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The pound fell to a three-month low on Wednesday after Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey cast doubt on the need for further interest rate rises. Sterling was down 0.5 per cent on the day against the dollar to $1.249 after Bailey told MPs that the UK economy was now “much nearer the top of the

Birmingham city council, the biggest local authority in the UK and Europe, has declared itself in effect bankrupt, becoming the latest local government body to announce it cannot balance the books this year. The Labour-run council for the UK’s second city said on Tuesday that it had issued a section 114 notice owing to “unprecedented

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak is facing the prospect of two parliamentary by-elections in Conservative strongholds this autumn after Chris Pincher lost his appeal against an eight-week suspension from the House of Commons for groping two men last year. An independent parliamentary panel upheld the recommendation by the Commons standards committee in July, ruling that

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Dealing with the market turmoil sparked by then UK prime minister Liz Truss’ ill-fated “mini” Budget last year felt like swimming with crocodiles, according to the Bank of England’s chief economist. Huw Pill told a panel at South Africa’s central bank on Friday that the September fiscal event, which set out £45bn in unfunded tax

Britain’s economic performance since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic was much better than previously thought, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday as revised figures added nearly 2 per cent to the size of the economy. The changes mean that by the end of 2021, the UK economy was 0.6 per cent larger

UBS has reported the biggest ever quarterly profit for a bank, after recording a $29bn gain linked to its takeover of Credit Suisse. The Swiss lender announced the figures on Thursday as it said it would press ahead with absorbing Credit Suisse’s domestic business despite local and political opposition to a deal expected to result

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UK foreign secretary James Cleverly has hit back at Conservative party critics ahead of a visit to Beijing this week, warning that failure to engage with China would be a sign of British “weakness”. Cleverly told the Financial Times he would tell his hosts on Wednesday that Britain welcomed Chinese investment provided it did not

Eurozone money supply has shrunk for the first time since 2010 as private sector lending stalls and deposits decline, in a financial squeeze that economists warn points to a further downturn ahead. The money supply is one of the main metrics monitored by the European Central Bank to check the impact of recent monetary policy

What is included in my trial? During your trial you will have complete digital access to FT.com with everything in both of our Standard Digital and Premium Digital packages. Standard Digital includes access to a wealth of global news, analysis and expert opinion. Premium Digital includes access to our premier business column, Lex, as well

What is included in my trial? During your trial you will have complete digital access to FT.com with everything in both of our Standard Digital and Premium Digital packages. Standard Digital includes access to a wealth of global news, analysis and expert opinion. Premium Digital includes access to our premier business column, Lex, as well

What is included in my trial? During your trial you will have complete digital access to FT.com with everything in both of our Standard Digital and Premium Digital packages. Standard Digital includes access to a wealth of global news, analysis and expert opinion. Premium Digital includes access to our premier business column, Lex, as well

Wagner fighters made a makeshift memorial for their founder Yevgeny Prigozhin in St Petersburg on Thursday as the Kremlin maintained its silence on the warlord’s apparent demise in a plane crash. Supporters of Prigozhin, who is listed among the passengers of a private jet that crashed north-west of Moscow on Wednesday, killing all aboard, mourned

Russia is offering to swap western investors’ stranded assets in the country for some Russian assets frozen by the west following President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Under the proposal, Moscow would give interested western investors the opportunity to buy the assets of Russian companies that have been immobilised in Europe by using their own

Prospective investors in Arm’s initial public offering have raised concerns over the UK chip designer’s exposure to China, after the company warned of “significant risks” in the country. Managers at four separate funds considering an investment in Arm told the Financial Times that the prospectus for the planned listing on Nasdaq in September confirmed some

Goldman Sachs is exploring a sale of the investment advisory business it acquired four years ago, marking a further retreat from efforts to be a major bank to mass-market customers. The Wall Street firm said on Monday it was “currently evaluating alternatives” for its personal financial management business, which encompasses Goldman’s registered investment adviser operations

China is expected to make the biggest cuts this year to two of its core lending rates, as pressure mounts on policymakers and banks to reverse a trend of slowing momentum and revive flagging demand in the world’s second-biggest economy. The People’s Bank of China is set to announce reductions to both one-year and five-year

The leaders of Japan and South Korea on Friday put decades of frequently acrimonious relations behind them, signing on to a trilateral pact with the US that will deepen military and intelligence co-operation between the three allies. The agreement, formally reached at President Joe Biden’s retreat at Camp David outside Washington, sets up annual summits

China’s securities regulator has announced a package of market-friendly reforms to try to boost investment and trading after months of underwhelming economic growth that has hit stocks and bonds. The measures, which the China Securities Regulatory Commission said were designed to “boost capital market investor confidence”, indicate Beijing’s concern over the country’s economic and financial