Burnham return attempt ushers new borrowing cost record Politics Manchester mayor Andy Burnham’s attempt to return to parliament has alarmed traders as gilt yields reached another 28-year high, beating last week’s high. Burnham overcame the first hurdle on his path towards becoming Prime Minister after Josh Simons, the MP for Makerfield, announced he would resign on Thursday night to let the Manchester mayor try [...]
Starmer drama: Traders bet against UK as short-selling on pound and banks surges Economics Traders are betting against the UK as the political storm in Westminster continues to send jitters through asset markets. The pound has tumbled to a two-week low against the dollar, clinging onto the $1.35 mark on Thursday morning. Meanwhile, figures from IG revealed that short-positioning on the pound-dollar, a bet that the price will further [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks dip as oil prices surge to three-week high Markets Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. There’s set to be little relief in markets this morning as investors return from the weekend to oil hitting a three-week high. The price of Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – rose two per cent to over $107 on Monday morning. [...]
Hoo Hing: London’s largest Chinese supermarket defies sterling slump to return to profit April 16, 2026 London’s biggest Chinese grocery group has returned to profit, despite being hit by a weaker pound and falling revenue. Dagenham-based Hoo Hing Holdings was founded in the 1970s and has superstores in Mitcham, Milton Keynes and Park Royal. It posted a small pre-tax profit of £167,559 for the 12 months to the end of June [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Index hits record as HSBC, St James’s stock rally February 25, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. There’s a number of factors weighing on global markets at the moment, and yet the FTSE 100 was able to close Tuesday’s session unscathed. It came despite President Donald Trump’s new 10 per cent tariffs coming into effect, sending some jitters across global indexes. But [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Pound at 2021 high as Trump shrugs at dollar woes January 28, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. Has the mining sector’s rally finally run out of steam? It appeared so on Tuesday, where City banks helped lift the FTSE 100 out of the red as miners across the board sank despite the ever-increasing price of precious metals. Fresnillo – the best performing [...]
Sterling surges to highest in four years amid dollar weakness January 27, 2026 Sterling touched its highest level against the dollar in four years on Tuesday as selling pressure on the greenback intensified. The pound was trading at $1.376, its highest level since 2021, while the euro also rose to multi-year highs on Tuesday afternoon, continuing a poor run for the dollar. In January alone the dollar index [...]
Pound sinks to seven-month low after Reeves spikes tax fears November 4, 2025 The pound took a plunge this morning after Chancellor Rachel Reeves spooked the markets with a speech laying the groundwork for big tax hikes in her Autumn Budget. Sterling fell to its lowest since April against the dollar this morning at $1.30 – a 0.46 per cent loss today alone. The pound was also struggling [...]
Pound falls to 2023 low against Euro as Budget jitters spike October 29, 2025 The Pound suffered a sharp drop on Wednesday as investors braced for an economic hit in Rachel Reeves’ forthcoming Budget. Sterling’s downturn came as the UK’s fiscal watchdog looks set to hand a hefty downgrade to the country’s productivity growth. On Wednesday morning, the pound fell 0.4 per cent against the Euro to 1.13 – [...]
How Reeves could ‘trigger’ bond market fright and collapse UK economy October 9, 2025 Poor decisions made by Rachel Reeves at the next Budget could send the UK economy into a crisis if her announcements trigger a collapse in bond markets’ confidence, according to a scenario played out by analysts at Oxford Economics. Rachel Reeves has pledged to drive growth in the UK and lower the cost of living [...]