Emergency reserves have run scarily thin, leaving governments with little room for manoeuvre

The CMA said it will lower the cost of alternative contactless payment systems. Its consultation on the plans runs until Nov 17.

Watchdog fears that downturn in shadow banking sector might spread across financial system

UK Chancellor John Healey is considering raising the surcharge on bank profits from 3% to 8% to fund cost of living support. Banks are expecting a tax raid after the Iran war pushed interest rates higher and lifted their earnings. The Treasury has called the banking sector a jewel of the economy, but says decisions must be taken before the Budget. NatWest and Lloyds shares fell more than 2% on Friday.

AI giant’s income was up 45pc in the last quarter, investors are told in pre-IPO meeting

Consumer price index tops forecasts with rise to 3.7pc as fuel prices surge

Government cash to save 850 General Electric roles at risk of moving overseas

US had blocked regulators from reviewing frontier models from Anthropic, OpenAI and Google DeepMind

A US blockade and Iranian attacks have sharply reduced shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, with daily transits falling to about 28 ships from roughly 138 before the war. Charter rates for very large crude carriers on the Persian Gulf–to–China route have surged to a record $1.3m a day. Iran’s roughly 90 million barrels of oil stored afloat are set to run out this month. The rial has slid to 2.5m per dollar and inflation is near 90%.