43 m. ago Bank of England expected to leave interest rates on hold as Middle East conflict pushes up oil price – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as Switzerland and Philippines cut interest ratesNewsflash: We have a third interest rate cut this morning!Norway’s central bank has surprised analysts by cutting its policy rate by a quarter of one percentage point, to 4.25%. The rate had been set at 4.5% since December 2023.“Inflation has declined since the monetary policy meeting in March, and the inflation outlook for the coming year indicates lower inflation than previously expected.A cautious normalisation of the policy rate will pave the way for inflation to return to target without restricting the economy more than necessary.”“The uncertainty surrounding the economic outlook is now greater than normal. If the economy takes a different path than currently envisaged, the policy rate path may be adjusted. But our objectives stand firm. We will finish the job and ensure that inflation is brought all the way back to 2 percent.”The Monetary Board also noted indications of...

Economics

1 hour ago Bank of England expected to leave interest rates as Middle East conflict drives up oil price – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsEurope’s main stock markets have dropped at the start of trading.In London, the FTSE 100 index has lost 33 points, or 0.37%, to 8810 points. Mining stocks are among the fallers. Continue reading...

Economics

5 h. ago Europe must stand without the US – but the latest war in the Middle East shows it has no idea how | Nathalie Tocci

If Europe was not so in hock to Washington, it would sanction Israel over Gaza and condemn its unilateral attack on IranThe rupture in the transatlantic relationship has left European leaders struggling to know how to think, let alone act, with any autonomy. Europe most urgently needs a mind of its own on the Middle East.Tragically, EU governments were just beginning to turn the page after a year and a half of complicity with the Israeli government’s war crimes in Gaza. Donald Trump’s obscene plans for a Gaza “riviera” and “humanitarian” initiatives that breach humanitarian principles were creating distance with the US, and European governments were starting to craft their own course.Nathalie Tocci is a Guardian Europe columnist Continue reading...

Events

8 h. ago Changing faces of the TOWIE stars:  Lauren Goodger admits she's 'ruined her looks' with plastic surgery...and she's not the only Essex girl who looks VERY different after finding fame on the show

When The Only Way Is Essex first hit screens back in 2010 a series of complete unknowns living in east London had no idea the level of spotlight and fame they were about to be thrust into.

Politics

14 h. ago ‘I may do it, I may not’: Donald Trump taunts Iran over airstrikes as Starmer holds Cobra meeting

Thousands flee Tehran as Ali Khamenei insists Iran won’t surrender to White House pressure

Politics

14 h. ago Fed keeps rates unchanged after Trump knocks chairman Jerome Powell – live

The Federal Reserve holds interest rates steady and policymakers signal borrowing costs are still likely to fall this yearRussian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov warned on Wednesday that direct US military assistance to Israel could radically destabilise the situation in the Middle East, where an air war between Israel and Iran has raged for six days.In separate comments, the head of Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service, Sergei Naryshkin, was quoted as saying that the situation between Israel and Iran was now critical. Continue reading...

Politics

17 h. ago Justice Sotomayor dissents US supreme court decision that ‘authorizes untold harm to transgender children’ – live

Justice Sonia Sotomayor says decision ‘does irrevocable damage to the Equal Protection Clause’ and ‘invites legislatures to engage in discrimination’US supreme court upholds ban on youth gender-affirming careRussian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov warned on Wednesday that direct US military assistance to Israel could radically destabilise the situation in the Middle East, where an air war between Israel and Iran has raged for six days.In separate comments, the head of Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service, Sergei Naryshkin, was quoted as saying that the situation between Israel and Iran was now critical. Continue reading...

Society

18 h. ago Putin wades in: Russia warns Trump against bombing Iran and says Israel is 'millimetres away' from sparking nuclear 'catastrophe' with its airstrikes as Trump considers US military attack

Fears that the United States could wade into yet another war in the Middle East grew yesterday when a security source revealed Trump was considering joining Israel in strikes on Iran

Events

20 h. ago By dragging the US into Iran, Trump risks giving Tehran the final showdown it wants

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are experts at insurgency and may be relishing the prospect of conflict, says world affairs editor Sam Kiley

Politics

20 h. ago UK transport secretary calls HS2 an ‘appalling mess’ as she confirms delay

Heidi Alexander vows to ‘sort out’ HS2 project; UK inflation dips to 3.4% as transport costs ease while food prices jumpUK inflation eases to 3.4% amid falling fuel and air fare pricesInflation pressures remain sticky in the UK, according to Rob Wood, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.Looking ahead, we continue to expect CPI inflation to average 3.4% for the rest of the year as strong wage growth, minimum wage hikes and tax increases pass through to retail prices. We think headline inflation will struggle to dip below 3% before April 2026. By that point, inflation will have been above target almost continuously for five years, risking further deanchoring of inflation expectations and persistent wage pressure.Granted, US president Trump’s trade war could lead to some diversion of Chinese exports previously bound to the US, which could cut UK inflation. But war in the Middle-East has boosted oil and natural gas prices, adding 10bp to our forecast inflation peak and risks p...

Politics

21 h. ago Iran's supreme leader Khamenei trades war threats with Trump in 'incredibly dangerous moment' for Middle East

Ayatollah warns any US air strikes on Iran would have ‘serious irreparable consequences’ as US President considers military action

Politics

23 h. ago Is it safe to travel to Cyprus – and can I claim a refund if I cancel my holiday?

Governments of the UK, Ireland, Australia, Canada and the US all maintain that visiting the Mediterranean island is safe

Politics

29 h. ago Why Europe should hijack Nato for its own purposes | Paul Taylor

As the Trump administration’s security focus shifts towards countering China, European governments are living on borrowed timeCall it the five-for-five summit. When Nato leaders meet in The Hague next week, European allies will sign up to a phoney transatlantic bargain in which they pretend they will spend 5% of their economic output on defence and Donald Trump pretends in return that he is committed to Article 5 of the Nato treaty, the mutual defence clause that he has repeatedly undermined.The Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, is deploying all his considerable political wiles and powers of persuasion to contrive a short, “no surprises” summit at which fundamental differences over Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, trade, the Middle East and liberal democratic values are deliberately excluded.Paul Taylor is a senior visiting fellow at the European Policy Centre Continue reading...

Politics

39 h. ago ‘What if the strikes hit us on the highway?’: Thousands flee Tehran amid bombardment

Fearful residents endure fraught journeys out of Iranian capital as Israel issues evacuation order Middle East crisis – live updatesThe Israel-Iran war in maps, videos and satellite imagesAs Farhad* and his friends left Tehran, they had plenty of time to survey the destruction. Smoke billowed from rooftops and flames flickered behind them as they inched their way through miles-long traffic to escape Israel’s bombardment of Iran’s capital city.Despite leaving early on Tuesday morning, it took Farhad six hours to reach his ancestral village, a journey that usually would take no more than two-and-a-half hours. Continue reading...

Events

42 h. ago Two key UK targets could be hit by Iran as Middle East war escalates further

Tensions between Israel and Iran are continuing to rise, with UK bases now being considered a potential target as attempts to stop an all-out war breaking out are still struggling

Events

48 h. ago Global oil supplies forecast to outstrip demand this year despite Middle East war

International Energy Agency expects production to rise by 1.8mn barrels a day in 2025

Events

51 h. ago Republican hawks vs Maga isolationists: the internal war that could decide Trump’s Iran response

Trump could decide to help Israel by joining the fight against Iran, or refrain from involving the US in a new overseas war – either choice will upset his supportersFollow live updates in the Middle East crisis As Donald Trump considers a direct intervention in Israel’s conflict with Iran, another war has broken out in Washington between conservative hawks, calling for immediate US strikes on uranium enrichment facilities, and Maga isolationists, who are demanding Trump stick to his campaign pledge not to involve the US in new overseas wars.At stake is whether the US could target the mountain redoubt that is home to the Fordow fuel enrichment plant, a key uranium enrichment site hidden 80 to 90 metres underground that cannot be targeted directly by Israeli jets – although they can attack some of the infrastructure that allows the plant to operate. Continue reading...

Politics

57 h. ago The 'abandoned' Brits trapped in Israel: Pressure on Foreign Office to evacuate UK nationals who say they are stranded in Middle East war zone while other countries rush to bring citizens home

Tens of thousands of UK nationals are believed to be stranded after Israel shut its airspace amid the escalating conflict with Iran .

Events

60 h. ago Tucker Carlson warns that Fox News 'liars' influencing Trump could END his presidency over nuclear war

Journalist Tucker Carlson traveled to Washington, DC on Monday, publicly urging the president away from an escalating war in the Middle East.

Events

66 h. ago Live: Trump and world leaders attend G7 summit against backdrop of trade war tension and Middle East conflict

Watch live as Donald Trump meets Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney as he attends the G7 summit in Alberta on Monday (16 June).

Politics