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Energy minister Michael Shanks reassures drivers ahead of chancellor's statement to MPsGood morning. At lunchtime Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, will give a statement to MPs that will cover what the government is doing, and (more tentatively) might do, in response to the soaring global energy prices caused by the Iran war. After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, also creating a global energy shortage, the Conservative government ended up spending £40bn supporting families and firms with energy bills over the following winter. Reeves's problem is that she has not got £40bn spare. With spring upon us, and people starting to turn down their central heating, the issue may not seem particularly pressing in many households (although heating oil and petrol prices are already soaring.) But, by the end of this year, this could be the sort of colossal economic crisis that gets remembered for half a century.As Chris Mason explains in a good preview, Reeves is expected to cover three points. She is expected to conf...

Practices must publish price lists, cap prescription fees and reveal if they are part of a large group, watchdog saysBusiness live – latest updatesThe UK's competition watchdog has ordered vets to cap prescription fees at £21 and proposed a price comparison website, after finding consumers had faced huge price rises and been “left in the dark” over bills.The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said public satisfaction with the cost of services was “low” after an investigation into the £6.3bn market found “there is not strong competition between veterinary businesses”, with large chains dominant. Continue reading......

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsMiddle East crisis live: Iran dismisses Trump claim of talks; von der Leyen says global energy situation is 'critical'Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.The dust is settling in the markets after a classic roller-coaster session yesterday, when hopes of de-escalation in the Middle East drove up shares and hit oil.Iran initially denied any knowledge of the talks, although reports suggest the US administration may have identified a potential new negotiating partner open to a ceasefire. However, some of this optimism has been overshadowed this morning by fresh reports of US and Israeli strikes on energy-related buildings in Iran's Isfahan region, which has seen [US] crude oil bounce 3% to $91.53.Presumably, these latest strikes are designed to get all of Iran's new leadership group on the same ceasefire page ahead of Trump's revised deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Ho...

New online accounts on Polymarket platform betting a total of $70,000 suggest 'some degree of inside info'Middle East crisis – live updatesSeveral accounts on the online platform Polymarket laid bets on a US-Iran ceasefire over the weekend that appeared to show signs of insider knowledge, according to experts.Eight accounts, all newly created around 21 March, bet a total of nearly $70,000 (£52,000) on there being a ceasefire. They stand to make nearly $820,000 if such a deal is reached before 31 March. Continue reading......

Homes built from March 2028 will produce 75% less greenhouse gas emissions than those built to 2013 standardBuyers of new homes are likely to be shackled to high gas prices for years to come, as the government has delayed bringing into force new regulations on low-carbon housing.Most newly built homes will come equipped with solar panels and heat pumps from March 2028, according to updated regulations for England called the “future homes standard” (FHS), but the government has relented on plans for more stringent rules under pressure from housebuilders. Continue reading......

Tehran denied negotiations that delayed US strikes and Trump was vague on the details, but talks signal renewed push for peace from regional powersMiddle East crisis – live updatesThere have been so many abortive rounds of diplomacy between the US and Iran – the latest appearing to be led by Pakistan after Washington has burned through many other regional mediators – that it was hardly a surprise that President Trump's claims of “very good” talks with Tehran initially provoked disbelief – especially after Iran denied that any negotiations were taking place at all.Nonetheless, standing beside Air Force One, Trump did his best to sell the sudden detente with little detail as a US ultimatum to bomb Iran's power plants loomed unless Tehran opened up the strait of Hormuz. It was lost on few that the sudden about-face came just hours before US markets were to open for what promised to be another punishing round of trading on Monday. Continue reading......

Bank of England likely to make two quarter-point increases amid sustained rise in inflation, investors believeBusiness live – latest updates'Trumpflation': how the Iran war's economic storm could affect BritonsHomeowners' choice of mortgage deals has shrunk and interest rates on home loans are expected to rise this week despite financial markets reacting positively to Donald Trump's pause on his threat to attack Iranian power plants.Early on Monday, as the end of a two-day deadline set by Trump for a deal with Iran grew closer, financial market data implied that investors believed the Bank of England would attempt to tackle rising prices with four quarter-point increases in rates before the end of December. Continue reading......

Attorney general decries 'outrageous federal overreach' after government restarted pipeline closed over 2015 spillCalifornia attorney general Rob Bonta said he has sued the US energy department to stop it from using a cold-war era law to restart the long-disputed Sable Offshore pipeline system linking the Santa Ynez offshore platform to California refineries.US energy secretary Chris Wright earlier this month restarted the pipelines using powers granted to him by Donald Trump through an executive order that invoked the Defense Production Act to supersede state laws. Continue reading......

From a shop owner in India to a community worker in New South Wales, rising fuel prices are forcing people to ration oil usageMiddle East crisis – live updatesAlagesan, 35, needs liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to run his roadside drink and snack shop in Coimbatore, India, but with the fuel shortage since the US-Israel attacks on Iran, he worries his business could fold.“I am far away from the Middle East, but my life is affected,” he said. “The gas cylinder is not available because of the war. I don't know what to do.” Continue reading......

Shipments to Russian smelters from Aughinish Alumina have increased sharply since the invasion of UkraineA leading Irish metals refinery is part of an international aluminium supply chain that appears to conclude with shipments to arms producers feeding the Kremlin's war machine in Ukraine, leaked records and public data suggests.Trading records show that shipments to Russian smelters from Aughinish Alumina, which is located on the Shannon estuary in the west of Ireland and has been owned by the Russian aluminium group Rusal since 2006, have increased sharply since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Continue reading......

Exclusive: Housing minister wrote to Criterion Capital seeking urgent answers after MP said it issued at least 130 section 21 noticesA property company accused of trying to mass-evict tenants in the weeks before no-fault evictions are banned has denied doing so, saying it is simply implementing “routine and lawful tenancy management”.A statement from Criterion Capital, set up by the billionaire property magnate Asif Aziz, was issued in response to Matthew Pennycook, the housing minister, who wrote to the company to seek “urgent” answers about its plans. Continue reading......

Government emphasises need to 'get off the rollercoaster of fossil fuel markets' in response to Offshore Energies UKThe UK government has dismissed a warning from an energy trade body that failing to produce more homegrown North Sea oil and gas will leave the UK increasingly reliant on imports at a time of rising global instability.The industry group, Offshore Energies UK, has said the UK “urgently” needs a greater supply of domestically produced energy or consumers will be left “more exposed to global volatility and higher emissions”. Continue reading......

The hot, dry summer and an increase in vineyard planting resulted in the third-largest UK grape harvestEnglish and Welsh winemakers have reported a sharp rise in production, after the hot, dry summer in 2025 and an increase in vineyard planting resulted in the third-largest UK harvest.The equivalent of 16.5m bottles were produced across the UK last year – or 124,377 hectolitres – according to figures from the wine regulator, the Food Standards Agency (FSA). Continue reading......

Awarding US spy-tech company deal involving sensitive financial data is 'huge error of judgment', Liberal Democrats sayMPs have urged the government to halt its latest contract with Palantir after the Guardian revealed that the US spy-tech company is to gain access to a trove of highly sensitive UK financial regulation data.The Financial Conduct Authority, the watchdog for thousands of financial bodies from banks to hedge funds, has hired Palantir to apply its AI systems to two years' worth of internal intelligence data to help it tackle financial crime. Continue reading......

European shares start to rise after US president says talks have been 'very good and productive'Business live – latest updatesMiddle East crisis – live updatesGlobal stock markets swung wildly and oil prices fell on Monday after Donald Trump postponed US attacks on Iranian power plants for five days.European stock markets, which had been falling sharply in the hours before Trump's social media post, mostly rose on Monday as relieved investors digested the update. Continue reading......

Many of the decisions predate this government but the notion that Britain was better prepared for this crisis is fanciful“Because of the choices we made before the conflict in the Middle East began, we are better prepared for a more volatile world”, claimed the chief secretary to the Treasury, James Murray, last week. That statement – surprise, surprise – failed to calm the bond vigilantes who had pushed the yield on 10-year government debt to a punishing 5% before Monday's modest retreat.Murray seemed to be referring to tax increases and the chancellor's decision to shift £150 of green levies from energy bills into general taxation. Count those if you wish but, come on, they are minor entries. The UK's vulnerability to energy price shocks flows from bigger forces, such as our large and growing dependency on imports. Continue reading......

Trump administration announces deal with TotalEnergies to redirect investment in wind to oil and gas insteadAs a fuel crisis triggered by the war in Iran drives up global fossil fuel prices, the Trump administration has announced it will pay French energy major TotalEnergies $1bn to kill plans to construct wind farms off the US east coast.The deal is the latest blow to the US offshore wind industry, which has faced repeated disruptions to multi-billion-dollar projects under Donald Trump. Continue reading......

Company will assess whether drop to 186mph from 224mph will save money and help bring forward launchMinisters have told High Speed Two to consider running its trains at lower speeds, in an attempt to rein in the spiralling budget and begin operations as soon as possible.HS2 Ltd will assess whether limiting the speed to 186mph (300km/h) instead of 224mph could save money – potentially billions of pounds – and bring the railway into being earlier in the 2030s. Continue reading......

It had been possible to observe this presidency in abstract terms, but no more. The consequences of the Iran attack will affect our lives and our politicsNothing has changed. Yet. But we stand on the edge of inevitable economic cataclysm, such as not seen in our lifetimes. It's an odd, hold-your-breath moment, waiting for what the International Energy Agency (IEA) says is now certain to happen: an energy crisis so critical it will be the equivalent of the two oil crises in 1973 and 1979 and Russia's 2022 full invasion of Ukraine, put together.The IEA says it's already too late to prevent this impending energy crisis. President Donald Trump has swerved the Armageddon destruction of oil and gas facilities threatening the entire Middle East, but too late. The deep recession, probably depression, that his war has caused is heading around the globe. Britain will be hard hit.Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist Continue reading......

Bill was introduced in the Senate on Monday as prediction market companies face greater scrutiny on state levelPrediction markets are facing fresh bipartisan scrutiny in the US Senate as companies like Kalshi and Polymarket continue to battle state-led efforts to regulate online betting.A bill was introduced in the US Senate Monday that would ban federally regulated platforms from allowing wagers on sporting events, what would be a huge blow to marketplaces where billions of dollars have been traded on major events like the Super Bowl and the NCAA's March Madness. Continue reading......