Financial scams soar as crooks snatch phones and manipulate vulnerable victims April 15, 2026 UK banks saw a staggering rise in financial scams last year, as growing public awareness was offset by criminals pivoting towards victim manipulation to get their hands on sensitive information. Banks reported a 62 per cent rise in social engineering scams, in which attackers manipulate victims into authorising payments themselves, as they turned away from [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks jittery as Trump eyes Iran ‘grand bargain’; Reeves to meet Bessent April 15, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. Hopes of peace talks in the Middle East were back on the table this morning, though markets weren’t holding there breathe after weeks of bait-and-switches. Donald Trump described the war with Iran as “close to over” during an interview with Fox news. “I think it’s [...]
‘Entirely avoidable’: Build-to-rent housebuilding slows as London planning wait doubles April 15, 2026 The construction of build-to-rent homes in Britain is in danger of grinding to a halt as the planning wait for London homes has almost doubled in this decade. The number of build-to-rent homes under construction has fallen for the ninth consecutive quarter, according to data shared exclusively with Morning Wire. The government has pledged to [...]
IMF downgrade Reeves is gaslighting voters on energy crisis April 15, 2026 Rachel Reeves is set to urge other countries to “follow her plan” for the energy crisis, but international analysts expect Britain to perform the worst among comparable nations thanks to decisions she has made, says Alys Denby The war in Iran has come at the worst possible time for a government already struggling to command [...]
Aldi snaps up abandoned London psychiatric hospital to turn it into supermarket April 15, 2026 Aldi has snapped up an abandoned London psychiatric hospital, Morning Wire can reveal, in the latest sign discount supermarkets are getting increasingly creative in their search to acquire land to expand their UK footprint. The German grocer, which has over 1,000 stores in the UK but hopes to increase this by as many as 500, [...]
IMF slaps UK with biggest growth downgrade of any G7 country April 14, 2026 The UK economy has suffered the biggest growth forecast downgrade of any country in the G7 in the International Monetary Fund’s spring economic outlook report, dealing a blow to Chancellor Rachel Reeves as she struggles to overcome setbacks sparked by the Iran war. Growth this year was revised down by 0.5 percentage points as trade [...]
‘Vandalism’: Reeves and Starmer slammed over defence spending April 14, 2026 Rachel Reeves and Sir Keir Starmer have been slammed for a failure to provide defence with a substantial cash injection as a former Nato secretary general said an “ever-expanding welfare budget” would not keep the UK secure. Downing Street has come under fire for its delay in setting out a clear timeline for an uplift [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks uneven as Trump’s Strait of Hormuz blockade begins April 14, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. Markets were rocked yesterday by the US’ blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, adding a new layer of tensions to the weeks-long conflict in the Middle East. Vice-President JD Vance has accused the Iranian government of engaging in an “act of economic terrorism” through its [...]
MHA chief: Private equity rivals are struggling — ‘we’re really well positioned’ April 14, 2026 Wednesday marks one year since the UK and Ireland’s arm of Baker Tilly International, MHA, rang the bell at the London Stock Exchange. The advisory group didn’t pick an ideal time to list. Though it seems like a lifetime ago, the markets were also riddled with uncertainty. Weeks before MHA went public, Trump had his [...]
Ex-Royal Mint executives launch new gold trading platform April 14, 2026 Two former Royal Mint executives have launched a new gold trading platform in a bid to shake up the market and widen retail access to precious metals. The trading platform, dubbed Goldwise, was launched on Tuesday, creating a new way for savers and investors to purchase gold, silver, platinum and palladium. Unlike traditional trading, users [...]