UK News
TV tonight: Martin Lewis on how the new tax year will affect you | Television
The Martin Lewis Money Show Live: Tax Year End Special
9pm, ITV1
Martin Lewis has been dishing up savings tips for more than two decades, from energy prices to mortgages and student bank accounts. Tonight, with the new tax year just 10 days away, he walks us through the April price hikes, flags up the latest deals in News You Can Use – and, presumably, addresses the expensive, war-shaped elephant in the room. Ali Catterall
Tonight: Stronger, Faster, Younger? Britain’s Steroid Boom
7.30pm, ITV1
They were once exclusively associated with unscrupulous elite athletes. But sadly, anabolic steroids are now reaching more widely into society; perceived as a means of improving physique and even holding back the signs of ageing. In this sobering documentary, Antoine Allen explores an increasingly grim trend and looks at the terrible side effects of misuse. Phil Harrison
Yorkshire’s Poshest Hotel: Grantley Hall
8pm, Channel 5
Grantley Hall is the first of four contenders to win the reputation of being Yorkshire’s poshest hotel. Its owner, Barnsley-born Valeria Sykes, promises down-to-earth local hospitality – but that will cost you at least £1,000 a night. So what exactly makes it so special? Hollie Richardson
The Apprentice
9pm, BBC One
Just a few more episodes until the final, and this week the insufferable candidates are tasked with selling stuff on a TV shopping channel. First, they need to choose the products, then it’s time to make them irresistible to the public. HR
Julian Barnes: Beyond the Page
9pm, BBC Four
An evening dedicated to the feted, extremely BBC Four-friendly novelist begins with Barnes being interviewed by Katie Razzall. There follows a showing of the 2017 film adaptation The Sense of an Ending, and a repeat of 2014’s Mark Lawson Talks to Julian Barnes. PH
Hunting Outback Gold
9pm, U&Yesterday
In the final episode of this Aussie treasure-seeking series, lifelong pals Jeff Harris and Brendan Elliot have a new lead on a mythical gold seam that has remained hidden for almost a century. They refine their search using a reconnaissance drone, metal detectors and some good old-fashioned panning. Graeme Virtue
Film choice
One Battle After Another, 10.30am, 10.20pm, Sky Cinema Premiere/HBO Max
Paul Thomas Anderson finally gets his Oscar – and with one of his most riotously enjoyable films. His take on Thomas Pynchon’s novel Vineland ejects the author’s trademark impenetrability and gives us a larger-than-life action caper with political undertones. Bob (Leonardo DiCaprio), part of a US leftwing revolutionary group and betrayed by his own lover, lives off-grid with his teen daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti). That is until white supremacist Col Steven Lockjaw (Sean Penn) comes searching for Willa – who may be his child – and she and Bob are forced to go on the run. Also in the mix are Benicio del Toro’s martial arts teacher/migrant activist, two assassins and a bunch of radical nuns. Breathless fun. Simon Wardell
Superman, 8pm, 8.05am, Sky Cinema Premiere/HBO Max
The problem with being an all-powerful alien is: to whom are you accountable? James Gunn’s witty reboot of the DC comics legend – with added superdog! – explores that question, as Kal-El AKA Clark Kent (David Corenswet) struggles with questions about his role on Earth. These come from girlfriend/reporter Lois Lane (a perfectly cast Rachel Brosnahan) and Nicholas Hoult’s jealous tech billionaire Lex Luthor – who, naturally, also has a fiendish plan. SW
Billy Idol Should Be Dead, 2am, Sky Arts
He was there at the birth of British punk, as one of the “Bromley contingent” of Sex Pistols fans that included Siouxsie Sioux. But it was as a US-based, groupie-magnet pop singer that Billy Idol really made his mark on the public. Jonas Åkerlund’s colourful documentary leans heavily on the drugs and sex (and more drugs) anecdotes, of which Idol has plenty (“It’s only when I tried to get off heroin that I started to smoke crack”). But his key role in the popularisation of MTV is also assessed, while he has to be admired for his survival from overdoses, bike crashes and changing musical tastes. SW
Live sport
International football, Wales v Bosnia and Herzegovina, 7.30pm, BBC Two A World Cup playoff semi-final, with Italy v Northern Ireland on BBC Three at 7.05pm. On Friday, England play Uruguay in a friendly at Wembley at 7pm on ITV1.
UK News
European stock markets hit record high and oil price falls to three-month low after US-Iran peace deal – business live | Business
European stock markets hit record high
European stock markets have hit a record high at the start of trading, as relief over the US-Iran peace deal ripples across global markets.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index has jumped by 0.9% to 639 points, over the previous record high set just before the Iran war started, with shares rising in London, Frankfurt, Paris, Madrid and Milan.
Mining and travel companies are driving the rally, while oil company shares are sliding.
That follows sharp gains in Asia-Pacific markets overnight, where Japan’s Nikkei surged by 5% on hopes that the strait of Hormuz will reopen within days.
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says global equity markets are starting the week firmly on the front foot after President Trump announced that a deal with Iran had been reached, adding:
The move has given investors a clear reason to dial back some of the geopolitical risk premium that has hung over markets, especially as the Strait of Hormuz is expected to reopen and oil prices move sharply lower.
Energy prices have been one of the clearest transmission channels from Middle East tensions into inflation, bond yields and equity sentiment, and there is likely to be a concerted effort to get prices down even further once this deal is finalised.
There are still details to be ironed out before markets can fully trust the agreement, but for now the direction of travel is clear: lower oil, calmer nerves and a renewed appetite for risk.
Key events
Peace deal should keep mortgage rates down
Mortgage borrowers can breathe a sigh of relief at the news of a peace deal in Iran, says Adam French, head of consumer finance at Moneyfactscompare.co.uk.
While we are far from being out of the woods yet, a lasting peace deal should dramatically reduce the risk of the Bank of England’s worst-case scenario for inflation and interest rates becoming a reality.
“Under that scenario, Base Rate could have risen to 5.25%, potentially pushing typical rates on new mortgages towards 6.75%. Instead, today’s news means mortgages rates, which have already been slowly falling for several weeks, have likely already passed their peak – at least until the next unwelcome crisis.
“Borrowers can be optimistic but with a word of caution, as inflation and economic data will continue to influence the outlook. However, a lasting peace should remove one of the biggest risks to mortgage costs and may help restore a more stable environment for hard-pressed remortgage borrowers and prospective buyers.”
Even before this morning’s drop in UK bond yields (see earlier post), average mortgage rates have dipped slightly.
Moneyfacts reports:
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The average 2-year fixed residential mortgage rate today is 5.61%. This is down from 5.62% the previous working day.
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The average 5-year fixed residential mortgage rate today is 5.58%. This is down from 5.59% the previous working day.
Why it may take months for oil flows to return to normal
Donald Trump excitedly declared: “Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!” last night, but the reality is that it will take some time for oil flows through the strait of Hormuz to return to pre-war levels.
One reason is that many oil tankers are simply in the wrong place, after the long closure of the strait.
Another is that some production and refining facilities have been damaged by the conflict, while others were mothballed after storate facilities filled up to the brim.
A third factor is that insurers could still be wary of the conflict reigniting, and price their cover accordingly.
Neil Shearing, group chief economist at Capital Economics, explains:
Even if ships now have safe passage, tankers are in the wrong place, oil production/refining facilities need to get up to full capacity, and questions over the cost and availability of insurance for ships traversing the Strait will remain.
Our current working assumption is that ~80% of energy flows will resume by the end of Q3. Natural gas flows will be slower to return, following the damage to Qatari facilities earlier in the conflict, which according to local officials has put 17% of production offline for two to three years.
US crude drops below $80
US crude oil has dropped to its lowest level since the second week of the Iran war.
The cost of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) light sweet crude has dropped by 6% today to $79.72 per barrel, the first time since 10 March that it has been under $80/barrel.
That could help to pull down US gasoline prices, which climbed after the conflict began, hitting consumer confidence.
UK bond yields fall
Today’s relief rally is also driving up government bond prices, pushing down the cost of borrowing.
The yield (or interest rate) on 10-year UK government debt has dropped by 6.5 basis points (0.065 of a percentage point) to 4.775%.
Two-year bond yields are down 8bps to 4.16%.
Lower bond yields indicate that that the cost of issuing new government debt has fallen, which will be a relief for the UK Treasury after the Iran war drove up borrowing costs.
Copper mining company Antofagasta is now the top riser on the FTSE 100, up almost 8%.
Trader will be concluding that an end to the Iran war will boost the world economy, leading to more demand for raw materials such as copper.
European stock markets hit record high
European stock markets have hit a record high at the start of trading, as relief over the US-Iran peace deal ripples across global markets.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index has jumped by 0.9% to 639 points, over the previous record high set just before the Iran war started, with shares rising in London, Frankfurt, Paris, Madrid and Milan.
Mining and travel companies are driving the rally, while oil company shares are sliding.
That follows sharp gains in Asia-Pacific markets overnight, where Japan’s Nikkei surged by 5% on hopes that the strait of Hormuz will reopen within days.
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says global equity markets are starting the week firmly on the front foot after President Trump announced that a deal with Iran had been reached, adding:
The move has given investors a clear reason to dial back some of the geopolitical risk premium that has hung over markets, especially as the Strait of Hormuz is expected to reopen and oil prices move sharply lower.
Energy prices have been one of the clearest transmission channels from Middle East tensions into inflation, bond yields and equity sentiment, and there is likely to be a concerted effort to get prices down even further once this deal is finalised.
There are still details to be ironed out before markets can fully trust the agreement, but for now the direction of travel is clear: lower oil, calmer nerves and a renewed appetite for risk.
BP and Shell’s shares slide
Shares in oil companies are falling, though – BP and Shell are both down 3.7%, as investors anticipate an end to their earnngs boost from the Iran war.
FTSE 100 index hits eight-week high
Boom! Britain’s stock market has hit a near-two month high at the start of trading, as investors welcome the breakthrough between the US and Iran to end the Middle East conflict.
The FTSE 100 blue-chip share index has jumped by 99 points, or almost 1%, at the start of trading to 10,570 points, its highest level since 21 April.
Engineering firm Rolls-Royce, which makes and services jet engines, is the top riser on the FTSE 100, up 5.5%, followed by British Airways parent company IAG, up 4.8%.
UK house prices dip in June
Gwyn Topham
Two bits of good news for Britons who don’t own their homes have been revealed, with data showing a drop in house prices in June as well as fewer tenants facing rent hikes last month.
Figures from Rightmove showed the average price of property coming on the to market fell by 0.6% or £2,113 to £376,191, the biggest June fall in fourteen years, with prices 0.5% below this time in 2025. The biggest drops were seen in southern England and Wales, and in asking prices for flats rather than houses.
The property site said the number of homes for sale was still at historically high levels for summer, making it more of a buyer’s market. Mortgage affordability has also improved slightly this month, with the average two-year fixed rate deal dropping about 0.1 percentage points to 5.07%, it said.
Meanwhile, figures suggest that the introduction of the Renters Right Act may already be seeing results in terms of keeping rents down for tenants.
The new law came into force at the start of May and means landlords can only increase rents for sitting tenants once a year. According to Hamptons monthly lettings index, the number of tenants who saw their rent rise was down 23% from the same month last year. Hamptons said if the rest of the year saw similar change, it would expect only 31% of sitting tenants to face increases, compared to 40%-50% in previous years.
However, the agency warned that rent rises in Scotland, where landlords have been operating under a similar system for longer, exceeded the national average. Sitting tenants who faced rent rises had an average increase of 5.4% in May, but the figure reached 7.7% in Scotland, albeit for a lower absolute rent – £952 – than the Great Britain average of £1375.
Speaking of the ECB, their president Christine Lagarde has been warning that inflation pressures are spreading in the euro area.
In an intervew with broadcaster France Culture, Lagarde warned that high energy prices are starting to feed through to other parts of the economy, saying:
“Indirect effects of inflation, we have absolutely started to see that more or less everywhere in recent weeks.”
The US-Iran agreement is well-timed for the Bank of England, which is due to set UK interest rates on Thursday.
If the strait of Hormuz does reopen, and oil flows return towards pre-war levels, there will be less inflationary pressure – and thus less need for interest rate rises.
The European Central Bank raised its interest rates last week, but this week is the turn of the BoE, the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan.
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, says:
Over the past month, the price of oil is down by more than a fifth, and the Brent crude price is now back at levels from early March. This is good news for inflation, which should start tumbling monthly from June, and it could ease concerns about price pressures as we lead up to some major central bank action this week. The decline in the oil price also raises questions about whether the ECB was too hasty in raising rates last week.
European stock markets are on track to jump when trading begins, in just over 20 minutes.
Germany’s DAX share index is up 1.65% in the futures market, Reuters reports, with the UK’s FTSE 100 0.75% higher.
The US dollar is weakening, as investors shift into riskier currencies.
The pound is its highest in over a week, at $1.3438.
Markets rally across Asia
There are strong gains across Asia-Pacific markets today, as investors welcome the deal between the US and Iran.
Japan’s Nikkei share index has leapt by 5%, as has South Korea’s KOSPI, while China’s CSI300 index is 1.9% higher.
Jim Reid, market strategist at Deutsche Bank, says:
Whilst the deal is very good news for markets it looks like tough conversations will have occur in the 60-day window to ensure the peace is sustainable. As an example, the Senate needs to approve any extensive sanction relief for Iran.
For now the can kicking exercise has been very well received by markets even after a strong US close on Friday where hopes were raised of a weekend signing
Introduction: Oil falls to three-month low
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets, and the world economy.
The peace deal agreed between Iran and the US is sending a wave of relief through the markets today.
Oil has tumbled 4%, and markets across the Asia-Pacific region have jumped, as investors anticipate the reopening of the strait of Hormuz.
Although it is unclear exactly what has been agreed – with the final text of their memorandum of understanding unpublished – Donald Trump’s claim that “oil will flow on both ends again for the region, and the world” is pushing down energy prices – a relief for busineses, consumers, politicians and central bankers alike.
Brent crude has fallen as low as $83.04, its lowest since 10 March, after the prime minister of Pakistan announced the US and Iran will sign a memorandum of understanding in Switzerland on Friday.
That still leaves Brent above its pre-war price of $72.48 a barrel, though.
Trump has indicated that the opening of the strait is contingent upon the signing of the peace deal, scheduled for Friday.
Iran’s Mehr state news, though, reported that the agreed memorandum of understanding calls for the reopening of the strait within 30 days under “Iranian arrangements” – an indication that Tehran hasn’t surrendered its control of the waterway.
Chris Weston of IG points out that there are still obstacles to overcome:
The probable reopening of the Strait of Hormuz later this week would represent a significant positive development. Markets had increasingly questioned how long inventory draws could offset supply disruptions and whether physical dislocations would begin weighing more heavily on risk assets. The focus now shifts towards understanding what normalisation of logistics could realistically look like, and how quickly shipping volumes can return to pre-conflict levels of 120 to 140 commercial vessels transiting eastbound and westbound each day.
There are still obstacles to overcome. Mines may need to be cleared, and there may be structural damage to refineries and export facilities around the region that will take time to repair and come back to pre-conflict capacity.
The agenda
Paying tribute, Sir Keir Starmer said Lord Hattersley “was a giant of the Labour movement”.
Source link
My partner and I paid £2,150 for a week’s all-inclusive break in Marrakech with easyJet Holidays.
We chose the Jaal Riad Resort Hotel because of its pool and spa. When we arrived, we were told that use of the heated pool cost £24 a person an hour, the Jacuzzi £24 for 20 minutes, and the hammam was £16 for 20 minutes.
Nowhere were these extra fees listed when booking. EasyJet Holidays rejected my complaint and referred me to a line buried at the bottom of the list of facilities that said charges may apply. We were planning on using the pool regularly but could not afford it. If we had known, we would have booked elsewhere.
DP, Cambridgeshire
Hidden charges can hugely inflate the cost of holidays. Resort fees are the most pernicious – some hotels charge up to £50 a person a day for facilities whether or not they are used.
Then there’s the daily tourist tax levied via the accommodation provider during the stay in some countries, and ancillary fees for upgraded wifi for sun loungers.
EasyJet Holidays makes a big deal of the pool – it’s a prominent photo on the webpage for the hotel.
No asterisk refers potential bookers to the crucial caveat that a couple, wishing to avail themselves once a day during a week’s stay, would have to pay almost £350 extra.
Even the eagle-eyed who alighted on the paragraph of small print at the bottom of the page, would be none the wiser.
Only after declaring that the facilities are subject to height and weight restrictions, seasonal availability, opening times, and age and dress code, does it mention that they “may” attract additional charges. These are not listed.
This is potentially unlawful, according to consumer lawyer Gary Rycroft.
“The facilities were prominently marketed as part of the holiday experience, and extra charges were not clearly disclosed before purchase,” he says. “Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Act 2024, businesses must not omit material information that would influence a consumer’s decision about whether to enter into a contract.”
EasyJet is defensive. “We always strive to make it clear that use of hotel facilities may incur additional charges,” it told me.
The company said then that it was reviewing the description to “further highlight that the use of the spa facilities is chargeable”, although, at the time of writing, three weeks later, the webpage remained unchanged. It has also now offered a £500 goodwill payment.
As the holiday season begins, you need to read the small print to avoid nasty surprises.
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