6:35 am, August 24, 2026
Business growth accelerates to four-month high amid hot weather boost
UK business growth picked up further in August as warm weather helped support a recovery from service sector firms, figures show.
The closely watched S&P Global flash UK composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI) reported a reading of 52.5 for the month, rising from 52.2 in July.
Any score above 50.0 indicates activity is growing while any score below means it is contracting. August’s reading is stronger than expected, with economists having predicted a rise of 51.5 for the month.
Royal Mail misses delivery targets again but makes progress amid overhaul
Royal Mail has missed its delivery targets once again but said it was making progress to meet the goals as it rolls out a major overhaul to scrap second-class post on Saturdays.
The group said it delivered 85% of first-class deliveries the next day and 91.4% of second-class mail within three working days during the first quarter of the year.
Under targets set by Ofcom, 90% of first-class mail should be delivered the next day, and 95% of second-class mail should be delivered within three days. But Royal Mail insisted it had seen a marked improvement from a year earlier, when first quarter figures showed just 76% of first-class and 89.3% of second-class post arrived on time.
Ayrton Senna’s NSX heading under the hammer at auction
A Honda NSX used by Formula One World Champion Ayrton Senna could fetch up to £800,000 when it goes to auction in October.
The 1991 car was used by Senna as his personal vehicle in Europe. In total, Honda provided three NSXs to Senna for personal use, with two black models contrasting this car – chassis number T000233 – which was finished in Formula Red with a contrasting black roof and full black leather interior.
It carries an estimate of between £500,000 and £800,000 and is set to go under the hammer on October 31 as part of RM Sotheby’s Peninsula Auction in London.
The markets
The FTSE 100 ended the week on a positive note on Friday as data showed the UK private sector speeded up in August and a soaring gold price supported miners.
The FTSE 100 index closed up 68.40 points, 0.6%, at 10,816.56. The FTSE 250 ended up 210.16 points, 0.9%, at 24,718.82, and the AIM All-Share closed up 7.87 points, 1.0%, at 811.96.
The pound traded at 1.3625 US dollars on Friday afternoon, down from 1.3634 dollars at the equities close on Thursday. Against the euro, sterling eased to 1.1672 euros from 1.1676 euros.
Burnham to give Ukraine blueprints for long-range missiles as he visits Kyiv
Prime minister Andy Burnham has agreed to provide Ukraine with blueprints to produce long-range missiles.
He is set to announce during his first trip to Ukraine that he will allow European defence firm MBDA to declassify information on UK components for the long-range Scalp missile – the French-produced version of the UK’s Storm Shadow.
The ‘deep precision strike’ missiles use shared French and British technology, and Ukraine and France are looking to set up local assembly lines to produce them in Ukraine.
Mayors to be given powers to force through building plans
Andy Burnham is set to give mayors new powers to take control of local planning decisions and greenlight large-scale developments in proposals to be unveiled this week.
The move would see mayors allowed to ‘call in’ the decisions and direct councils to take them forward or refuse them.
They will also be able to grant upfront permission so developers can start building without having to apply.
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Weather
BBC Weather reports that most of the UK will be dry and sunny today, although northern and eastern Scotland and eastern England may see variable cloud and occasional showers.
Tonight, cloud and patchy rain will reach south-west England. Elsewhere stays largely dry and clear, with showers developing in the north-east by dawn.