Sainsbury’s boss urges Burnham to cut energy costs and ‘focus on growth’ June 30, 2026 The boss of Sainsbury’s has urged the next prime minister to address rising energy costs as food inflation continues to concern shoppers. The boss of the UK’s second-largest grocer repeated his earlier calls for the Treasury to engage with the food industry to assist with rising costs following the war in the Middle East. His [...]
Record temperatures boost Sainsbury’s sales but store infrastructure feels the heat June 30, 2026 Sainsbury’s recorded a rise in sales in the first financial quarter, as the May heatwave and a run of public holidays boosted sales but caused its fridges and freezers to break down. Total sales rose 3.1 per cent year on year to £3.1bn, bolstered by a five per cent hike in fresh food purchases, as [...]
Barclays splashes £750m on Canary Wharf base in ‘strong endorsement’ of London June 30, 2026 Barclays has taken control of its global headquarters based out of Canary Wharf in a £750m deal hailed as a “strong endorsement” of the financial district and the capital itself. The blue-chip lender has entered a long-term leasehold interest agreement with Canary Wharf Group that grants the bank to use the property – based at [...]
UK economy’s growth revised down amid first-quarter spurt June 30, 2026 The UK economy grew by 0.6 per cent in the first quarter of the year, the Office for National Statistics has confirmed, yet the final figure for growth last year was revised down slightly. The ONS said on Tuesday that the UK economy grew at a faster pace than many had expected at the beginning [...]
As it happened: Stocks jump on defence and metals boost; Oil on track to shed a fifth on US-Iran peace hopes June 30, 2026 Welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. Oil’s speed of decline has taken a hit this week as investors were forced to pause at the renewal of strike action between the US and Iran. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – was steadying above $73 per barrel, holding onto some of the [...]
Fractured politics has its upsides – trust me, I led Vote Leave June 30, 2026 For all the challenges of multi-party politics, the policy competition it encourages is already bearing fruit, writes former Vote Leave chief Matthew Elliott.
Government-backed ESG reporting platform put up for sale as firms backtrack on eco-goals June 30, 2026 An ESG reporting platform backed by the government-owned British Business Bank has been put up for sale after appointing administrators, Morning Wire can reveal, in the latest sign blue-chip companies are paring back their sustainability commitments. World Wide Generation, which operates the platform, known as G17 Eco, has opened the bidding to interested parties and [...]
Starmer to unveil hotly debated Defence Investment Plan in final act June 29, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer will unveil the highly-anticipated Defence Investment Plan in one of his final acts as Prime Minister. Starmer will publish full funding plans for the Defence Investment Plan (Dip), the government’s 10-year blueprint for armed forces, on Tuesday. He will say that more than £5bn over four years will be invested into drones, [...]
‘Nearing a turning point’: Reinsurers set to pay out as climate disasters loom June 29, 2026 The insurance industry is bracing for severe losses in the next financial year as global natural disasters trigger higher claims from consumers. Morningstar analysts predict reinsurance earnings to peak over the course of 2026, arguing that the industry is currently at the bottom of a low-loss weather cycle, meaning it is seeing the end of [...]
Streeting tax policies could cost the Treasury nearly £8bn June 29, 2026 Adopting Wes Streeting’s plans to hike capital gains tax could cost the Treasury billions of pounds and lead to a reduction in retail investment, new analysis suggests. Last month, Streeting, who is reportedly in the running to succeed Rachel Reeves as Chancellor should Andy Burnham enter No 10, proposed that capital gains tax (CGT) should [...]