Investors are expecting Donald Trump to back down in the war with Iran – but what if he doesn’t?

Global markets have become inured to the US president’s posturing over the past year, but economists warn they may be ‘a little bit complacent’ in anticipating a short conflict in the Middle East

Iran war pushes oil price above $90, threatening rise in global inflation

Reports Kuwait was cutting output pushed up cost of barrel of Brent crude to highest weekly gain since Covid pandemic began

‘We’re powerless … and hoping nothing hits us’: trapped on a tanker as Iran war escalates

Seafarer tells of explosions in the sky as thousands stuck on vessels after strait of Hormuz is effectively closed to shipping

Stock market falls resume as US-Israel war with Iran drives up oil and gas prices

FTSE 100 and France’s CAC down 1.5%; Germany’s DAX and Italy’s FTSE MIB down 1.6%; the Dow Jones was down 2%

Slower UK interest rate cuts likely as some mortgage providers hike rates; oil and gas prices rising again – as it happened

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

‘It’s discrimination’: US Small Business Administration cuts off loans to immigrant entrepreneurs

Green card holders are now ineligible for loans through the SBA as agency carries out Trump’s ‘America First’ agenda

Oil price continues to rise amid Middle East crisis but stock markets rebound across Asia

Reports of attack on US registered tanker in Gulf lifts crude by 3% to $84 a barrel as gas price also starts to climb

Globalisation is under threat from Iran war – and Britain is uniquely vulnerable

Economic ripples from US-Israel attacks will soon become waves, engulfing everything from energy prices to food

‘A big burden for farmers’: Gulf shipping crisis threatens food price shock

Iranian blockade of the strategic strait of Hormuz is hitting global fertiliser supply chain

European Commission proposes ‘Buy EU’ plan to compete against China

Plan to create and preserve jobs in clean tech and low carbon sectors could include UK if there is reciprocal market access

UK motor fuel prices rise since Middle East conflict began, and energy bills could jump 10% in July – as it happened

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

War in Middle East ‘could wipe out growth in UK living standards’

Rising oil and gas prices may affect increase of £300 a year for typical working-age households, says leading thinktank

European stock markets rally after report of ‘secret outreach’ by Iran to try to end war

UK’s FTSE 100 up by more than 50 points, while pan-European Stoxx 600 share index rises 1.2%

Wednesday briefing: ​​Was the chancellor’s spring statement already out of date?

In today’s newsletter: ​Against a backdrop of global turbulence, Rachel Reeve’s surprisingly upbeat tone failed to reassure when our supposed economic stability rests on forces mostly outside of the government’s control

What will Rachel Reeves’s spring forecast mean for household finances?

The chancellor promises more money in people’s pockets, but the Iran crisis makes steeper inflation a pressing worry