Private equity keeps picking off London-listed firms – and Westminster barely notices

Bodycote is the latest FTSE 250 industrial company set to fall to an overseas bidder, despite the government’s talk of ‘reindustrialising’

UK long-term borrowing costs could halve chancellor’s budget headroom

Yield on 30-year gilts highest since 1998 as rout triggered by global factors underlines tricky backdrop John Healey faces

Any ideas, anyone? Healey asks for budget pitches from apprentices and IT staff

Chancellor opens up brainstorming to Treasury staff of all levels, and says some will be asked to pitch to him in person

Andrew Griffith and Tom Tugendhat join Badenoch’s top team in Tory reshuffle

Conservative leader sacks shadow chancellor Mel Stride and shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel

Tax promises, defence targets and Iran: Andy Burnham’s budget headaches

As economic circumstances worsen, the PM’s commitments have left him and the chancellor in a tight spot

Fed chair says delivering ‘stable prices’ is central bank’s job as inflation persists

However, Kevin Warsh didn’t say if interest rates would change in coming months, as inflation remains stubborn

Healey’s budget to duck setting a date for 3% defence spending target

Roadmap for increasing department’s share of GDP will be deferred until next year’s review

The Guardian view on energy costs: vulnerable households need help with their bills

Editorial: Soaring prices are plunging struggling families into debt. The government must support them in the short term as it invests in a clean energy future

No more UK energy bills support likely before price cap rise

Andy Burnham stops short of pledging further help as gas and electricity prices due to increase by 4% in October

UK reports unexpected deficit of £1.8bn as John Healey prepares for first budget

July data shows total public debt was £2.98tn, or 94% of GDP – up £96bn on a year earlier

Reform’s new economic adviser has called for end of pensioners’ triple lock

Exclusive: Mitchell Palmer has also argued for privatising the NHS and immigration as way of cutting poverty

Can Andy Burnham rewire the ‘Treasury brain’ to boost growth?

PM wants to reduce department’s stranglehold on public purse and bring long-term thinking to economic policy

Rising inflation underlines scale of Andy Burnham’s cost of living challenge

PM’s plan to shield households from more pressure risks being overwhelmed by wider price rises

Interest rate dilemma for central banks as inflation rises but growth slows

The Federal Reserve, the ECB and the Bank of England appear unclear on how to tackle inflation amid the Iran war

A positive new report raises the question: was Reeves undermined by dodgy data?

Assessment’s finding of a jump in UK productivity emphasises urgent need to appoint a national statistician