Tag: Region UK
FCA to ease rules restricting mortgage lending
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced plans to ease British mortgage lending rules, aiming to help more people buy homes. The regulator is preparing to review and potentially relax stress-testing requirements that assess borrowers’ ability to handle higher interest rates. Additionally, the FCA will launch a public debate in June on the mortgage market, focusing on risk appetite, affordability testing, product innovation, lending to older borrowers, and consumer information needs. A consultation in May will explore ways to simplify remortgaging,…
US has suspended all military aid to Ukraine, White House official says, in wake of Trump-Zelenskyy row
The Trump administration has suspended delivery of all US military aid to Ukraine, a White House official has said, blocking billions in crucial shipments as the White House piles pressure on Ukraine to sue for peace with Vladimir Putin. The decision affects deliveries of ammunition, vehicles, and other equipment including shipments agreed to when Joe Biden was president. It comes after a dramatic blow-up in the White House on Friday during which Donald Trump told Volodymyr Zelenskyy that he was…
Record number of Americans apply for UK citizenship
The number of Americans applying for UK citizenship rose to the highest on record last year, with Donald Trump’s return to power and UK tax changes contributing to a surge of applications by US citizens in Britain. Over 6,100 US citizens applied last year, the most since records began two decades ago and 26 per cent more than in 2023. Overall applications for UK citizenships were up by 6 per cent to 251,000, another record. Applications by US citizens surged…
Nearly 500 journalists walk out at ‘The Guardian’ and its sister paper
Nearly 500 journalists are on strike at the Guardian and its sister paper, the Sunday-only Observer, to protest the planned sale of the Observer to a small digital startup. “We believe it’s a total betrayal of the Guardian’s values and promises that it’s made,” says Carole Cadwalladr, an investigative reporter and feature writer for the Observer. “The sale of the Observer to a loss-making startup is potentially the death of this historic brand.” The strike, which starts Wednesday, is expected to last for two days this week and restart for a…
