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King Charles III addressed his nation for the first time on Friday, vowing to emulate his late mother Queen Elizabeth’s “life-long service” as Britain began a period of national mourning. The new monarch’s words came at the end of day of parliamentary tributes, gun salutes and raw emotion, as thousands of people gathered at the

Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-serving monarch, has died aged 96, Buckingham Palace has announced. Britain was in mourning after her death, which marks a watershed moment in the life of the nation, ending a reign that spanned 70 years. The Prince of Wales, the Queen’s eldest son, has become the new monarch, King Charles III.

The Bank of England’s chief economist said on Wednesday that plans by Liz Truss for a freeze in energy bills for households and businesses was likely to force the central bank to raise interest rates despite bringing down the rate of inflation in the months ahead. Asked by MPs on the House of Commons Treasury

Liz Truss has vowed that Britain will “ride out the storm”, as the new UK prime minister began the task of confronting an economic crisis with a massive package of energy support for families and businesses. Truss dodged torrential downpours sweeping Downing Street to tell the country that she would create an “aspiration nation”, adding:

Liz Truss has comfortably won the race to become leader of the Conservative party and on Tuesday will become Britain’s prime minister, facing one of the most daunting economic crises of recent times. The foreign secretary beat her rival Rishi Sunak, former chancellor, in a ballot of Conservative party members by 81,326 votes to 60,399

More governments will need to intervene to relieve the strains on Europe’s power market, officials and industry figures have warned, after Sweden and Finland launched emergency backstops for their energy producers and UK electricity generators called on the British government to help. The Nordic states this weekend both announced emergency financial liquidity measures for their

Sweden will give emergency liquidity support to electricity producers as its prime minister warned that Russia’s decision to halt gas deliveries to Europe could place its financial system under severe strain. Magdalena Andersson said on Saturday that the government would offer hundreds of billions of kroner in support to electricity producers. EU energy ministers will

The G7 countries have agreed to introduce a price cap on purchases of Russian oil in an attempt to limit the Kremlin’s ability to fund its war against Ukraine. The initiative will hinge on an incentive system whereby importers seeking insurance cover and shipping services from companies based in G7 and EU countries to transport

Global stocks dropped and the dollar jumped after fresh Covid-19 lockdowns in China and gloomy data from the manufacturing powerhouse compounded investor worries that the global economy is faltering. Wall Street’s S&P 500 fell 1.1 per cent in mid-morning trading on Thursday, leaving it on track to close down for a fifth day in what

Russia has halted the flow of gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Europe for three days, the latest disruption to an energy link that has been central to Moscow’s efforts to squeeze supplies. Wednesday’s shutdown of the pipeline, which Russia claims is needed for essential maintenance, will add to anxiety in European countries

Big investors are betting on a fresh surge in UK borrowing costs because of mounting concerns the energy crisis will inflame inflation and trigger further Bank of England rate rises. The darkening outlook for the £2tn gilt market comes as surging energy prices exacerbate Britain’s cost of living crisis and heighten fears of recession. Goldman

The EU is preparing emergency measures to curb soaring electricity prices, as the cost of energy breaks records across the continent and utilities turn to the state for emergency support.  As EU officials work to relieve the pressure, Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission president, said the surge in electricity prices was “exposing the limitations

Outgoing UK prime minister Boris Johnson on Sunday warned that the country would face “eye-watering” energy bills and promised his successor would soon announce a “huge package” of financial support for struggling households. Writing in the Mail on Sunday newspaper, Johnson said that while Russia wanted the UK to “buckle” in the face of surging

Typical household energy bills in Britain will rise above £3,500 in October and could exceed £6,000 by April. But why are they suddenly going up by so much and what can be done to mitigate the impact on households and the wider economy? Why are bills soaring? The simple answer is the price of gas

The typical household gas and electricity bill in Britain will rise to £3,549 a year from October from £1,971 at present, the sector’s regulator confirmed on Friday, as consumers grapple with a cost of living crisis driven by soaring energy costs. Ofgem said the 80 per cent increase in the so-called price cap, which governs

Financial markets are betting the Bank of England will more than double interest rates by May next year, as concern mounts about further rises in UK inflation. The shift in expectations in the swap market — which anticipates interest rates of 4 per cent in May compared with 1.75 per cent today — are among

Ukraine has called for a permanent mission of nuclear and military experts at the Zaporizhzhia power plant to protect “the security of Europe”, as fears increase about the risk of a nuclear disaster at the Russian-occupied site. German Galushchenko, Ukraine’s energy minister, said he was hopeful that a long-term mission of nuclear experts from the

Growth in UK economic activity has slowed more than expected to an 18-month low as manufacturing shrank on weaker demand, supply shortages and labour, according to a closely watched survey. The S&P/Cips global flash UK composite purchasing managers’ index, a measure of private sector activity, dropped to 50.9 in August from 52.1 last month. That

US and European stocks slid on Monday as the outlook for large global economies darkened and investors braced themselves for a central bank summit. Wall Street’s broad S&P 500 dropped 1.2 per cent at the New York opening bell, after snapping a four-week winning streak on Friday. The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite gauge fell 1.5 per

The daughter of a Russian ideologue, who is one of the most prominent supporters of President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, died in a car bombing outside Moscow on Saturday night. Russian investigators said Daria Dugina, a nationalist journalist and political analyst, died after the Toyota Land Cruiser she was driving exploded outside Odintsovo, a