UK inflation faces December bump from travel and food costs January 18, 2026 UK inflation may have edged higher at the end of last year, with Christmas travel and higher duties pushing up prices, economists have warned. Several forecasters expect the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) to have ticked up in December after falling sharply in November. Economists at Pantheon Macroeconomics say they expect inflation to rise to 3.3 [...]
ChatGPT to trial adverts for some users for the first time January 17, 2026 Online AI tool ChatGPT will begin to show users adverts for the first time, as it looks to recover from financial losses. Open AI, the bot’s developer, said it would start displaying adverts in the coming weeks based on what people ask ChatGPT as well as personal data the tool stores on users. Relevant ads [...]
Sack Streeting, cabinet ministers urge Starmer January 17, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has faced calls from cabinet ministers to follow Kemi Badenoch’s playbook and sack health secretary Wes Streeting for disloyalty. Ministers are becoming increasingly frustrated about Streeting’s forthright public criticisms of the Labour party, with some privately accusing him of putting his leadership ambitions first and “attacking No 10”. One cabinet minister told [...]
AJ Bell boss: Rachel Reeves ISA reforms ‘doomed to fail’ January 16, 2026 The chief executive of a top investment firm has issued a scathing broadside against the Chancellor’s proposal to restrict cash ISA limits. In a letter seen by Sky News, AJ Bell chief executive Michael Summersgill wrote to Rachel Reeves that efforts to push Brits towards investing with limits on cash savings are “doomed to fail”. [...]
UK growth spurt due to ‘payback for earlier weaknesses’ January 16, 2026 The UK economy’s growth spurt in November was just a recovery from “earlier weakness” after hits to Jaguar Land Rover’s production lines and “ongoing” problems with data calculations” weighted on earlier readings, top analysts have warned. Data published on Thursday morning showed the UK economy inched up 0.3 per cent in November despite expectations of [...]
Sadiq Khan’s AI fearmongering will set London back January 16, 2026 Sadiq Khan's warnings about AI has made London look like a city anxious, rather than ambitious, about AI, and investors will take note.
London’s ‘record low confidence’ blamed on Labour workers’ rights bill January 16, 2026 London is suffering from record low business confidence due to Labour government’s Employment Rights Bill, an industry group has warned. The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry said it recorded the lowest ever level of business confidence in its quarterly economic survey of 500 business chiefs across the capital. The group warned that the “punitive” [...]
UK economy grows more than expected but remains ‘fundamentally weak’ January 16, 2026 The UK economy grew more than expected in November last year but remained “fundamentally weak”, official data has shown, reflecting businesses’ nerves about Rachel Reeves’ Budget measures. New Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures showed growth in the UK economy inching up. Business analysts warned over several months that pre-Budget speculation had dampened spending and [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks fall as oil takes hit; YouTube, BBC strike deal January 16, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. How big of a win was yesterday for Rachel Reeves? The economy grew 0.3 per cent in November – faster than expected – as Jaguar Land Rover roared back to life following a costly cyberattack that halted supply chains across the UK. But while this [...]
Nick Ephgrave announces surprise retirement from Serious Fraud Office January 15, 2026 Nick Ephgrave will step down as director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) two and a half years before his first term was due to finish. The former assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police was appointed as the SFO’s director, taking over from Lisa Osofsky, who oversaw several errors during her tenure. Ephgrave was the [...]