Author: Blake Anderson

Sir Keir Starmer has insisted he will not put up key taxes even if Donald Trump’s global trade war blows a hole in Britain’s public finances, as he vowed to prepare the country for “an era of global instability”.The UK prime minister warned that Trump had thrown the global order up in the air but said he would not add to voters’ insecurity by putting up their personal taxes.Asked if he would stick to Labour’s manifesto pledge not to raise income tax, value added tax or national insurance contributions, Starmer said: “That’s a commitment we made and a commitment we…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Andrew Bailey has been chosen as the next chair of the world’s financial stability watchdog, handing the Bank of England governor responsibility for trying to avoid a financial crisis by co-ordinating policies between top global regulators.Bailey’s nomination as chair of the Financial Stability Board for the next three years, a role he will hold alongside heading the BoE, comes as rising geopolitical tensions and market turmoil sparked by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs threaten to upend the global financial system. The FSB…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the House & Home myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.There is a London junction where late-night gay bars twinkle in the shadow of a mosque, while dirty old warehouses stare down luxury flats. Hippy houseboats float on the canal below while the A10’s traffic churns over the bridge. Is it Hoxton, Haggerston or Shoreditch? Here on Kingsland Road is a nexus not just of demographics but also of London postcodes; the place where N1, E8 and E2 all meet, bringing their boroughs of Islington, Hackney and Tower Hamlets with them.…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.To run a speedboat operation on the Thames, it pays to have hair like Charlie Matheson’s. By the time we hit top speed on the stretch between Canary Wharf and Greenwich, his floppy mop is swept back just so. With wide eyes and an impish grin, he looks like a cross between Pierce Brosnan in the boat chase scene in The World Is Not Enough and a spaniel sticking its head out of a car window.“Wonderful, wonderful, yes, yes!” Matheson shouts above…

Christopher Mahon is head of Dynamic Real Return in Multi-Asset Investing at Columbia Threadneedle Investments.In February, the Bank of England updated its estimates for the lifetime losses of the asset purchase facility, the vehicle through which it conducts quantitative easing.Its prediction for APF losses had crept up: from £95bn in September, to £115bn at the year end. The scale of these figures — and the change, in a matter of months — dwarf the £14bn of savings chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in her spring statement.Now, some might argue that comparing a lifetime figure to an annual budget is unfair. And…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The UK’s agency for “high impact science” is setting its sights on fighting emerging biological threats and extending people’s healthy lifespans among its latest targets for research.The two-year-old Advanced Research and Invention Agency has appointed eight more programme directors to widen its targets as it prepares to allocate the second half of its initial £800mn five-year funding.Aria was created by the previous Conservative government but has become a crucial part of the Labour administration’s search for high-value innovation to boost sluggish economic…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.UK ministers are closing in on a deal to secure billions of pounds of investment from American media giant Comcast to build what could be the biggest theme park in Europe in a disused Bedford brickworks.Universal, the theme parks business owned by Comcast, is close to agreeing terms on a project that would see 500 acres of industrial land turned into one of Europe’s top tourist destinations, according to several people close to the talks.A deal could be announced as early as…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Oil & Gas industry myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Greenpeace has raised the prospect of a fresh legal challenge to two planned UK oil and gasfields after the government signalled support for the projects, despite a court revoking their consent because of their potential climate impact.  The campaign group has warned the energy department that public comments by the prime minister and the chancellor could be seen as prejudging any fresh application for consent for the Rosebank and Jackdaw projects, leaving any new decision vulnerable to legal challenge. In a letter…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Sky has reiterated its commitment to providing broadband services using CityFibre’s network, as the UK’s largest altnet races to secure £1.5bn of fresh capital.Sky met lenders to CityFibre last week, including NatWest and ING, to confirm it would be moving some of its customers to CityFibre’s network this year.Sky has 5.7mn broadband customers. Like a number of rivals, it does not have its own infrastructure but uses BT’s Openreach network. The partnership with CityFibre, which has its own independent broadband network, would…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the worldThe UK government is watering down its targets for electric vehicles, with lower punitive fines, in order to support the domestic car industry after Donald Trump imposed a 25 per cent tariff on the global automotive sector’s exports to the US. Sir Keir Starmer announced on Sunday that the 2030 phaseout date for new petrol and diesel cars will remain in place, but under the new plan manufacturers will be allowed to sell full hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles until…