US Supreme Court rules Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs were illegal February 20, 2026 The US Supreme Court has handed down a landmark ruling that the sweeping tariffs President Donald Trump imposed on trading partners last year were illegal. Justices were weighing up a case centred around the Emergency Economic Powers Act that allows a President to regulate imports during a national emergency. The White House had argued the [...]
Private sector axes more jobs amid Reeves’ tax and wage pressures February 20, 2026 The UK’s private sectors culled jobs for the seventeenth consecutive month in February led by a significant drop in the services sector as businesses were still digesting the impact of Labour’s 2024 Autumn Budget. The latest flash Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) from S&P Global described the rate of job shedding in February as at a [...]
Reeves lands £30bn reprieve ahead of Spring Statement February 20, 2026 Rachel Reeves has secured a record-breaking borrowing reprieve in fresh data that comes ahead of the Chancellor delivering her Spring Statement in March. The Treasury has been handed a surplus of £30.4bn in January, new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show, after a surge in tax receipts. The figure is £15.9bn higher [...]
Debenhams clinches equity raise after share price spook February 19, 2026 Debenhams Group successfully closed its equity fundraise above its initial £35m target despite a stock market spook which saw its shares drop by 20 per cent. The fashion group, which recently rebranded from Boohoo Group, had pitched the equity raise as central to its turnaround from significant struggles in recent years. Debenhams Group, which owns [...]
Bank of Ireland’s UK arm hit with £3.8m fine for fraud failures February 19, 2026 The Bank of Ireland’s UK arm has been slapped with a hefty fine after failing to hit the deadline by over a year to implement an anti-fraud service. The lender was hit with a £3.7m fine from the Payments Systems Regulator (PSR) for missing the deadline by 14 months for a “vital” service that would [...]
US markets rally as tech stocks look to boost AI capabilities February 19, 2026 US markets closed higher on Wednesday, as tech stocks reaped the benefits of investors once again brushing off fears of an AI bubble. Tech stock share prices boomed, following reports from Bloomberg that Open AI is close to finalising the first phase of a new funding round, which is expected to bring in more than [...]
Rachel Reeves warned ‘dysfunctional’ fiscal rules are hammering economy February 19, 2026 Rachel Reeves has been dealt a scathing assessment of her economic policy by a top think tank, which likened her approach to a driver who was “watching the speedometer” while ignoring other conditions. The Chancellor is facing calls to scrap the self-imposed fiscal rules that prevent her from borrowing to pay for day-to-day spending and [...]
What does the Schroders acquisition mean for Cazenove Capital? February 19, 2026 The City was stunned last Thursday, after one of London’s oldest financial institutions entered a surprise mega deal with an American investment firm. Schroders announced it had agreed a £9.9bn takeover by Nuveen, ending over two centuries of independence for the asset manager. The shock acquisition is set to create one of the world’s largest [...]
Modernisation and missteps: Lloyd’s of London struggles for a new era February 19, 2026 Lloyd’s of London, one of the world’s largest (re)insurance markets, has faced its fair share of battles in recent years, and one of the biggest fights has been against itself and its old-fashioned ways. Back in 2018, the incoming chief executive, John Neal, had an ambitious mandate: to restore stability and modernise Lloyd’s following a period [...]
Employment Rights Act: Business braces for shorter strike notices, stronger unions February 18, 2026 The first batch of reforms, following the passage of the Employment Rights Act, came into effect on Wednesday, granting employees new trade union powers. As of Wednesday, measures under the legislation kicked in, including the repeal of most of the Trade Union Act 2016 and the introduction of protections against dismissal for taking industrial action. [...]