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Budget 2026: Healey hikes taxes on banks and landlords to fund £100 handouts to 20m households

Few surprises as chancellor uses low-key speech blaming ‘global economic storms’ for stoking energy prices and cost of living crisis

John Healey raised taxes on banks and landlords to fund a £100 winter handout for 20 million families as official forecasts made clear there is no end in sight for the cost of living crisis.

In his first budget, the chancellor blamed “global economic storms” for the grim outlook, as the war in Iran drives up oil and gas prices.

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© Photograph: House of Commons/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: House of Commons/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: House of Commons/AFP/Getty Images

China Steps In to Rescue Stocks, But the Market Continues to Fall

The Communist Party uses a “national team” of state-owned investment funds to stem the market rout. But this time, investors are not sure it will work.

© Florence Lo/Reuters

President Xi Jinping of China has convened senior leaders to set the government’s agenda, but the economy is likely to take a back seat to politics.

Brazilian Markets Convulse After Unexpected Election Result

26 October 2026 at 17:42
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s re-election victory prompted a sharp reversal in financial markets that had expected his opponent to win.

© Amanda Perobelli/Reuters

Brazil’s president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, celebrating on Monday after his victory in the presidential runoff election.

Brazilian Markets Convulse After Unlikely Election Result

26 October 2026 at 16:58
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s re-election victory prompted a sharp reversal in financial markets that had expected his opponent to win.

© Amanda Perobelli/Reuters

Brazil’s president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, celebrating on Monday after his victory in the presidential runoff election.

Meta and SpaceX to Raise Billions More to Fund A.I. Ambitions

26 October 2026 at 16:31
The race to build artificial intelligence infrastructure is consuming increasingly enormous amounts of cash at the biggest tech companies.

© Gabriela Bhaskar/The New York Times

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive of Meta. The company aims to raise up to $95 billion to invest in A.I. infrastructure.
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