymakers mull over whether to raise interest rates. Inflation jumped to 3.3 per cent last month as President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu’s war on Iran led to critical trade disruption across the Strait of [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks jitter as inflation surges; Trump extends ceasefire April 22, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. Inflation has surged this morning follow the outbreak of war in Iran. Fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has shown the consumer price index rose by 3.3 per cent in the 12 months to March 2026. That’s up from three per cent [...]
Inside the fintech industry’s pensions gambit April 22, 2026 The fintech industry are on the offensive and in this week’s column Samuel Norman gives an insight into the sector’s lobbying calls for pension fund allocation. London has found itself brought to a halt this week. One may have thought the Tube strikes would bring Square Mile to a standstill, too. But the lack of [...]
Job vacancies fall to lowest level in five years April 21, 2026 The UK jobs market took a turn for the worst as job vacancies fell to their lowest level in nearly five years, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the number of vacancies fell by an estimate of 29,000 in the three months to March. It is the lowest level of [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks flat as Trump’s deadline looms; Job vacancies shrink; Primark gets spin-off April 21, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. New unemployment figures this morning have showed an unexpected twist where the joblessness rate slipped under the five per cent mark. But this was accompanied by a blow to the market with the number of vacancies fell by an estimate of 29,000 in the three [...]
Airfares, petrol pumps, rent: Inflation to jump due to Iran war April 20, 2026 Inflation is expected to jump to 3.3 per cent as the first effects of the war in Iran will be recorded in a new set of data. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is expected to reveal that inflation inched up in the year to March due to soaring fuel prices and tremors across financial [...]
‘No more Mr Nice Guy’: Oil prices spike as Trump renews Iran power plant threats April 20, 2026 The price of oil has been driven higher by the latest round of escalations in the Middle East renewing fears of a drastic global energy shock. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – jumped over six per cent on Monday morning to over $96. It follows a weekend of tensions where shipping [...]