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The writer is professor of public policy at the University of Cambridge and author of ‘Cogs and Monsters: What Economics is, and What it Should Be’ Like flared trousers, platform heels, inflation and other 1970s phenomena, industrial policy is back in fashion. US president Joe Biden was the trendsetter, with the Inflation Reduction Act and

As colleagues over the decades will confirm, the investment subject I loathe more than any other is house prices. Even gold — occupying the vacuous outer space of finance — comes a distant second. And I’ve never typed a word on the yellow metal. So imagine my dread when it became clear I couldn’t avoid

British retail sales unexpectedly grew last month despite high inflation, boosted by spending on summer clothing and outdoor goods. The quantity of goods bought rose 0.3 per cent between April and May, following a 0.5 per cent rise in the previous month, according to data published on Friday by the Office for National Statistics. That

Global central banks are entering a new phase in their battle with inflation as economists warn that recessions will be the price of achieving shared 2 per cent goals. Headline rates of inflation across most of the world’s economies have fallen back sharply since the autumn but core rates — which exclude volatile categories such

The wedding of Ricardo Gómez-Acebo Botín, a nephew of Banco Santander chair Ana Botín, was a high society affair outside Madrid this month, attracting gushing Elle magazine coverage of guests’ flower-topped hats, swishy capes — and the fact some people wore Zara. So noteworthy was the presence of two “inspiring looks” from the Spanish brand,

This article is the latest part of the FT’s Financial Literacy and Inclusion Campaign The Bank of England has fired its big bazooka — and millions are worried about the hole this could blow in their household budgets. Thursday’s decision to raise rates to 5 per cent will be painful for the rising numbers of

Mediterranean Shipping Company and AP Møller-Maersk were always unlikely bedfellows. Yet in 2015, the world’s two biggest container shipping companies set aside their rivalry and shrugged off opposition from regulators to form a capacity-sharing alliance. Maersk containers could be carried on MSC vessels and vice versa, cutting both groups’ operating costs without reducing the number

More safeguards are required to ensure that pension schemes can “never again” jeopardise the stability of the UK economy, according to a parliamentary report into the tumult that rocked the gilt market following former prime minister Liz Truss’s disastrous “mini” Budget last year. Pension schemes sold multibillion-pound holdings of UK government bonds in just a

President Joe Biden has brushed off concerns that his comments this week labelling China’s leader Xi Jinping a “dictator” could undermine efforts to repair relations between Washington and Beijing.  Speaking to reporters at the White House on Thursday with Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, Biden said his remark at a California fundraiser did not have

A submersible that was on a diving expedition to the wreckage of the RMS Titanic suffered a “catastrophic implosion”, the US Coast Guard has said, killing all five passengers on board. An international search effort on Thursday morning located debris near to the location of the Titanic on the ocean floor. Authorities later confirmed the

Stockton Rush launched the manned submersible operator OceanGate with vast ambition. “Stockton was opening up a new realm for humanity,” said businessman Fred Hagen, who went on two expeditions to the wreck of the Titanic with OceanGate. Yet that vision proved difficult to fund, and ultimately appears to have cost Rush his life. The 61-year-old

Rishi Sunak did his best to sound reassuring after the Bank of England hiked interest rates to 5 per cent and sent a chill through a country already facing rising mortgage costs and serious cost of living pressures. Vowing to work with the BoE to “root out inflation”, the prime minister on Thursday backed Andrew

The Bank of England came out swinging at inflation — and, implicitly, at its own critics — when it raised interest rates on Thursday by twice what investors had expected. That markets took the move largely in their stride is a sign of how serious they believe Britain’s persistent inflation problem has become. The 50

Mortgage borrowers face further increases in the cost of both fixed and variable-rate deals, brokers and finance experts warned.  The BoE’s decision to raise its base rate to 5 per cent — following higher than expected inflation data on Wednesday — came as a blow to mortgage borrowers already contemplating soaring bills.  Fixed-rate mortgages are

For the Bank of England and its under-fire governor Andrew Bailey, the central bank’s half-percentage-point rise in interest rates was an attempt to finally get on the front foot in the fight against high inflation. The BoE aimed to banish its timid image on curbing price rises, in which it appeared to follow rather than

US and Canadian search teams were making a last push on Thursday to find a submersible that went missing near the wreck of the Titanic before the oxygen runs out for the five people on board the tiny craft. Aircraft, ships and remotely-operated submersibles from the US and Canada have been searching an area 900

When Silicon Valley Bank imploded this spring, it sparked recriminations about the Federal Reserve’s stress tests — or the practice of running models to test whether banks have enough capital and liquidity to withstand shocks, such as a recession. Such tests became mandatory for banks following the 2008 financial crisis. But, like any model, the

KKR’s early travails were chronicled in a best-selling book, Barbarians at the Gate, which details the company’s $30bn takeover of RJR Nabisco and the pulverising tactics that earned it a reputation as a Wall Street wrecking ball.  Now, the barbarians are weighing entering the book business itself. Storied book publisher Simon & Schuster is back

The Bank of England has stepped up its fight against persistent inflation with a surprise half-point rise in interest rates to 5 per cent, the highest level since 2008. Voting seven to two in favour of the larger-than-expected increase, the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee said it was responding to “material news” in recent economic

Shares in UK banks fell on Thursday as investors began to bet that the benefits of higher interest rates had peaked and concerns grew about the damage from a potential recession. UK banks face pressure on their mortgage loan books as customers roll off fixed-rate deals and on to higher rates, at a time when

The Bank of England’s larger-than-expected rise in interest rates provided only a fleeting boost to sterling on Thursday as investors bet that the aggressive action from the central bank is likely to help push the UK into a recession later this year.  Sterling briefly jumped following the BoE decision to lift borrowing costs to 5