British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks at the start of a Cabinet meeting to mark the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, at Downing Street in London, Feb. 24, 2026. Wpa Pool | Getty Images News | Getty Images Yields on U.K. government bonds surged to multi-decade highs on Tuesday morning, as pressure…
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer gives an update on the situation in the Middle East at Downing Street Briefing Room, in London, Britain, March 05, 2026. Jaimi Joy | Via Reuters Early results from local council elections pointed to big losses for the U.K.’s ruling Labour Party on Friday, raising questions about Keir Starmer’s future…
Bond investors are exacting a heavy price from three of Europe’s largest economies, which are struggling with a credibility crisis as the Iran conflict thrusts government borrowing back into the spotlight. “Britain, Italy and France have now become nations where spreads to what we’d call core nations — such as the U.S. and German government…
US President Donald Trump speaks during the NCAA Collegiate National Champions Day event at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 21, 2026. Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images LONDON — European stocks opened higher on Wednesday as traders assessed the Iran ceasefire extension and the prospect of further peace talks. By 8:50…
Crowds of pedestrians and shoppers walk along Weinstrasse toward Marienplatz in Munich, Germany, on March 14, 2026. Michael Nguyen | Nurphoto | Getty Images European government bonds continued to sell off on Friday, building on a rout that has seen multiple countries’ borrowing costs hit multi-decade highs in recent weeks. Thursday saw the yield on…
Europe’s sovereign bonds are facing “a perfect storm” after new inflation fears sparked by the Iran conflict forced the region’s central banks to signal a new course for interest rates on Thursday, sending yields soaring. The Bank of England left interest rates unchanged at 3.75% on Thursday, with the European Central Bank also holding steady…
Lights on in skyscrapers and commercial buildings on the skyline of the City of London, UK, on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. U.K. business chiefs urged Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves to ease energy costs and avoid raising the tax burden on corporate Britain as she prepares this year’s budget. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images British…
The ECB has announced it will be hiking rates in July and September to counter record inflation. Daniel Roland | Afp | Getty Images U.S. political strategist James Carville famously said he would like to be reincarnated as the bond market because “you can intimidate everyone.” So when bond yields start signaling a problem, the…
This report is from this week’s CNBC’s UK Exchange newsletter. Like what you see? You can subscribe here. The dispatch It is just over three years since Wael Sawan succeeded Ben van Beurden as chief executive of Shell. While there has been much background noise, not least about a possible takeover bid for BP, a less…
This report is from this week’s CNBC’s UK Exchange newsletter. Like what you see? You can subscribe here. The dispatch British diplomats have long prided themselves on the so-called “special relationship” with the United States. The phrase was coined by Winston Churchill, Britain’s inspirational wartime leader, when in March 1946 he famously described how an “iron curtain” had descended across…
