UK long-term borrowing costs hit 28-year high

1 September 2026 at 13:44

Yield on 30-year government bonds jumps to 5.88%, the highest since 1998, in bond rout triggered by global factors

Business live – latest updates

The UK government’s long-term borrowing costs jumped to their highest level since early 1998 on Tuesday as a global bond sell-off gathered pace.

The yield – in effect the interest rate – on 30-year UK government bonds, known as gilts, hit 5.89% as traders fretted about a fresh increase in oil prices driving up inflation.

London Stock Exchange to lose three more firms after takeover offers

World news | The Guardian

By: Mark Sweney

1 September 2026 at 13:08

Latest purchases take value of deals to leave capital’s stock market this year past $100bn

Three more London-listed companies are set to be taken over as the value of deals removing firms from the capital’s under-pressure stock market so far this year passes $100bn (£74bn).

On Tuesday, Bodycote, the FTSE 250 industrials group that has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 1972, agreed a £1.84bn takeover by the US private equity group Veritas.

Shein shares slide on fast-fashion retailer’s stock market debut

World news | The Guardian

By: Mark Sweney

1 September 2026 at 10:11

Hong Kong flotation at $26bn by firm once valued at $100bn follows failure to list in US and UK

Shares in the fast-fashion brand Shein slumped by as much as 10% as the China-founded company made its long-anticipated trading debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

The Singapore-headquartered company, once valued at almost $100bn (£74bn), went public on Tuesday pricing shares at HK$48.56, valuing the business at just over $26bn.

UK house prices rise for first time since April, says Nationwide

World news | The Guardian

By: Mark Sweney

1 September 2026 at 11:32

Average price of home rose 0.2% month on month in August to £275,465 as market awaits interest rate vote

Houses near top state secondary schools ‘cost £40,000 more’

UK house prices increased for the first time in four months in August, according to a leading index, as buyers and sellers remained in a “holding pattern” before an expected increase in interest rates later this year.

The average price of a British home rose 0.2% month on month in August to £275,465, the first increase since April, according to Nationwide. Analysts had forecast a 0.1% rise.

Summer box office 2026: what can we learn from the hits and misses?

The Guardian

By: Benjamin Lee

1 September 2026 at 12:00

It was a bumper season for Hollywood, almost back to pre-pandemic levels, with Tom Holland blockbusters winning out, but there was still a string of disappointments

As the world continued to burn and temperatures reached worrying highs, most of us decided to take refuge in the cinema this summer. It provided some relief for audiences, but even more so for the industry at large, with the season pushing past the magic $4bn mark to become the biggest since 2019, up 20% from last year. There were the expected hits (Spider-Man never misses), but there were also unprecedented breakouts (we were obsessed with Obsession) and surprise underperformers (are kids Minions-ed out?)

So at the end of a season with epic highs and cavernous lows, what lessons can Hollywood learn?

Boss of City regulator accused of threatening consumer group over £9.1bn car loan scheme

World news | The Guardian

By: Kalyeena Makortoff Banking correspondent

1 September 2026 at 10:16

FCA chief, Nikhil Rathi, warned of ‘adverse consequences’ if challenge made to settlement, court filings allege

The boss of the UK’s financial regulator is accused of threatening a consumer group with “adverse consequences” if it blocked a £9.1bn compensation scheme meant to settle the motor finance scandal.

Legal documents reviewed by the Guardian said the alleged comments by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) chief executive, Nikhil Rathi, amounted to “an inappropriate intervention by a public official”.

Long-term UK borrowing costs at 28-year high as rising oil prices trigger global bond rout – business live

The Guardian

By: Julia Kollewe

1 September 2026 at 12:19

European stock markets fall sharply and Brent crude rises above $92 a barrlel amid renewed fighting in Middle East

European stock markets are a sea of red, a gloomy start to September.

As traders return from the UK Bank Holiday, the FTSE 100 index in London has fallen 1.1%.

Price rises gather pace in UK shops amid higher energy costs

World news | The Guardian

By: Sarah Butler

1 September 2026 at 08:00

In-store inflation rises to an annual 1.5% in August, according to a survey for the British Retail Consortium

The pace of price rises in UK shops rose to its highest level in two years in August, a trade body index shows, with higher energy costs pushing up the price of food and AI chip demand making technology more expensive.

In-store inflation stepped up to 1.5% year on year in August, up from 0.9% in July, led by prices for tinned and packaged food which increased by 2.5% against 1.1% in the prior month, according to data from the research company NIQ for the British Retail Consortium.

Dry weather sewage discharges soar as water companies face scrutiny

World news | The Guardian

By: Sandra Laville

1 September 2026 at 08:00

Exclusive: 7,280 suspected illegal spills in rivers and sea recorded in first five months of 2026

The number of suspected illegal discharges of raw sewage into rivers and seas by water companies during dry weather increased significantly during the first five months of 2026.

Dumping raw sewage into waterways during dry spells via overflows amounts to pollution. It is considered a breach of the permits given to water companies and is illegal. Discharging during dry weather increases the toxicity of the sewage pollution entering waterways. Rivers have less flow and volume, and there is no rainwater to dilute the sewage pollution entering the waterway.

The London office, the empty boxes and the £1bn tax loophole

The Guardian

By: Nick Sommerlad

31 August 2026 at 15:00

Exclusive: How a court case over an unoccupied office block could end a widely used tax avoidance scheme

From the outside, the seven-storey building at 2 America Square looks like any other office block in the heart of London’s financial district.

Located about half a mile from Tower Bridge, one might expect it to be a hive of commercial activity, teeming with employees holding important meetings. However, much of the property is home not to staff vying for their next bonus, but to stacks of nondescript black boxes arranged in neat lines.

The Ritual of Coffin Making in a City Hit by Ebola

NYT > Top Stories

By: Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Arlette Bashizi

1 September 2026 at 07:01

While several coffin makers in Bunia said they were providing a public service, the virus has put them at the center of a debate around safe burials.

Child trust fund firms face review over efforts to find who owns £1.5bn worth of pots

World news | The Guardian

By: Hilary Osborne

1 September 2026 at 07:00

Exclusive: FCA pressures firms to do more to sort 760,000 accounts as watchdog urges families to use free tracking service

Child trust fund providers are being put under the spotlight to check they are treating savers fairly and doing all they can to reunite young people with lost accounts.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said about 760,000 accounts worth an average of £2,000 were yet to be claimed – more than £1.5bn in total – as it launched a review of the market.

UK houses near top state secondary schools cost £40,000 more, research reveals

World news | The Guardian

By: Rob Davies

1 September 2026 at 02:01

Premium of nearly 10% paid by housebuyers comparable with cost of a cheaper private school over seven years

A house near a top state secondary school costs an extra £40,000 on average, according to research that reveals education premiums that rank alongside some private school fees.

The average property in a postcode district that includes a top 50 state secondary commands a price tag of £415,791, compared with £375,217 across the wider local authority areas in which those schools are located, a UK-wide analysis by the estate agent Yopa found.

Fugitive property developer won’t give evidence this week to Icac – as it happened

World news | The Guardian

By: Achol Arok and Nick Visser

1 September 2026 at 10:18

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43 Australians still missing, with concerns growing ‘every day, every hour’ that goes by, Wong says

The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, says there are still 43 Australian missing after the flooding in Nepal, saying the government holds grave concerns for their safety that only gets worse as the days go by.

This is such a distressing time and I know this is so difficult for the family and friends of those 43 Australians.

Every day, every hour, only increases our concern for those who have not been found and remain missing, and that is many Australians. … You can imagine how many families and friends are traumatised as a consequence.

US trade regulator and 22 states accuse Amazon of taking $20bn with secret surcharges

The Guardian

By: Dara Kerr and Blake Montgomery

31 August 2026 at 22:41

FTC alleges in lawsuit that online retailer ‘secretly and systematically overcharged’ advertisers for years

The US’s main trade regulator and 22 states sued Amazon on Monday, alleging the online retailer “secretly and systematically overcharged” advertisers on Amazon.com.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said these practices led to higher costs for customers on items like groceries and other essential goods that are sold on Amazon.

George Santos Just Got Hit With Kalshi’s First-Ever Lifetime Ban

WIRED

By: Kate Knibbs

31 August 2026 at 18:27

The former US representative was also fined more than $71,000 for allegedly attempting to manipulate the prediction market.

BT on track for estimated £2bn windfall from selling old copper amid AI boom

World news | The Guardian

By: Mark Sweney

31 August 2026 at 17:06

Telecoms company to benefit from soaring prices for recycled metal recovered from full-fibre broadband rollout

BT is on track for an estimated £2bn-plus windfall over the next decade from selling off old copper cabling, as it cashes in on soaring prices amid the AI market frenzy and switches the UK’s network to full-fibre broadband.

Copper is one of the main beneficiaries of the “electrification of everything”, essential for the rapid growth of AI datacentres, electronics and the fast-growing renewable energy industry.

Iran’s economy in crisis as US launches new sanctions campaign

The Guardian

By: Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor

31 August 2026 at 16:00

Trump’s Operation Economic Outcast is expected to push many Iranians into deeper poverty as food inflation soars

For many Iranians, the new US sanctions campaign, called Operation Economic Outcast, seems superfluous given the grim economic situation in their country.

Iranians are facing runaway food inflation, closed petrol stations and a seemingly never-ending depreciation of the nation’s currency caused by a lack of foreign exchange reserves.

Anthropic sued over alleged theft of ‘tens of thousands’ of songs

The Guardian

By: Dan Milmo Global technology editor

31 August 2026 at 15:42

AI company faces multibillion dollar lawsuit over misuse of copyrighted songs to train Claude models

All AI wants for Christmas is a vast back catalogue of songs without paying for it, according to a multibillion-dollar lawsuit against the startup behind the Claude chatbot.

Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell, music publishers who manage the copyright of songs on behalf of songwriters and composers, are seeking damages for alleged misuse of “tens of thousands” of copyrighted works by Anthropic.

Iran’s economy in crisis as US launches new sanctions campaign

World news | The Guardian

By: Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor

31 August 2026 at 16:00

Trump’s Operation Economic Outcast is expected to push many Iranians into deeper poverty as food inflation soars

For many Iranians, the new US sanctions campaign, called Operation Economic Outcast, seems superfluous given the grim economic situation in their country.

Iranians are facing runaway food inflation, closed petrol stations and a seemingly never-ending depreciation of the nation’s currency caused by a lack of foreign exchange reserves.

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