Economy news

• Rare earth access: still a thing

  07-08-2026 11:30 via ft.com
  Alphaville 🤜 🤛 The Economics Show
  
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• Second UK train derails in under 24 hours

  14-08-2026 16:34 via ft.com
  Incident at Wickford in Essex follows derailment of train in East Sussex on Thursday
  
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• Water bills set to rise again for millions of households – how you can cut costs

  14-08-2026 15:55 via moneyweek.com
  
  Millions of households face further water bill rises to fund £3.4 billion worth of investment in the network.The regulator Ofwat has provisionally approved a package of funding to increase capacity, provide cleaner drinking water and upgrade treatment sites.However, it means bills are set to rise by up to £43 a year between 2027 and 2030 for many customers in England and Wales.The hikes are not yet confirmed and are going through a consultation phase, before any final approval is mad
  
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• Are investment trusts falling out of favour?

  14-08-2026 15:39 via moneyweek.com
  
  The UK’s investment trusts are declining in popularity with the country’s investor base, new research suggests.Financial consumer site Boring Money’s latest investment trust report shows that investment trust ownership among UK investors has fallen to its lowest level since the company started tracking adoption in 2021 – falling from 12% to 9% in the last year.The report, based on four surveys (the largest of which included 6,000 nationally representative UK adults) revea
  
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• Claim your exclusive offer

  14-08-2026 14:09 via moneyweek.com
  
  In partnership with Go.Compare, we're offering you a free 6 issue trial with MoneyWeek magazine. Plus, if you continue after your trial you'll get an extra 10% off any of our subscription packages. Our team of experts connect market intelligence and economic analysis to give you clear, actionable insight. From capitalising on lucrative investments to getting the most out of your pension, MoneyWeek will help you to protect and grow your finances. PRINT6 free issues then £38.69 every 13 issu
  
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• Average stamp duty by region: How much are you likely to pay?

  14-08-2026 14:03 via moneyweek.com
  
  Stamp duty land tax is another cost to factor into the equation when buying property in England or Northern Ireland.It is applied at different rates depending on the value of the property, if the home you’re buying costs more than £125,000. That threshold rises to £300,000 for first-time buyers purchasing a home worth £500,000 or less.The average house price in England was £292,095 as of May 2026, according to the latest data from HM Land Registry, meaning the typic
  
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• Bond markets are too relaxed about inflation

  14-08-2026 14:00 via moneyweek.com
  
  Even if you do not invest much in bonds, the bond markets are hugely important. Jim Leaviss, the former M&G bond guru, who sadly passed away last month, was fond of saying that “there is nothing more fascinating than a fixed-income instrument”. There is a lot of truth in this. The bond markets directly reflect consensus about inflation, growth, government finances and more, while influencing the price of many other assets.So while investors who are willing to take greater risk in
  
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• Are ‘boring’ sectors back?

  14-08-2026 13:45 via moneyweek.com
  
  The market has had an up and down year, driven largely by volatility in tech and artificial intelligence (AI) stocks. The CBOE Volatility Index (often referred to as the VIX), an index which measures the stock market’s expected volatility based on S&P 500 options, reached 35 in March (following the outbreak of the war in Iran), levels only surpassed in the last five years by 2025’s tariff turmoil and the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.The S&P 500 has ranged from 6,317 to 7,79
  
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• Safety inspection of track carried out day before train crash in southern England

  14-08-2026 13:36 via ft.com
  Checks that disrupt services take place only when there is reason to believe a fault might present a risk
  
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• Swiss economy grows at fastest rate since 2021

  14-08-2026 12:39 via ft.com
  Chemicals and pharma sectors help GDP expand 1.5% in the second quarter
  
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• FirstFT: Iran war pushes up mortgage costs for borrowers

  14-08-2026 12:01 via ft.com
  Also in today’s newsletter: Anthropic and ChatGPT launch cheap models, and Venezuela requests return of 31 tonnes of gold
  
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• A farewell to Matthew Jukes, Britain’s top wine expert

  14-08-2026 11:31 via moneyweek.com
  
  Matthew Jukes, MoneyWeek’s wine columnist for 20 years, has died at the age of 58. Readers of the magazine and indeed its staff will sorely miss his amusing and ebullient reviews and unique voice, not to mention his expertise in seeking out delicious and affordable wines. He was always exceptionally busy elsewhere, too – he was, as The Telegraph says, “one of Britain’s busiest and most respected wine experts”, writing columns for the Daily Mail and becoming a star o
  
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• Swiss economy grows at fastest rate since 2021 despite trade turmoil

  14-08-2026 10:31 via ft.com
  Chemicals and pharma sectors help boost GDP by 1.5% in the second quarter
  
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• Is CEO Dave Lewis Diageo’s hangover cure?

  14-08-2026 10:14 via moneyweek.com
  
  Dave Lewis, new CEO of alcoholic-drinks giant Diageo, laid out plans to revamp thecompany after several years of falling profits, says Madeleine Speed in the Financial Times.The maker of Guinness and Johnnie Walker posted a 2% decline in organic revenue for the year to 30 June 2026, while operating profits dropped 27% to $3.2 billion. Savings will be made by “redesigning Diageo's operating model and overhauling its supply chain”, with the elimination of what Lewis calls “massiv
  
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• Hilton Istanbul Bosphorus is where the city’s golden age still lingers

  14-08-2026 09:30 via moneyweek.com
  
  Istanbul has existed in its various guises for millennia, straddling Europe and Asia across the Bosphorus. It is a cosmopolitan city. Here, you will find former Byzantine churches, many today serving as mosques, standing beside bazaars and rooftop restaurants frequented by tourists from all over the world. That centuries-old charm is still evident in the ruby-red çay (tea) that arrives without asking, baklava glistening behind bakery windows, the aroma of kebabs, and cats lounging beneath
  
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• Karthik Sankaran on the case for yen intervention

  14-08-2026 07:30 via ft.com
  ‘I’ve been calling for an intervention at least since dollar-yen was at 150’
  
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• FirstFT: Cheaper Chinese models push OpenAI and Anthropic into price war

  14-08-2026 06:30 via ft.com
  Also in today’s newsletter: UK aid cuts and effective altruism revival
  
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• The Treasury market’s toxic codependency

  14-08-2026 06:00 via ft.com
  The US government bond market has become a hedge fund playground
  
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• Pakistan and the new great game of Risk

  14-08-2026 06:00 via ft.com
  Islamabad has bold ambitions to play a more proactive role in the world
  
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• Mortgage costs pushed higher by US stand-off with Iran

  14-08-2026 06:00 via ft.com
  Interest rates on home loans have jumped in America and several big European economies in recent weeks
  
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• Fragile states in Africa and Middle East hit by more than 40% cut in UK direct aid

  14-08-2026 06:00 via ft.com
  Campaigners sound alarm over cuts to development spending pushed through to fund defence investment
  
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• Trump launches tariffs targeting Chinese drone technology

  14-08-2026 02:40 via ft.com
  US to impose up to 100% levies on unmanned aircraft and their components
  
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• FirstFT: The battle for control of India’s biggest conglomerate

  13-08-2026 23:39 via ft.com
  Also in today’s newsletter: Anthropic investors bet on $2tn valuation and Sanae Takaichi slams Vladimir Putin’s visit to disputed Pacific islands
  
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• 20 people injured in UK train derailment

  13-08-2026 23:18 via ft.com
  Three carriages on the Southern Rail service are flipped on to their side
  
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• US sells 30-year bonds at highest borrowing costs since 2001

  13-08-2026 21:51 via ft.com
  Yields have jumped amid concerns over mounting public debt and persistently high inflation
  
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• Eleven people injured in UK train derailment

  13-08-2026 21:19 via ft.com
  Three carriages on the Southern Rail service are flipped on to their side
  
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• Burnham warns water companies against treating customers like ‘blank cheque’

  13-08-2026 18:41 via ft.com
  Prime minister criticises Ofwat decision to allow suppliers to raise bills by more than expected to pay for new projects
  
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• US accuses more than 40 countries of helping China avoid Trump’s tariffs

  13-08-2026 17:55 via ft.com
  White House says Canada, Japan, EU and others enabling the evasion of levies for $60bn in trade via ‘transshipment scam’
  
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• Retail parks are the real threat to the British high street

  13-08-2026 17:37 via ft.com
  Outdoor commercial complexes are hot property, with supermarkets, stores and discount chains elbowing for room
  
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• Starmer allies warn Healey against blowing ‘strong’ economic inheritance

  13-08-2026 15:23 via ft.com
  Andy Burnham has signalled plans for spending increases
  
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