Rachel Reeves will not be investigated over pre-budget briefing, FCA says
Financial regulator leaves door open for follow-up after rejecting calls for formal inquiry into claims Treasury officials deliberately misled reporters
Fossil-fuel billionaires bought up millions of shares after meeting with top Trump officials
Co-founders’ acquisition of Venture Global shares before key permit granted draws scrutiny as pair deny wrongdoing
Budget uncertainty blamed for plunge in UK construction output, and investor exodus from the stock market – business live
Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news
‘Tough market conditions’ hit UK half-year retail sales at Frasers Group
Owner of Sports Direct chain says consumer confidence ‘very subdued’ with sales at sports division down 5.8%
Farage’s Reform UK gets £9m donation from ex-Brexit party backer
Crypto investor Christopher Harborne previously gave £1m to Boris Johnson office and was one of biggest donors in UK politics
Record numbers becoming billionaires through inheritance, UBS report finds
Swiss bank says bequests made 91 people billionaires, while overall number jumped from 2,682 in 2024 to 9,919 this year
Households face higher energy bills as £28bn grid upgrade gets go-ahead
Plan to improve gas networks and rewire electricity systems across Great Britain likely to add £30 to average annual bill
‘People had forgotten about it’: onboard the 7am Manchester-London train service saved from axe
Passengers welcome climbdown and say plan to turn Avanti West Coast service into ‘ghost train’ made no sense
Refinancing is delayed at Thames Water. If Ofwat is playing hard, it should keep going
Discussions are ‘taking longer than expected’, which may mean regulator is tearing chunks out of creditors’ proposal
‘I’m rapt!’: meatball chants but no mania as New Zealand assembles for first Ikea store
Overnight camping was banned and motorists were told to plan their journey as New Zealand finally joined the flatpack family
Advertising giant WPP relegated from FTSE 100 after nearly 30 years
Market value of ad group that was once world’s largest plummets from about £24bn in 2017 to £3.1bn
Post Office avoids fine over leak of wrongfully convicted operators’ names
ICO reprimands company over accidental publishing of data about people caught up in Horizon IT scandal
EU looks at legally forcing industries to reduce purchases from China
Commission unveils €3bn strategy to de-risk and diversify supply chains for critical rare earth metals and elements
Historic Smithfield and Billingsgate markets find new home in Docklands
City of London corporation names Albert Island near City airport in Docklands for meat and fish markets
HSBC has a new chair but the succession process should have been slicker
This is the UK’s second-largest listed company, and the European bank most exposed to declining US-China relations