Direction

• The Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank (ECB) are diverging in their interest rate policies, creating a significant split in monetary direction. • Strong U.S. economic data, including the latest ISM Services PMI, suggests the U.S. economy is expanding healthily without triggering new inflation concerns. • Market expectations have shifted, with investors becoming less convinced that the ECB will implement further rate hikes in September, which is putting downward pressure on the EUR/USD pair.

Forecaster says curtailing rising costs such as health and pensions ‘are today’s challenge, not just tomorrow’s’Business live – latest updatesPolicymakers must act to prevent public debt rising unsustainably in coming decades as the population ages and defence spending rises, the government’s independent economic forecaster has said.In a fresh illustration of the challenges facing the prime minister in waiting, Andy Burnham, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said that without government action “debt would move on to what would be an unsustainable, ever-upward path from around the 2040s”. Continue reading...

• Investors are awaiting the release of the US Federal Reserve's latest meeting minutes, marking the first such report under new chairman Kevin Warsh. • The minutes are expected to provide critical insights into the central bank's internal deliberations and its current stance on monetary policy. • Market participants are specifically searching for clues regarding the timing and likelihood of upcoming interest rate increases.

• Prospective prime minister Andy Burnham has pledged to lead the UK in a "new direction" to rescue a country he describes as being "stuck in a rut." • In his first major speech following Sir Keir Starmer's announcement to leave Downing Street, the Makerfield MP vowed to end "politics as usual." • Burnham aims to build the "broadest possible coalition" to revive national hope and unify the public.

• Asian markets showed mixed results as investors balanced a pause in U.S.-Iran hostilities against the risks of firm oil prices and a strong U.S. dollar. • Regional indices saw varied movement, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng rising 2.1% to 23,153.89 and the Shanghai Composite edging up 0.2% to 4,034.08. • Gains in Japan and South Korea, previously driven by AI-related chip demand, faced pressure due to growing concerns over artificial intelligence valuations.

Keir Starmer’s party lost out to Reform and the Greens, with no respite in Scotland, Wales or England. These maps show the scale of the historic resultsElection 2026 live: latest news updatesFull results from England, Scotland and WalesLabour has suffered heavy losses across England, Scotland and Wales, losing ground to opponents on the left and the right in a fragmented political system.The graphics below show where Labour’s losses were most severe, and how the electoral landscape has changed as a result. Continue reading...

Rabbis Charley Baginsky and Josh Levy say criticising Israeli government is not disloyalty but a Jewish obligationThe UK’s most senior progressive rabbis have warned that Israel’s current political direction risks becoming “incompatible with Jewish values”, while insisting that criticism of the country’s government is “a Jewish obligation” rather than an act of disloyalty.Rabbi Charley Baginsky and Rabbi Josh Levy, co-leads of Progressive Judaism – the newly formed movement representing around a third of synagogues in the UK – said Israel’s trajectory could pose an “existential threat” not just to the country itself but to Judaism. Continue reading...