Economy news

• Welfare system ‘needs to change’, says McFadden

  25-09-2026 06:00 via ft.com
  Work and Pensions secretary admits Labour has asked business to pay more and vows to try to ease pressure on public finances
  
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• US bond sell-off pushes long-term yields to new post-2004 high

  25-09-2026 17:37 via ft.com
  Investors ‘don’t want to hold risk going into the weekend’ said one investor, as market heads for worst week since 2024
  
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• How to invest in advertising as the sector enters a new age

  25-09-2026 16:00 via moneyweek.com
  
  One of London's most visible pieces of advertising has greeted railway passengers arriving at London Bridge station for the best part of 100 years. Emblazoned on a Grade II-listed building next to the track on Park Street is the slogan, “Take Courage”, the motto of the Courage Brewery. This is considered one of the largest and most memorable so-called “ghost adverts” in London, although it's unclear when it was first painted. The Anchor Brewery originally built the proper
  
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• Global insurer Axa is going cheap – should you buy?

  25-09-2026 15:00 via moneyweek.com
  
  Back in 2016, French insurance giant Axa (Paris: CS) was known for its complexity. The majority of the company's earnings came from its life insurance and long-term savings business, the health of which was tied directly to interest rates. That began to change under CEO Thomas Buberl, who took over the group in 2016. Buberl's vision for the company was simple. The new boss wanted to turn Axa into a leading global insurer in the “short-tail”, relatively capital-light business of prope
  
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• Investment trusts: There is light at the end of the tunnel

  25-09-2026 13:37 via moneyweek.com
  
  It has been a challenging few years for investment trusts. Rising interest rates, cost-disclosure problems and the dominance of markets by large US tech firms led to wide discounts and the re-emergence of activist shareholders. Yet there is now a series of signals that indicate there is light at the end of the tunnel. Discounts are narrowing. Fundraising is picking up. A solution to the cost-disclosure issue is in place. There are proposals to address loopholes exposed by activists. Investment t
  
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• 14 years of the MoneyWeek investment trust portfolio

  25-09-2026 13:36 via moneyweek.com
  
  The MoneyWeek portfolio of investment trusts was created in June 2012 as an easy-to-follow, set-and-forget, all-weather portfolio. Investment trusts were chosen on the grounds of their long-term performance, flexibility, cost, as well as other factors such as their ability to use gearing and for investors to trade in and out of positions with relative ease. The initial six holdings were chosen to cover a range of different strategies, with the aim of changing them as infrequently as possible. Ov
  
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• Mandarin Oriental Mayfair: A luxury hotel for everyday life

  25-09-2026 13:26 via moneyweek.com
  
  Vivienne Westwood, the late doyenne of punk fashion, may not have been the most obvious bedfellow for the elegant Mandarin Oriental brand. But the Hong Kong-based hotel group needed someone to design the signature fan for its latest opening in Mayfair, and only Westwood would do. It would be her last project before she passed away in 2022, aged 81.Each Mandarin Oriental property gets its own fan, which then becomes that hotel's emblem. The fan for the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair would have to be e
  
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• FirstFT: The Xi-Trump finale

  25-09-2026 12:01 via ft.com
  Also in today’s newsletter: Iran makes proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and the financial risks of AI
  
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• “Gold on crack”: why silver is set to soar

  25-09-2026 11:09 via moneyweek.com
  
  To like silver, first you must love gold. One of HSBC's gold traders once described silver as “gold on crack”. It sums it up beautifully. Silver is highly correlated with gold, around 80%, which means the two metals generally move in sync. But silver has a “beta” of 1.4 times compared with gold – in other words, it is 1.4 times more volatile. That means silver wins on the way up and causes mayhem on the way down.The key chart to keep in mind is the gold-to-silver ra
  
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• Global bond sell-off eases as oil prices retreat from recent highs

  25-09-2026 09:41 via ft.com
  Analysts warn that respite for debt markets remains ‘tentative’ given changing signals over Iran war
  
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• Japanese government bond yields hit new high as global sell-off continues

  25-09-2026 07:41 via ft.com
  Sharp increase in interest rate expectations across advanced economies, says Capital Economics
  
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• Why investment trusts are a solid basis for building wealth

  25-09-2026 07:00 via moneyweek.com
  
  Investment trusts are one of three main types of funds, with the other two being exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and what are variously called open-ended investment companies (OEICs) or unit trusts (depending on their exact structure). Each of these has advantages and disadvantages. To see why, let's look at how they work and where investment trusts win out.Investment trusts are closed-ended, which means that they have a fixed amount of shares. They are listed on the stock market, so when you inves
  
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• Brussels warns capitals to tackle energy crisis or see far right take power

  25-09-2026 07:00 via ft.com
  Also in this newsletter: A solution to the ‘Made in Europe’ conundrum
  
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• FirstFT: EU floats customs union option for Burnham

  25-09-2026 06:31 via ft.com
  Also in today’s newsletter: Russian fleet and Heathrow expansion
  
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• Bank of England to raise rates in November if energy prices remain high

  25-09-2026 06:30 via ft.com
  Read the September forecast from the FT’s Monetary Policy Radar team
  
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• What Burnham means for business

  25-09-2026 06:00 via ft.com
  His core message of devolving power from London appeals to corporate leaders. But his government has limited fiscal room to manoeuvre
  
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• Peter Hargreaves: Britain cannot afford to lose more ‘big taxpayers’

  25-09-2026 06:00 via ft.com
  Lancashire-born entrepreneur who co-founded Hargreaves Lansdown says people with private wealth ‘have been disenfranchised’
  
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• How to be a middle power in a superpower world. With Jenny Bates

  25-09-2026 06:00 via ft.com
  Advice for the UK on navigating an increasingly hostile global economy
  
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• EU urges UK to raise tariffs on Chinese cars to avoid ‘made in Europe’ barriers

  25-09-2026 06:00 via ft.com
  London has lobbied intensely to secure equal treatment for British products but continues to rule out a customs union
  
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• Burnham’s opposition to Heathrow expansion puts third runway in doubt

  25-09-2026 06:00 via ft.com
  New prime minister has been a longstanding critic of the project
  
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• Burnham, economics and business

  25-09-2026 06:00 via ft.com
  His core message of devolving power from London appeals to corporate leaders. But his government has limited fiscal room to manoeuvre
  
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• Britain in ‘good position’, McFadden tells business fearful of tax rises

  25-09-2026 06:00 via ft.com
  Work and Pensions secretary admits Labour has asked business to pay more and vows to try to ease pressure on public finances
  
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• Brexit and Trump’s tariffs push UK’s food and drink trade deficit to £21bn

  25-09-2026 01:01 via ft.com
  In the first half of 2026, the sector’s export volumes fell 11.7% to hit their third-lowest level on record
  
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• FirstFT: Xi Jinping says US and China must ‘coexist in peace’ at White House summit

  24-09-2026 23:33 via ft.com
  Also in today’s newsletter: Tencent launches payments app for foreign tourists and HSBC scraps another perk for Hong Kong bankers
  
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• Netanyahu tells UN Israel and US launched Iran war to ‘save civilisation’

  24-09-2026 20:05 via ft.com
  Israeli leader’s speech comes on high-profile day for international relations as Donald Trump hosts Xi Jinping at the White House
  
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• Netanyahu addresses UN summit

  24-09-2026 20:05 via ft.com
  Israeli leader’s speech comes on high-profile day for international relations as Donald Trump hosts Xi Jinping at the White House
  
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• Foreign relations as it happened: Xi Jinping says US and China must ‘coexist in peace’ in historic White House visit, Benjamin Netanyahu tells UN Israel and US launched Iran war to ‘save civilisation’

  24-09-2026 20:05 via ft.com
  Chinese leader met US counterpart Donald Trump in Washington for wide-ranging talks between the superpowers against the backdrop of UN General Assembly week
  
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• Global politics live: Netanyahu prepares to address UN summit

  24-09-2026 19:57 via ft.com
  Israeli leader’s speech comes on high-profile day for international relations as Donald Trump hosts Xi Jinping at the White House
  
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• Burnham under pressure to lobby Trump on US diesel export ban

  24-09-2026 19:16 via ft.com
  Reform’s Robert Jenrick contacts Trump administration as prices at UK pumps near record high
  
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• US mortgage rates breach 7% as affordability pressures mount

  24-09-2026 18:12 via ft.com
  Surging yields on government bonds and rising oil prices from the war in Iran drive inflation fears as national elections near
  
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