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The UK’s opposition Labour and Liberal Democrat parties expressed optimism early on Friday that they were making significant gains as votes began to be counted after local elections in many parts of England. Both parties argued that their performances positioned them well for the forthcoming nationwide general election. Labour’s shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting, told

The European Central Bank has raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point — less than previous increases — in a sign that eurozone borrowing costs may soon reach their peak. The ECB’s decision on Thursday, which mirrors the US Federal Reserve’s quarter-point rate rise the previous day, takes the benchmark deposit rate

Russia accused Ukraine on Wednesday of attempting to assassinate President Vladimir Putin in a late-night drone attack on the Kremlin, vowing to take retaliatory action. According to a statement from Putin’s press service, two Ukrainian drones attacked and crashed into the Kremlin overnight but were shot down by Russia’s military and secret services, which it

Top investors attending the annual Milken conference have warned against complacency following the rescue of First Republic, arguing the third seizure of a bank by US regulators since March threatens to constrain credit and worsen an economic slowdown. The seizure of First Republic and the rapid sale of the remains of the bank to JPMorgan

JPMorgan Chase will acquire most of First Republic, the embattled California lender that US government officials had been racing to save for much of the past week. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and California regulators, which announced the deal early on Monday morning, said they were simultaneously closing the bank and selling off all $93.5bn

The US government has asked JPMorgan, PNC and several other financial groups to bid for all or part of First Republic, as US regulators try to determine how much it would cost taxpayers to take over the embattled California lender. Over the past 24 hours, it has become clear to both First Republic and the

Silicon Valley Bank’s failure last month stemmed from weakened regulations during the Trump administration and mis-steps by internal supervisors who were too slow to correct management blunders, the US Federal Reserve said in a scathing review of the lender’s implosion. The long-awaited report, released on Friday, had harsh words for the California bank’s management but

Richard Sharp has been forced to resign as BBC chair after an investigation found that he breached the rules after failing to declare a role in the loan guarantee made to Boris Johnson before his appointment. Sharp has been under increasing pressure after an investigation was launched by Adam Heppinstall KC into whether he had

The crisis-stricken CBI will be renamed as part of efforts to demonstrate that it has reformed its toxic workplace culture after weeks of allegations of rape, sexual harassment and bullying, the new boss of the business lobby group has said. Rain Newton-Smith said the rebranding would be necessary as part of a promised “root and

The UK competition regulator has blocked Microsoft’s $75bn acquisition of the Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard, in a possibly fatal blow to the software giant’s biggest-ever deal. The Competition & Markets Authority said on Wednesday it believed the company would be commercially motivated to make Activision’s games exclusive to its own cloud gaming service.

Joe Biden has announced he will seek a second term in the White House, ending months of speculation and firing the starting gun on a 2024 re-election campaign that could result in a rematch of his 2020 clash with Donald Trump. In a video posted to social media on Tuesday that sought to depict him

Credit Suisse suffered SFr61.2bn ($68.6bn) of asset outflows in the first quarter as clients fled the stricken bank, exposing the scale of the task UBS now faces after taking over its Swiss rival. The speed with which clients deserted Credit Suisse was the chief reason Swiss authorities stepped in last month to orchestrate a rescue

Silicon Valley Bank’s new owner is “fighting” to repair its damaged brand, stem deposit outflows and stop dozens more bankers quitting to join rivals as it attempts to rebuild the US technology bank that collapsed last month, according to one of its top executives. “We are in the early days of getting them stabilised and

Many of the biggest names in British business quit the CBI on Friday after a second allegation of rape threatened the survival of the employers’ organisation. Groups ranging from insurer Aviva and car manufacturers Jaguar Land Rover and BMW to payments company Mastercard and retailer John Lewis said they were cancelling their memberships after the

Dominic Raab has resigned as the UK’s deputy prime minister after an independent report into bullying claims against him upheld two of the allegations. Raab, who was also justice secretary, issued a letter on Twitter on Friday morning saying he wanted to “keep his word” having promised to resign if the inquiry by employment lawyer

Google plans to introduce generative artificial intelligence into its advertising business over the coming months, as big tech groups rush to incorporate the groundbreaking technology into their products. According to an internal presentation to advertisers seen by the Financial Times, the Alphabet-owned company intends to begin using the AI to create novel advertisements based on

UK inflation remained in double digits in March with annual price rises of 10.1 per cent, raising the chances of further interest rate rises from the Bank of England. Consumer price inflation had been 10.4 per cent in February and was expected to drop to 9.8 per cent last month. Although petrol and diesel prices

Chinese insurer Ping An said HSBC had “exaggerated” the “costs and risks” of spinning off its Asian operations, as the bank’s largest shareholder used a rare public statement to ramp up pressure on the lender to separate its business. Michael Huang, chair of Ping An Asset Management, said in a statement on Tuesday that although a

Global regulators are considering imposing tougher rules on smaller lenders and requiring all banks to ready themselves for faster runs on deposits as officials search for lessons from the recent turmoil that led to the failure of several midsized US institutions. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, which sets global standards, promised in March to

The head of the IMF’s Africa department has called for a significant increase in international support to help countries overcome a funding squeeze that is jeopardising the continent’s economic development. Abebe Selassie told the Financial Times that reform of the current mechanisms for dealing with unsustainable debts of African countries was “desperately needed”. “Do we