Economy news

• Why are British schools doing well?

  26-09-2026 08:00 via moneyweek.com
  
  What's happening with British schools?British schools – and English schools in particular –are doing remarkably well. Results from the OECD's 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) were published earlier this month, and the UK is close to the top of the class among European peers. The closely watched comparative survey, which began in 2000, is conducted every three years, assessing the educational skill levels of 15-year-olds around the world, with an emphasis on
  
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• Without a resilient economy, central banks have limited choices

  28-09-2026 17:30 via ft.com
  Responding to geopolitical or climate-related supply shocks after the fact is never as effective as taking preventive action
  
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• UK housebuilder stocks surge: should you buy?

  28-09-2026 17:16 via moneyweek.com
  
  Prime minister Andy Burnham has delivered a welcome lift to beleaguered UK housebuilding stocks ahead of the first Autumn Budget of his tenure with the announcement of a new scheme, which some analysts say could boost housebuilder profits by as much as 70% over coming years.Hopes that UK housebuilders could benefit from a Burnham boost were vindicated when markets opened on 28 September, following the announcement of the Your First Home scheme aimed at helping first-time buyers get onto the prop
  
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• Could Labour scrap the triple lock to fund social care service?

  28-09-2026 17:14 via moneyweek.com
  
  Labour could reportedly scrap the state pension triple lock to help fund a new free social care service if they win another term in power.Ministers are expected to look at plans to divert money spent on the triple lock to build a new national care service, The Times reports.The new system would provide social care for the elderly and operate under NHS principles of being universal and free at the point of use, and would be at the heart of Labour’s next general election manifesto.Prime mini
  
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• Post-Covid economic inactivity was much lower than thought, ONS says

  28-09-2026 16:53 via ft.com
  Findings come days after agency said UK productivity grew twice as fast as estimated after global financial crisis
  
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• Post-Covid economic inactivity in UK was much lower than thought, says ONS

  28-09-2026 16:53 via ft.com
  Findings come days after agency said UK productivity grew twice as fast as estimated after global financial crisis
  
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• Bond sell-off deepens as oil prices rise

  28-09-2026 16:40 via ft.com
  Brent crude jumps and 10-year Treasury yield surpasses 5.2% as hopes for US-Iran agreement fade
  
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• When cash pays 5%, why hold shares at all?

  28-09-2026 16:39 via moneyweek.com
  
  For years, cash had to apologise for itself. It was safe, certainly, but the return was miserable. Cash can now look investors in the eye with a promise of return that beats inflation.The best one-year savings accounts pay about 5%, with no stock market drama and no risk of waking up to find your investment has fallen sharply. It is a fair question to ask: are shares worth the risk at all, or is saving better than investing?The answer starts with time. Cash is for money you may need soon and sha
  
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• What is the Budget and what could be in it?

  28-09-2026 16:29 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Chancellor John Healey will set out his plans for UK taxes in October.
  
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• Bond sell-off deepens as oil price rises

  28-09-2026 14:54 via ft.com
  Brent crude jumps and 10-year Treasury yield surpasses 5.2% as hopes for US-Iran agreement fade
  
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• Blair-era money is ‘not there now’, Healey warns Labour

  28-09-2026 14:54 via ft.com
  UK chancellor uses conference speech to prepare ruling party for possible Budget tax rises
  
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• The UK ‘aircraft carrier’ launching Chinese cars into the EU

  28-09-2026 13:31 via ft.com
  Brussels is urging UK tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, but it might take more than that
  
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• FirstFT: Oil price rise puts more pressure on government bonds

  28-09-2026 12:27 via ft.com
  Also in today’s newsletter: Donald Trump hosts Anthropic chief Dario Amodei at White House dinner and inside the House of Bolsonaro
  
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• Bond sell-off deepens as oil rises above $108

  28-09-2026 11:56 via ft.com
  Ten-year Treasury yield hits 5.2% and Brent jumps as hopes for US-Iran agreement fade
  
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• Buy-to-let vs stock market: Which one could give you better growth?

  28-09-2026 11:13 via moneyweek.com
  
  Investing in property has been a popular strategy since the first buy-to-let (BTL) mortgages came to market 30 years ago, as landlords receive rental income as well as asset appreciation.When BTL mortgages began, buying a home was much more affordable than it is now. The average home cost just £54,900 in 1996 – adjusted for inflation, this is around £114,400 today. That is much less than the average house price in the UK today of just over £270,000, according to HM Land R
  
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• Northern Ireland’s political parties agree on one thing: £1.5bn is not enough

  28-09-2026 11:00 via ft.com
  Stormont risks having budget imposed by Westminster as deadline looms
  
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• Shares in UK housebuilders surge on new Help to Buy scheme

  28-09-2026 09:48 via ft.com
  UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham unveils scheme to help first-time buyers on to housing ladder
  
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• Three undervalued emerging market stocks to consider

  28-09-2026 09:00 via moneyweek.com
  
  When picking emerging market stocks at Fidelity Emerging Markets, our approach is a flexible one. We have a variety of tools to exploit the best opportunities across the full breadth of the emerging market universe – taking both long and short positions, investing in companies ranging from the very largest to small caps and off-benchmark stocks, and using gearing to extend high-conviction long positions.We select emerging market stocks based on fundamentals and quality. We look to go long
  
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• What to do with dud investment trusts

  28-09-2026 08:00 via moneyweek.com
  
  What to do with a dud investment trust is a dilemma that we all face, and there is no easy answer. Sell and risk a dramatic recovery? Hold on and see poor performance continue? Double down and risk throwing good money after bad? Reduce and wish you had sold all?Patience can pay off. Scottish Mortgage (LSE: SMT) went from the top of the table to the bottom, but is now at the top again over three years. Conversely, European Opportunities was the star of its sector but never recovered from the coll
  
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• ‘Xi got face’: China relishes equal treatment from Trump

  28-09-2026 07:55 via ft.com
  Chinese state media hail the respect that US president offered their country’s leader
  
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• Helen Thompson: “I don’t think we’re ever going back.”

  28-09-2026 07:30 via ft.com
  Geopolitical phase change
  
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• FirstFT: EU weighs response to Russian hybrid attacks

  28-09-2026 06:32 via ft.com
  Also in today’s newsletter: US-China trade and Healey’s navy plan
  
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• Pressure on government bonds resumes as oil prices gain ground

  28-09-2026 06:31 via ft.com
  Brent trades above $106 a barrel as 10-year Treasury yields hit 5.2%
  
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• Oil price rise puts more pressure on government bonds

  28-09-2026 06:31 via ft.com
  Brent trades above $106 a barrel as 10-year Treasury yields hit 5.2%
  
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• Analysts’ views: forecasters see further insurance increases in 2026

  28-09-2026 06:30 via ft.com
  Professional forecasters expect rates to rise again this year but remain well behind the tightening markets are pricing in
  
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• US and China agree $60bn low tariff regime for goods from foie gras to camels

  28-09-2026 06:04 via ft.com
  Board of trade will lower levies on non-sensitive goods as superpowers seek to ease tensions
  
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• UK biodiesel industry attacks rejection of duties on cheaper US imports

  28-09-2026 06:00 via ft.com
  Decision ignored recommendation that levies of more than £250 a tonne were warranted to protect local producers
  
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• How London became the property market’s black sheep

  28-09-2026 06:00 via ft.com
  Capital’s once-relentless property boom has gone into reverse
  
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• Glencore says HMRC was 18 months late with £264mn tax bill

  28-09-2026 06:00 via ft.com
  Legal challenge forms part of wider £1.6bn dispute with UK tax authorities over how the commodities group structured parts of its business
  
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• Foreign investors bet Panama can shrug off social unrest and Trump threats

  28-09-2026 06:00 via ft.com
  Central American country’s bonds perform better than many investors expected despite crisis that threatened to hamstring its economy
  
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