Interest

• The U.S. Federal Reserve maintained its federal funds rate in the 3.50%-3.75% range at its April 2026 policy meeting. • Decision balances heightened inflation uncertainty, a softening labor market, and geopolitical risks from the Middle East. • Markets remain volatile under President Trump due to tariffs, tax policies, oil price swings, and conflicts, yet stocks have held steady overall.

• GXS Bank and MariBank, Singapore's digital banks, posted increased interest income for FY2025 ended in 2025, driven by sustained lending activities. • Both banks are leaning on South-east Asia markets to fuel profitability, expanding beyond Singapore into regional operations. • The growth highlights lending as a core strategy amid competitive digital banking landscape in ASEAN.

Lenders increase borrowing rates by 0.25%; pro-Palestine meeting barred from council venue goes ahead outside in Darlington. Follow updates liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastNext week’s federal budget will fund a dedicated national centre to detect and disrupt the evolving threat of online violent extremism and terrorism.The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, will announce the $74m in funding over two years for the project on Wednesday. It is part of the government’s response to the Bondi terror attack in December.A bolstered online threat capability will give AFP and Asio the resources they need to target terrorists and violent extremists online.Just because I, and other people, might find it personally offensive does not mean that governments have unlimited power to constitutionally strike down the right of everybody else to freedom of political communication. Continue reading...

Reserve Bank of Australia raises rates for third consecutive meeting, lifting them to early-2025 levels Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Reserve Bank has delivered a third straight interest rate hike, as it seeks to head off the inflationary threat from higher fuel prices linked to the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran.A week out from what the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is simultaneously calling his most ambitious and responsible budget yet, the widely anticipated decision to increase the cash rate to 4.35% from 4.1% comes amid growing worries about the economic fallout from the Middle East conflict. Continue reading...

Owner-occupier mortgage growth slowed under growing costs while investor loans grew by $42bn in the year to March, a 9.6% increaseGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastProperty investor borrowing rose at its fastest rate in a decade in March, according to the Reserve Bank, despite higher interest rates and speculation about property tax changes.Owner-occupier loan growth slowed under the weight of growing mortgage costs but investor lending is continuing its record surge. Continue reading...

While interest rate rises can’t affect the surging price of oil caused by Middle East turmoil, they are still the Reserve Bank’s best – and only – tool to fight inflationFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastOne economist is calling it the “Hormuz hike”.There’s a nearly 80% chance that the Reserve Bank will deliver a third straight interest rate rise on Tuesday, according to financial markets.Patrick Commins is Guardian Australia’s economics editor Continue reading...

Decision not to change rate comes despite signs inflation is rising amid the Iran war’s effects on fuel pricesThe Bank of England has left UK interest rates unchanged at 3.75%, despite signs that inflation is beginning to accelerate due to the impact of the Iran war.The Bank’s rate-setting monetary policy committee (MPC) voted to leave borrowing costs on hold at noon on Thursday, after its latest rate-setting meeting. Continue reading...

Learn Cornish launched few months after language given new level of protection Listeners tuning in to the BBC’s latest podcast offering on Friday may find themselves saying dydh da to a language that is enjoying something of a resurgence. The new programme called Learn Cornish will be fronted by the Radio 1 host Danni Diston and includes guests such as the Bafta-winning director Mark Jenkin.Diston, who is from north Cornwall, said that she initially did not know any Cornish “other than small words that I’ve learned growing up and mainly dialect … [but] the idea would be to learn alongside other people”. She will be joined by co-presenter Sarah Buck, a fluent Kernewek speaker, throughout the weekly episodes that are designed to introduce basic phrases in the Cornish language. Continue reading...

• The Federal Reserve voted to leave the benchmark federal funds rate unchanged at 3.5% to 3.75% on Wednesday, citing concerns about inflation rising amid the war in Iran. • This marks the continuation of the Fed's pause in rate adjustments following three successive 25-basis-point cuts in September, October, and December 2025. • Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled to hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET to discuss the decision, marking what could be his final interest-rate announcement as Federal Reserve chair.

Fed officials cite elevated inflation, slow job growth and uncertainty in Middle East as reasons for holding ratesSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged after its latest board meeting, defying once again Donald Trump’s call for a cut as the central bank prepares for a leadership shake-up next month.On Wednesday, Fed officials continued to cite elevated inflation, slow job growth and uncertainty in the Middle East as reasons why rates were left untouched. Continue reading...

Former Wall Street banker faces questions at confirmation hearing – but his biggest backer is also his biggest liabilityOn the face of it, Kevin Warsh looks like an ideal candidate to chair the Federal Reserve, the world’s most important central bank. The 56-year-old Ivy League economist, former Wall Street banker and presidential adviser ticks all the boxes. Unfortunately for Warsh, as he faces what could be a fraught nomination hearing, his biggest backer is also his biggest liability.In his second term, Donald Trump has attacked the Fed in a manner both unprecedented and unseemly. He has called current chair Jerome Powell – whom he also appointed – a “jerk”, “a stubborn MORON”, and repeatedly threatened to fire him. Continue reading...

Former US Fed chair says lowering rates to reduce debt service cost can lead to inflation getting out of controlBusiness live – latest updatesThe former US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen has attacked Donald Trump’s push for lower interest rates, comparing it to the actions of a “banana republic”.The US president has repeatedly urged the central bank to slash interest rates, in the hope of cutting the government’s borrowing costs on its $39tn (£29tn) debt. Continue reading...

Demand at online marketplaces could settle at a new, higher normal, with the crisis leaving consumers ‘scarred’Car buyers’ interest in electric cars has surged across Europe since the start of the war in Iran, as the rising cost of petrol highlights the cheaper power available from a plug.Online marketplaces in the UK, Germany, France and Spain reported huge increases in inquiries about electric vehicles since the start of the conflict in February. Continue reading...

PM pushes back after Trump’s threats to leave alliance and says European members must do more in light of Iran warKeir Starmer has said it is in the best interests of the US to stay in Nato and that Europe must do more to support the alliance in light of the war in Iran.The British prime minister, speaking at the end of a multi-stop trip around the Gulf to discuss the tentative ceasefire and options to fully reopen the commercially vital strait of Hormuz, pushed back against Donald Trump’s threats to leave the defence alliance. Continue reading...

• A pro-Iranian cybercrime group claimed responsibility for cyberattacks that knocked the websites of Chime and Pinterest offline in April, marking a significant coordinated breach affecting major U.S. tech platforms. • The attacks demonstrate the evolving threat landscape where state-affiliated or state-aligned cyber actors target critical infrastructure and consumer-facing platforms with increased sophistication. • The incidents underscore the vulnerability of major technology companies to coordinated cyberattacks and highlight ongoing concerns about foreign threat actors targeting U.S. digital infrastructure.

Markets now forecast one rate rise this year, down from two on Tuesday, although mortgage rates may not fall quicklyBusiness live – latest updates City traders have cut their forecasts for UK interest rate rises this year, after the US and Iran agreed a two-week ceasefire.The money markets are now fully pricing in only one rise in UK interest rates by December, which would take the Bank of England’s base rate back up to 4%. On Tuesday, two rate rises were fully priced in, as Donald Trump threatened that a “whole civilisation will die” unless Tehran complied with his demands to reopen the strait of Hormuz. Continue reading...

Analysis shows they are reliant on market investors such as hedge funds, which contributed $4tn last yearBusiness live – latest updatesEmerging economies are at greater risk of higher interest rates and currency shocks as a result of the Iran war because of increased reliance on market investors such as hedge funds, the International Monetary Fund has warned.The IMF’s analysis shows that a cumulative $4tn flowed into emerging markets last year from outside the formal banking sector – including from hedge funds and investment funds. Continue reading...

Minister says change for plan 2 and 3 loans in England and Wales will ‘protect borrowers’ from impact of global conflictUK politics live – latest updatesThe interest rate on plan 2 and plan 3 student loans will be capped at 6%, the Department for Education has announced.Graduates with plan 2 loans currently pay interest rates based on the retail price index (RPI) measure of inflation, plus up to 3% based on their earnings. Current students on plan 2 and plan 3 loans attract an interest rate of RPI +3% while they are studying. Continue reading...

New legislation comes amid push from big oil, as critics warn polluters’ profits prioritized over Americans’ healthUtah has made it nearly impossible for residents to hold fossil fuel companies legally accountable for climate damages in a move one advocacy group described as putting “profits for the biggest polluters over communities”, with other states expected to follow suit.The new state legislation comes as part of a push from big oil and its political allies – including groups tied to rightwing impresario Leonard Leo – for legal immunity in red statehouses and Congress, with a goal of winning state and federal legal immunity similar to the liability waiver granted to the firearms industry in 2005. Continue reading...

Injecting $1.5bn via petrol subsidies into an inflated economy may change things for the Reserve Bank board at its next meetingFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastEconomists will say that what millions of motorists gain in cheaper fuel through the prime minister’s three-month fuel excise cut, they will lose in more expensive mortgages.It may be good politics, but injecting $1.5bn via petrol subsidies into an economy that is already struggling with a resurgent inflationary problem is not going to make the Reserve Bank of Australia’s job any easier. Continue reading...

• The Embassy of Switzerland's Foreign Interests Section in Tehran has temporarily closed due to the deteriorating security situation in Iran, effective until further notice. • The closure reflects heightened tensions in the region as the U.S. and Israeli military operations continue against Iran, now entering their fourth week. • The suspension of Swiss diplomatic operations, which typically represent U.S. interests in Iran due to the absence of direct U.S.-Iran diplomatic relations, indicates serious concerns about personnel safety in the capital.

Homebuyers lose confidence amid higher rates and Iran war-linked price rises across the economy, buyers agent saysFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastSurging numbers of homes are being passed in at auction as higher interest rates weigh on demand and the number of properties for sale hits highs not seen since 2021.The national auction clearance rate last week was just under 57%, the lowest this year, with Sydney’s at 55%, Cotality data shows. The remainder includes both houses that did not sell at auction and houses withdrawn before auction. Continue reading...

Investors believe Bank of England is likely to act amid sustained rise in inflation from Iran warBusiness live – latest updates‘Trumpflation’: how the Iran war’s economic storm could affect BritonsThe Bank of England will raise the cost of borrowing four times this year, pushing UK interest rates from 3.75% to 4.75% amid the conflict in the Middle East, according to financial market speculators.In a blow to mortgage payers, international investors are betting that the UK is vulnerable to a sustained rise in inflation after the US-Israel attack on Iran. Continue reading...

Online searches for electric and hybrid cars increase as war-linked fuel prices hit highest levels in nearly three yearsSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxUS car buyers are showing a surge in interest in electric vehicles after Donald Trump’s decision to attack Iran helped cause a major jump in gasoline prices.The cost to refuel a vehicle in the US is at its highest level in nearly three years, with the average national price of gas standing at $3.90 a gallon on Friday. Continue reading...

• The U.S. Federal Reserve decided to hold interest rates steady on March 19, 2026, in its first move since oil prices spiked due to the Iran war. • Officials cite inflationary pressures from energy disruptions but project stability if conflict de-escalates. • The decision impacts American consumers facing higher gas prices, influencing mortgage and loan rates nationwide.

Decision comes as concerns mount over economic fallout from conflict bringing fresh cost of living shockBusiness live – latest updatesThe Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold amid growing fears over an inflation shock triggered by the US-Israel war on Iran.As households brace for a rise in living costs, the Bank’s rate-setting monetary policy committee (MPC) voted by a majority to keep its key base rate at the current level of 3.75%. Continue reading...

• The Federal Reserve's policy committee decided to hold the federal funds rate steady at 3.5% to 3.75% on March 18, 2026, citing elevated uncertainty about the economic outlook and the implications of Middle East developments for the U.S. economy. • The Fed noted that while economic activity continues to expand at a solid pace, job gains have remained low and unemployment rates have shown little change, with inflation remaining somewhat elevated above the 2% target. • The Committee signaled readiness to adjust monetary policy if risks emerge that could hinder maximum employment and price stability, indicating a cautious stance given current geopolitical and economic headwinds.

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsUK wage growth slows sharply as unemployment holds steadyFed holds interest rates steady as Iran war drives up oil prices and inflation fearsMiddle East crisis live: Trump threatens to ‘blow up’ entire South Pars gasfield if Iran strikes QatarUK wage growth has slowed to a five-year low, in a worrying sign for workers as the Middle East crisis pushes up energy costs.Average pay (excluding bonuses) rose by 3.8% in the three months to January, down from 4.1% in October-December 2025, the Office for National Statistics reports.“With unemployment staying steady at 5.2% and a rare gain in payrolls employment, this report paints a mildly more positive picture of the labour market. And with wage growth softer again, in normal times this would have been a relatively reassuring report for the Bank of England.But the report feels stale in light of the Iran conflict, and the inflation risks stemming from the large spike in energy prices. So while today’s Bank of England meeting had once looked like the likely point of the next rate cut, instead policy is set to be kept on hold today as policymakers give themselves more time to see how the conflict plays out. Continue reading...