6:50 am, September 19, 2025
Interest rates held at 4% as UK ‘not out of woods’ on inflation
The Bank of England has held interest rates at 4% as it said the UK was ‘not out of the woods’ on inflation, with taxes contributing to rising food costs.
The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to keep rates unchanged, following a 0.25 percentage point cut in August.
Governor Andrew Bailey said: ‘Although we expect inflation to return to our 2% target, we’re not out of the woods yet so any future cuts will need to be made gradually and carefully.’
Trump and Starmer sign tech deal to mark ‘new era’ for UK-US relationship
Donald Trump said a new tech deal would help the US and UK ‘dominate’ in the world of artificial intelligence (AI) as Sir Keir Starmer hailed a ‘new era’ for the special relationship.
The US president, making an unprecedented second state visit to the UK, is determined to take on China in a battle for technological supremacy.
The tech prosperity deal signed at Chequers will see US firms invest in the UK and boost co-operation on AI, quantum and other emerging technologies.
Bentley brings ‘Ombre’ paint option to Flying Spur saloon
Bentley has announced that the Flying Spur saloon can be specified with the ‘Ombre’ paint option.
The Ombre paint option is exclusively made by the firm’s Mulliner coachbuilding firm, which blends two separate colours over the length of the car.
The car’s front starts in Topaz Blue and then transitions into a darker Windsor Blue towards the rear of the vehicle. The fade occurs through the mid-section along the doors, sills and roof.
FTSE 100 ends green as rate calls go as expected
Stock prices in London closed higher on Thursday, in light of the widely anticipated rate hold by the Bank of England and cut on Wednesday by the US Federal Reserve.
The FTSE 100 index closed up 19.74 points, 0.2%, at 9,228.11. The FTSE 250 ended up 106.14 points, 0.5%, at 21,725.95, and the AIM All-Share closed up 0.48 points, 0.1%, at 772.34.
In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris closed up 0.9%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt ended up 1.2%.
Reports of licence plate cloning rise by a third in two years
Reports of vehicle licence plate cloning have risen by a third in two years, new figures suggest.
Road safety charity IAM RoadSmart warned the increase is a result of ‘wider criminality’ and is putting other road users at risk.
Responding to a written parliamentary question, transport minister Simon Lightwood said the public made 10,461 reports to the DVLA last year in relation to ‘correspondence, fines or penalties’ they have received about the use of vehicles they ‘do not recognise or accept responsibility for’.
Trump acknowledges disagreement with Starmer over Palestinian recognition
US President Donald Trump said he has ‘a disagreement with the Prime Minister on that score’ when asked about Sir Keir Starmer’s plan to recognise a Palestinian state.
Sir Keir meanwhile insisted that he was not delaying his announcement on recognition until after Mr Trump leaves the UK, as the pair took questions from the media together on the final day of the Republican’s state visit to the UK.
The Prime Minister plans to recognise Palestinian statehood ahead of the United Nations general assembly in New York this month, if Israel does not meet a series of conditions to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
UK to bask in late summer sun before heavy rain and floods risk
Britons will enjoy a burst of summery heat on Friday before conditions deteriorate sharply over the weekend, forecasters have said.
Temperatures in London and the South East could climb to 27C, around 8C above the seasonal average, according to the Met Office.
Meteorologist Tom Morgan described the conditions as ‘very topsy-turvy’ with a sharp drop of up to 10C expected by Sunday. Yellow weather warnings for rain have been issued on Saturday and Sunday for Wales and northern England.
