Financial news

• Thatcher warned Major about exchange rate risks before ERM crisis

  29-12-2017 01:01 via theguardian.com
  National Archives: private warning came just five weeks into Major’s premiership and 20 months before Black WednesdayMargaret Thatcher privately warned John Major that he was in danger of making a mistake of Churchillian proportions on exchange rate policy and risked pitching the British economy into recession, the cabinet papers reveal.Her warning to her anointed successor as prime minister came 20 months before “Black Wednesday”, when the pound crashed out of the European exc
  
  Read more

• Over-reliance on China could hit UK energy supply chains ‘putting 90,00 jobs at risk’

  16-01-2026 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Institute for Public Policy Research thinktank report calls on chancellor to pursue policy of ‘securonomics’Tens of thousands of jobs could be lost if the UK’s clean energy supply chains were to suffer a shock as a result of an over-reliance on China, a left-leaning thinktank has warned.A year-long disruption to the supply of essential battery components used to manufacture electric vehicles could wipe out production of more than 580,000 electric cars and endanger 90,000 jobs,
  
  Read more

• US seizes another Venezuela-linked oil tanker – video

  15-01-2026 21:34 via theguardian.com
  The US military seized another Venezuela-linked tanker known as Veronica in a pre-dawn action on Thursday. Monochrome video showed a helicopter flying next to the tanker and US troops boarding the vessel. The seizure marks the sixth vessel targeted in recent weeks as part of the effort by the Trump administration to control the Venezuelan oil industryUS military seizes Venezuela oil tanker under Trump sanctions Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• South East Water boss lasting weeks in post would be a surprise | Nils Pratley

  15-01-2026 19:47 via theguardian.com
  David Hinton looks unlikely to claim five-year retention award but why did the board feel a need to offer it?Can David Hinton, the chief executive of South East Water, stay in his job long enough to bag a £400,000 bonus for turning up to work? With four and a half years to go, one can’t say his chances of landing the retention payment – or “service award” – are good. In fact, it will be surprising if he’s still infuriating the residents of Tunbridge Well
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Regular spending on weight loss drugs ‘could affect size of mortgage you can get’

  15-01-2026 17:49 via theguardian.com
  Some brokers say monthly outgoings on drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro can knock thousands off the amount you can borrowRegularly spending large sums on weight loss drugs could reduce the amount people can borrow on a mortgage by thousands of pounds, some brokers are warning.When homebuyers apply for a mortgage, the lender carries out detailed affordability checks on their income and outgoings, which include regular payments such as subscriptions and memberships as well as amounts spent on thin
  
  Read more

• Greensill-linked firm ‘failed to act in good faith’ by lending £250m more than agreed, court hears

  15-01-2026 17:18 via theguardian.com
  Greensill Capital UK accused of breaking agreement with government over loans issued to businesses during pandemicA company linked to financier Lex Greensill “failed to act in good faith” by lending £250m more than it should have to businesses owned by steel magnate Sanjeev Gupta during the pandemic, the high court has been told.Greensill Bank AG (GBAG) is suing the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) for about £331m over claims it wrongly terminated guarantees it agr
  
  Read more

• Grok AI: what do limits on tool mean for X, its users and UK media watchdog?

  15-01-2026 17:07 via theguardian.com
  UK users will no longer be able to create sexualised images of real people using @Grok X account, with Grok app also expected to be restrictedElon Musk’s X has announced it will stop the Grok AI tool from allowing users to manipulate images of people to show them in revealing clothing such as bikinis.The furore over Grok, which is integrated with the X platform, has sparked a public and political backlash as well as a formal investigation by Ofcom, the UK’s communications watchdog. C
  
  Read more

• Multimillionaire leader of Reform in Scotland refuses to reveal net worth

  15-01-2026 16:26 via theguardian.com
  Newly appointed Malcolm Offord, who became a Tory life peer in 2021, plans to stand for Holyrood in MayUK politics live – latest updatesThe multimillionaire financier who has been made leader of Reform UK in Scotland has refused to say how wealthy he is, claiming that is a private matter.Malcolm Offord, formerly a Conservative party life peer, was announced by Reform’s leader, Nigel Farage, as the party’s first Scottish leader, 10 weeks before a Scottish parliament election in
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Boeing knew of engine defect on UPS plane that crashed in Kentucky, report says

  15-01-2026 15:40 via theguardian.com
  US transportation safety board releases initial report on November 2025 crash that killed 15 people in LouisvilleAn engine part suspected of causing the crash of a UPS cargo plane and loss of 15 lives in Louisville in November was the subject of at least four previous failures on three separate aircraft, investigators have found.A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released on Wednesday determined that Boeing warned plane owners about the defect, but did not be
  
  Read more

• Trump imposes 25% tariff on Nvidia AI chips and others, citing national security

  15-01-2026 15:01 via theguardian.com
  The order follows a nine-month investigation and includes broad exemptions for datacenters and consumersDonald Trump on Wednesday imposed a 25% tariff on certain AI chips, such as the Nvidia H200 AI processor ​and a similar semiconductor from AMD called the MI325X, under a new national security order released by the White House.The proclamation follows a nine-month investigation under ‌section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and targets a number of high-end semiconductors meeti
  
  Read more

• Sadiq Khan to urge ministers to act over ‘colossal’ impact of AI on London jobs

  15-01-2026 13:38 via theguardian.com
  In Mansion House speech, mayor will talk of opportunities technology offers but highlight mass unemployment riskBusiness live – latest updatesSadiq Khan is to warn in a major speech that artificial intelligence could destroy swathes of jobs in London and “usher in a new era of mass unemployment” unless ministers act now.In his annual Mansion House speech, the London mayor will say the capital is “at the sharpest edge of change” because of its reliance on white-colla
  
  Read more

• South East Water boss in line for £400,000 bonus despite outages

  15-01-2026 13:11 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: David Hinton, who faces calls to resign, will receive payout regardless of performance if he stays until July 2030• South East Water could lose operating licence after outages
  • Business live – latest updatesThe boss of the company that has left thousands of households in south-east England without water for days is in line for a £400,000 long-term bonus regardless of his performance, if he resists calls for him to resign over the outages.David Hinton, the chief
  
  Read more

• How a billionaire with interests in Greenland encouraged Trump to acquire the territory

  15-01-2026 13:00 via theguardian.com
  US president’s friend Ronald Lauder – who first proposed Arctic expansion – is now making deals in the islandOne day during his first term, Donald Trump summoned a top aide to discuss a new idea. “Trump called me down to the Oval Office,” John Bolton, national security adviser in 2018, told the Guardian. “He said a prominent businessman had just suggested the US buy Greenland.”It was an extraordinary proposal. And it originated from a longtime friend of
  
  Read more

• Historic market in Kinshasa ready to reopen to a million shoppers a day after five-year makeover

  15-01-2026 13:00 via theguardian.com
  Long criticised as overcrowded and filthy, the city’s Zando marketplace has had an elegant and sustainable redesignSelling vegetables was Dieudonné Bakarani’s first job. He had a little stall at Kinshasa Central Market in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Decades later, the 57-year-old entrepreneur is redeveloping the historic marketplace that gave him his start in business to be an award-winning city landmark.Bakarani hopes to see the market, known as Zando, flourish agai
  
  Read more

• Grok scandal highlights how AI industry is ‘too unconstrained’, tech pioneer says

  15-01-2026 12:57 via theguardian.com
  ‘Godfather of AI’ Yoshua Bengio says firms building powerful systems without appropriate guardrails • Musk’s X to block Grok AI from creating sexualised images of real people The scandal over the flood of intimate images on Elon Musk’s X created non-consensually by its Grok AI tool has underlined how the artificial intelligence industry is “too unconstrained”, according to a pioneer of the technology.Yoshua Bengio, a computer scientist described as one of
  
  Read more

• Why big oil giants may not rush to buy into Donald Trump’s Venezuelan vision

  15-01-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  It may well be safer, easier and cheaper for US companies to procure whatever oil the US economy needs at homeThere are a few reasons that Donald Trump – now self-anointed acting president of Venezuela, as well as the United States – might be so excited about appropriating Venezuela’s oil.Trump may be counting on some boost from cheap oil to the US economy: he is obsessed with the price of gas. As the midterm elections approach, he has become concerned about unemployment. Deepl
  
  Read more

• Growth figures give boost to Reeves – but it’s too early to get carried away

  15-01-2026 11:33 via theguardian.com
  While better-than-expected data for November offers hope for UK economy, clouds remain on the horizon• UK economy grew by better-than-expected despite budget uncertainty
  • Business live – latest updates
  • UK politics live – latest updatesAt the end of last year, Rachel Reeves was under fire for the impact of budget speculation on Britain’s economy. All of the noise about fiscal holes, tax increases and spending cuts before her late November budget was having a re
  
  Read more

• UK economy grew by better-than-expected 0.3% in November despite budget uncertainty

  15-01-2026 11:10 via theguardian.com
  Jaguar Land Rover’s recovery from cyber-attack appears to have contributed to GDP growth• Growth figures give boost to Reeves – but it’s too early to get carried away
  • Business live – latest updatesThe UK economy grew by a stronger-than-expected 0.3% in November despite uncertainty around Rachel Reeves’s budget, official figures show.Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday showed the improvement, up from a 0.1% fall in October. C
  
  Read more

• ‘The consumers are still out there’: why a bankruptcy for Saks Global may not spell the end

  15-01-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Just more than a year after the new luxury behemoth was formed, it announcedit had filed for chapter 11 bankruptcyEvery year, the stores down Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue dress up their windows at Christmastime. Tourists from all over the world come to gawk at all the glitter, lace, ruffles and bows.Saks’s Fifth Avenue location, so iconic that it’s embedded in the brand’s name, is usually dressed top to bottom during the holidays. In 2023, the store partnered with Christian D
  
  Read more

• UK housebuilder Taylor Wimpey warns of ‘muted’ demand

  15-01-2026 10:31 via theguardian.com
  Company expects even lower margins in 2026 as it echoes cautious outlook from estate agents Foxtons and SavillsBusiness live – latest updatesThe UK housebuilder Taylor Wimpey has said demand is “muted” despite improving affordability, particularly among first-time buyers, echoing a cautious outlook from the estate agents Foxtons and Savills.Jennie Daly, the chief executive of Taylor Wimpey, said the government’s recent planning changes had resulted in “increased mom
  
  Read more

• Sports piracy explodes in UK with 3.6bn illegal streams and rise of black-market bookmakers

  15-01-2026 09:00 via theguardian.com
  Unlicensed betting has surged over the last four yearsGambling Commission accused of underestimating issueThe number of illegal streams of sports events in Britain has more than doubled to 3.6bn in the past three years according to a new report, which provides a stark illustration of the challenge facing broadcasters and leagues in combating piracy.The Campaign for Fairer Gambling’s national 2024-25 report also highlights that there is a symbiotic relationship between sports piracy and unl
  
  Read more

• Elon Musk’s Grok made the world less safe – his humiliating backdown gives me hopium | Van Badham

  15-01-2026 06:14 via theguardian.com
  The AI chatbot’s torrent of nonconsensual deepfakes isn’t its first scandal and won’t be its last. Responsible governments should simply ban itGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastBillionaire and career Bond-villain cosplayer Elon Musk has been forced by public backlash into a humiliating backdown over use of his AI chatbot, Grok. Watching the world’s richest man eat a shit sandwich on a global stage represents a rare win for sovereign democracy.Beca
  
  Read more

• The crisis whisperer: how Adam Tooze makes sense of our bewildering age

  15-01-2026 06:00 via theguardian.com
  Whether it’s the financial crash, the climate emergency or the breakdown of the international order, historian Adam Tooze has become the go-to guide to the radical new world we’ve enteredIn late January 2025, 10 days after Donald Trump was sworn in for a second time as president of the United States, an economic conference in Brussels brought together several officials from the recently deposed Biden administration for a discussion about the global economy. In Washington, Trump and h
  
  Read more

• Trump is making China – not America – great again, global survey suggests

  15-01-2026 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: US is less feared by its traditional adversaries, while its allies feel ever more distant, results showA year after Donald Trump’s return to the White House, a global survey suggests much of the world believes his nation-first, “Make America Great Again” approach is instead helping to make China great again.The 21-country survey for the influential European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) thinktank also found that under Trump, the US is less feared by its traditi
  
  Read more

• Amazon to close Milton Keynes fulfilment centre, affecting 590 workers

  14-01-2026 20:27 via theguardian.com
  The site was the UK’s first Amazon warehouse and staff will be offered a transfer to a new Northampton site or elsewhereAmazon is planning to close one of its UK fulfilment centres, offering workers the chance to transfer to another site.The company announced a consultation on a proposal to close the site in Milton Keynes, which was the first Amazon centre to open in the UK, in 1998. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• The Guardian view on Labour’s plan for railways in the north: a slow train coming | Editorial

  14-01-2026 19:22 via theguardian.com
  Proposals to relaunch Northern Powerhouse Rail are welcome and overdue. But passengers and commuters will believe it when they see itIn areas starved of the kind of investment taken for granted in the south-east, the miserable state of northern England’s railways has long been a source of anger and indignation. One analysis of Treasury figures found that the equivalent of seven Elizabeth lines could have been built in the north, if levels of funding devoted to London’s transport need
  
  Read more

• Labour still faces risks on energy despite ‘record’ wind power auction | Nils Pratley

  14-01-2026 17:44 via theguardian.com
  Government hails step towards clean power in Great Britain by 2030 – but the auction shows trade-offs are now neededOffshore windfarm contracts to fuel 12m homes in Great Britain after record auctionEd Miliband: With this record wind power auction, we’ve proved the rightwing doubters wrongThe government has defied gloomy price expectations for its latest auction for offshore wind capacity. The worry a few months ago was that bill payers would be forced to pay more than £100 a m
  
  Read more

• ‘Bizarre’ bonuses and sausage sizzles: how Australia’s outsource call centres try to lure in poorly paid workers

  14-01-2026 15:00 via theguardian.com
  Staff at four private contractors with government agency contracts say training is poor, morale is low and the attrition rate is highFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastOliver* says morale is so low at the outsource call centre in Perth where he works that management has offered enticements just to get employees to come to work.In December the privately owned TSA Group ran a “12 days of giveaways” competitio
  
  Read more

• Will Great Britain’s offshore wind subsidy auction mean lower energy bills?

  14-01-2026 14:43 via theguardian.com
  Why ‘historic’ process is crucial to help government hit 2030 clean energy targetsOffshore windfarm contracts to fuel 12m homes in Great Britain after record auctionNils Pratley: Labour faces risks on energy despite ‘record’ wind power auctionEd Miliband: With this record wind power auction, we’ve proved the rightwing doubters wrongGreat Britain has secured enough new offshore wind to power 12m homes after the most competitive – and financially generous &ndash
  
  Read more

• Offshore windfarm contracts to fuel 12m homes in Great Britain after record auction

  14-01-2026 14:30 via theguardian.com
  Subsidies awarded to eight new projects help keep UK on track to decarbonise by 2030Nils Pratley: Labour faces risks on energy despite ‘record’ wind power auctionWill Great Britain’s offshore wind subsidy auction mean lower energy bills?Ed Miliband: With this record wind power auction, we’ve proved the rightwing doubters wrongA make-or-break auction for the UK government’s goal to create a clean electricity system by 2030 has awarded subsidy contracts to enough offs
  
  Read more

Follow @financialnwsUK on Twitter!