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Every now and then a “feel good” story pops up on American morning TV that would make most Europeans spit out their tea in horror. Good Morning America, for instance, ran a piece about a “trendy co-worker baby shower gift”: donating some of your limited paid leave to your pregnant colleague, so she can have

In 1989, on the eve of privatisation, the European Commission took legal action against the UK government for its failure to meet standards on drinking water.  The fracas did not disrupt the flotation of regional water authorities in England and Wales, which were given more time to reach standards they should have met in 1985.

Sir Keir Starmer is facing claims he is engaged in a “witch-hunt” aimed at closing down dissent or independent voices inside Labour, as the leader tightens his grip on the UK’s main opposition party. John McDonnell, who was shadow chancellor under the leftwing leader Jeremy Corbyn in 2015-20, criticised “factional behaviour”. He told the Financial

On the same day that a 17-year-old of North African descent was killed by police outside Paris, teenagers attending a workshop at a youth centre in another of the city’s low-income neighbourhoods said his fate was a fresh reminder of the discrimination they faced in French society. “One asked, ‘since when should driving without a

The crisis at Thames Water could deter overseas investment into the UK, ministers and industry figures have warned, as the utility seeks to raise at least £1bn to shore up its finances. Conservative ministers maintain that concerns about the financial resilience of water companies — and “intemperate” talk of possible temporary nationalisation — could create

Steps by banks and building societies to help UK borrowers cut their monthly mortgage payments risk storing up financial trouble later in their lives, as they face a higher total interest bill and lower income in retirement, financial advisers warned. Following the surprise announcement by the Bank of England that it was raising interest rates

Barclays is looking to terminate its corporate banking relationship with Odey Asset Management, people familiar with the situation told the Financial Times, heaping further pressure on the hedge fund as it struggles to stay afloat following sexual misconduct allegations against its eponymous founder. A string of banks served termination notices on Odey Asset Management for

The government should encourage greater co-investment with private sector pension funds if it wants to unlock more retirement cash for the economy, the trade body for Britain’s trillion-pounds savings industry has said. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) — which represents the biggest pension providers — said state backing for riskier, illiquid investments would help

The conservative frontrunner to be Spain’s next prime minister has vowed to overhaul a €3bn windfall tax reviled by banks and energy companies, saying he wanted to make it legally watertight but offering no commitment to repeal it. Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who is leading Socialist incumbent Pedro Sánchez in the polls ahead of this month’s

The French government said rioting and looting had calmed as it kept up a heavy security deployment to try to quell the unrest that has exploded in the five days since a fatal police shooting of a teenager. “Quieter night thanks to the resolute action of the police,” interior minister Gérald Darmanin wrote on Twitter

Ireland and Luxembourg have intensified calls for tougher global rules on shadow banks in a bid to curb the risk of further financial turmoil erupting from a sector that spans everything from hedge funds to crypto firms. Senior officials from the two EU member states, which together host shadow banks with around €10tn in assets,

The world’s largest active bond fund manager says markets are too optimistic about central banks’ ability to dodge a recession as they battle inflation in the US and Europe. Daniel Ivascyn, chief investment officer at Pimco, which manages $1.8tn of assets, said he was preparing for a “harder landing” than other investors while top central

What happens when the disrupter is disrupted? Ikea revolutionised retailing from the 1950s, persuading shoppers to travel to its out-of-town stores, navigate their mazelike formats to collect their furniture, transport it home, and assemble it themselves. But as Jesper Brodin took over as chief executive in 2017, it quickly became clear its customers had had

The writer is professor of economic policy at the University of Oxford It wasn’t meant to be this way. The UK’s wave of privatisations in the 1980s and 1990s was intended to create private sector balance sheets that could be used to borrow to invest. But there was a flaw: the belief in light-touch regulation.

The writer is chair of Rockefeller International “Resilience” is one of the buzzwords of the year. It’s used widely to describe the US economy, which continues to stave off recession and lift global growth, despite the sharpest interest rate hikes in decades. But there is a more surprising tale of fortitude unfolding in the developing

When the chief executive of Next warned in March that surging inflation and stagnant sales would result in a “challenging” year ahead the City took notice. Shares in the high street bellwether fell almost 8 per cent following the profit warning and comments by Lord Simon Wolfson, who commands respect as the longest-serving boss in

UK government debt has delivered the worst returns of any major bond market in the first half of this year, as investors bet that the Bank of England will have to increase interest rates to the highest level in a quarter of a century to tame high inflation. An ICE Bank of America index of

Joe Biden has been rushing to win financial support for his 2024 re-election campaign with a fundraising blitz that is testing the enthusiasm of anxious Democratic donors. The US president has been trying to rake in as much money as possible before the end of the second quarter so he can start amassing a war

Rioting erupted across France for a fourth night in the wake of the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old driver of North African origin as his family prepared to bury him on Saturday in his hometown of Nanterre. The interior ministry said 994 arrests were made overnight compared with 875 on Thursday night and suggested

Most coups strike governments like lightning, and the thunder is a rumbling aftershock. Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mutiny performed it the other way around. For months, he thundered his protest against the official Russian leadership and, as commander of the Wagner private military company, he had the means to cause a shattering crack in the skyline of