Markets & Money
UK GDP first estimate for July to September due on Thursday
The ONS publishes third-quarter GDP, September's monthly figure, trade and business investment on 12 November, a week after the Bank of England raised Bank Rate to 4%.
FTSE 100 closes 1% lower as the AI share sell-off reaches London
Thursday's 5.5% fall in the Nasdaq after the US midterm elections carried into Asia and Europe on Friday, before Wall Street steadied.
National Housing Bank deal could bring up to £500m into Greater Manchester housing
The deal with the combined authority is the first of its kind in England, but each project will still have to pass the bank's own due diligence and approval before any money is lent or invested.
More from the newsroom
Companies
Chesnara agrees to buy MetLife's closed UK life book of about 18,000 policies
The life and pensions consolidator expects the business, which holds £1.7bn of assets under administration, to generate about £90m of cash over its lifetime, with completion targeted for the first half of 2027.
Tech
UKRI puts more than £52m into five hubs building early-diagnosis health technology
The hubs in Exeter, London, Southampton and Sunderland will work on AI eye scans, cough-analysing apps, head-impact alerts, brain health clinics and a home heart coach, with partners adding £37.5m.
Wellbeing
RSV and flu hospital admission rates rise in England as Covid admissions fall
UKHSA figures for the half-term week show flu still at low levels but above baseline, RSV rising among young children, and flu vaccine uptake among over-65s slightly behind last year.
Markets & Money
Bank of England raises Bank Rate to 4% in an 8-1 vote
The Monetary Policy Committee lifted rates by 0.25 percentage points from 3.75%, with Catherine L Mann voting for a half-point rise, and said policy was not on a pre-set path.
Markets & Money
UK carbon permits sold for £31.20 to £57.25 at auction in 2025
The annual review of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme shows covered emissions fell 6.9% last year, as the UK and EU aim to finish talks on linking their carbon markets by this month's summit.
Briefing
Electric cars take 32.0% of new registrations in October as the market grows 5.4%
SMMT figures show 152,730 new cars registered last month, but the industry body expects battery electric cars to end 2026 at 27.2% of sales against a 33% mandate target.
Explained
Longer reads on how a system works, and where it is heading next.
Westminster
Culture Secretary orders public interest reports on Sky's planned purchase of ITV's media arm
The CMA will look at competition and Ofcom at media plurality, and the government will bring forward legislation so that the review can also cover on-demand programmes.
Sky's proposed takeover of ITV Media & Entertainment Holdings will now go through a formal public interest review. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy issued a public interest intervention notice on Wednesday 4 November, having told both companies on 15 October that she was minded to do so.
Markets & Money
Why the Retail Prices Index will change in 2030 and who it affects
From February 2030 the UK's oldest inflation measure will be calculated using the methods behind CPIH. The change is technical, but it will alter payments on pensions, gilts and student loans for years.
The Retail Prices Index has measured the cost of living in the UK since 1947. It is no longer the government's preferred measure of inflation, yet it is still written into contracts, pension rules and government bonds worth hundreds of billions of pounds. In 2030 the…
Briefing
HMRC late payment interest goes up to 8% from 24 November after the Bank Rate rise
Interest on unpaid Income Tax, VAT, Capital Gains Tax and other main taxes moves to 8.00%, while the rate HMRC pays on overpaid tax rises to 3.00%. Corporation Tax quarterly instalment rates change from 16 November.
- Electric cars take 32.0% of new registrations in October as the market grows 5.4%
- Farm reservoirs in four areas of England may not refill this winter, Environment Agency warns
Tech
UK military satellite Titania reaches orbit as MOD trials sensors to watch over British satellites
The satellite, which weighs around 100kg and was built in Hampshire under a £9.5 million contract, is the second in the ISTARI constellation. A separate trial will test three ground sensors in the UK, Australia and Cyprus.
- UKRI puts more than £52m into five hubs building early-diagnosis health technology
- Openreach passes 10 million full fibre connections as its network nears 25 million premises
Companies
Chesnara agrees to buy MetLife's closed UK life book of about 18,000 policies
The life and pensions consolidator expects the business, which holds £1.7bn of assets under administration, to generate about £90m of cash over its lifetime, with completion targeted for the first half of 2027.
- Next raises full price sales forecast to £6.03bn as overseas online sales jump 32.2%
- Auto-enrolment pension thresholds stay at £10,000, £6,240 and £50,270 for 2027-28
Markets & Money
UK GDP first estimate for July to September due on Thursday
The ONS publishes third-quarter GDP, September's monthly figure, trade and business investment on 12 November, a week after the Bank of England raised Bank Rate to 4%.
- FTSE 100 closes 1% lower as the AI share sell-off reaches London
- Bank of England raises Bank Rate to 4% in an 8-1 vote
Property
Severn Stoke flood scheme is finished ahead of winter
The Environment Agency and Worcestershire County Council scheme, built to protect a village where 18 properties, the church, the pub and the A38 have flooded, finished ahead of its Christmas target.
- National Housing Bank deal could bring up to £500m into Greater Manchester housing
- A third of new homes in England had a heat pump in September
Westminster
Public service productivity grew 0.3% in the year to June 2026, ONS estimates
Output across UK public services rose 2.0% while inputs grew 1.6%, and revised figures put productivity in 2025 at 2.9% below its 2019 level.
- Culture Secretary orders public interest reports on Sky's planned purchase of ITV's media arm
- Banks and card payment firms to send HMRC interest and sales data on a fixed timetable from 2028
Living
Ministers plan to scrap gas standing charges through Energy Independence Bill
The government says around 60% of gas account holders would save an average of £45 a year once the daily charge goes, and the same Bill would raise the maximum fine for landlords who ignore energy efficiency rules to £30,000.
- Government energy help worth about £160 per household in England this year, Treasury estimates
- 91% of consumers report concern about food prices and 24% worry about affording food next month, FSA tracker finds
Wellbeing
MHRA aims for digital medicine information by 2030 under new patient involvement plan
The medicines regulator's plan to 2030 sets out how patients will feed into benefit-risk assessments, safety reviews and patient leaflets, and how it will align what it asks for in patient evidence with NICE.
- RSV and flu hospital admission rates rise in England as Covid admissions fall
- NHS England to be folded into health department on 1 April 2027, subject to Health Bill
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