Connect with us

Published

on

UK government borrowing costs have hit a 20-year high after the Bank of England confirmed its emergency bond-buying programme will end on Friday as planned.

On Wednesday morning, it said all temporary and targeted purchases of UK government bonds, known as gilts, would stop.

This has been the position throughout and has been “made absolutely clear in contact with the banks at senior levels”, the Bank said in a statement.

However, the clarification of its position did little to soothe investor nerves, with a sell-off taking 20 and 30-year gilt yields – the rate demanded to hold government debt – to their highest level since 2002.

Both exceeded 5.1% earlier on Wednesday.

The emergency 13-day bond buying programme was started to avoid “dysfunction” in the pension market which took hold amid bond market unease over UK borrowing requirements following the government’s mini-budget.

The programme is aimed at tackling the consequences of rising interest rates on government bonds, which increased the cost of holding the bonds and resulted in pension funds facing a liquidity crunch.

There had earlier been suggestions that the Bank could backtrack, however, and extend the bond-buying beyond Friday’s cut-off.

The Financial Times said the Bank had been privately telling those working in pension funds that it could be extended.

This came despite the governor, Andrew Bailey, firmly stating pension funds had “three days left… to get this done” at an event in Washington on Tuesday evening.

In its statement on Wednesday, the Bank reaffirmed it would continue to support the pension markets in other ways beyond Friday.

This would be done via the Bank’s temporary yet open-ended measure to help lenders facing liquidity issues who work with the corner of the pensions market that had experienced difficulties. The measure was announced on Monday.

The Financial Times report said those involved in derivatives needed more time to avoid the forced selling that led to the Bank’s intervention on 28 September.

Read more:
What on earth is happening in UK markets?
What are bonds and where do they fit in the mini-budget crisis?

It was revealed later in the day that the Bank accepted £1.9bn worth of offers in its daily index-linked bond buy-back operation.

It also accepted all £2.3754bn of long-dated conventional gilts which it was offered – the highest sum since the scheme began on 28 September but well below the £5bn it would have been prepared to buy.

The pound clawed back some of the losses versus the dollar incurred on Tuesday after Mr Bailey’s refusal to extend the bond-buying support beyond Friday, trading just shy of $1.11.

30-year bond yields were hovering just below their level before the Bank’s first intervention – at 4.9% – after striking the 20-year high earlier in the day.

The thinking behind the emergency bond-buying has been questioned by the Treasury Committee of MPs.

The chair of the Treasury Committee, Mel Stride, wrote to the deputy governor at the Bank on Wednesday and asked for an update on the emergency interventions, querying what further action will be required by the Bank to prevent risks to financial stability.

Mr Stride also asked how the Bank decided to expand its emergency intervention on Monday, to launch new liquidity support to lenders and start buying index linked gilts (with interest rates in line with inflation). He questioned why these interventions were not part of the original intervention announced on 28 September.

What is the Bank of England’s bond-buying programme?

The Bank signalled it is ready to increase interest rates again in November as it fights to bring inflation down to 2%. Most recent figures show inflation was at 9.9%.

Once again the Bank’s chief economist, Huw Pill, said interest rates likely need to rise.

“At present, I am still inclined to believe that a significant monetary policy response will be required to the significant macro and market news of the past few weeks.”

The Bank’s monthly financial policy summary was released on Wednesday and warned UK households will become more vulnerable to financial shocks.

“Rises in the cost of living and interest rates will increase pressure on UK household finances and make households more vulnerable to shocks,” the Bank’s Financial Policy Summary and Record said.

Further warnings on the economic health of businesses were issued: “For businesses, higher costs, lower household demand and rising interest rates will reduce earnings. Some may find it harder to repay debts.”

Households may be less impacted by rising interest rates due to being on fixed-term repayment plans and having less debt, the Bank said. Accordingly there is a reduced risk of defaulting on repayments.

“People have less debt (relative to their incomes) and the share of high loan-to-value mortgages is much lower than before the global financial crisis. This reduces the risk of them defaulting on debt and banks are now required to be flexible in their response,” the report said.

The banks are in a better position than the financial crash too and are able to help households should they fall into financial difficulty, the Bank concluded.

“The UK banking sector is substantially more resilient than before the global financial crisis, with significantly higher levels of capital and liquidity. They can continue to support households and businesses even if economic conditions get worse.”

Continue Reading

World

Trump applying ‘heavy pressure’ on Netanyahu to end war in Gaza

Published

on

By

Trump applying 'heavy pressure' on Netanyahu to end war in Gaza

US President Donald Trump is putting “heavy” pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza, two sources close to the ceasefire negotiations have told Sky News.

One US source said: “The US pressure on Israel has begun, and tonight it will be heavy.”

The source, who is not authorised to speak publicly, was referring to the White House dinner on Monday night between Trump and Netanyahu.

A second Middle Eastern diplomatic source agreed that the American pressure on Israel would be intense.

Benjamin Netanyahu gave Donald Trump a letter he said he had sent to a Nobel Peace Prize committee commending his peace efforts
Image:
Benjamin Netanyahu gave Donald Trump a letter saying he had nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize. Pic: AP

Netanyahu arrived in Washington DC in the early hours of Monday morning and held meetings on Monday with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, and Marco Rubio, the secretary of state and national security adviser.

The Israeli prime minister plans to be in Washington until Thursday with meetings on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.

Trump has made clear his desire to bring the Gaza conflict to an end.

However, he has never articulated how a lasting peace, which would satisfy both the Israelis and Palestinians, could be achieved.

His varying comments about ownership of Gaza, moving Palestinians out of the territory and permanent resettlement, have presented a confusing policy.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

‘Israel has shifted towards economy of genocide’

Situation for Palestinians worse than ever

Over the coming days, we will see the extent to which Trump demands that Netanyahu accepts the current Gaza ceasefire deal, even if it falls short of Israel’s war aims – the elimination of Hamas.

The strategic objective to permanently remove Hamas seems always to have been impossible. Hamas as an entity was the extreme consequence of the Israeli occupation.

The Palestinians’ challenge has not gone away, and the situation for Palestinians now is worse than it has ever been in Gaza and also the West Bank. It is not clear how Trump plans to square that circle.

Read more:
Explainer – What is the possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal?
Israeli soldier describes arbitrary killing of civilians in Gaza

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

‘Some Israeli commanders can decide to do war crimes’

Trump’s oft-repeated desire to “stop the killing” is sincere. Those close to him often emphasise this. He is also looking to cement his legacy as a peacemaker. He genuinely craves the Nobel Peace Prize.

In this context, the complexities of conflicts – in Ukraine or Gaza – are often of secondary importance to the president.

If Netanyahu can be persuaded to end the war, what would he need?

The hostages back – for sure. That would require agreement from Hamas. They would only agree to this if they have guarantees on Gaza’s future and their own future. More circles to square.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Trump 100: We answer your questions

Was White House dinner a key moment?

The Monday night dinner could have been a key moment for the Middle East. Two powerful men in the Blue Room of the White House, deciding the direction of the region.

Will it be seen as the moment the region was remoulded? But to whose benefit?

Trump is a dealmaker with an eye on the prize. But Netanyahu is a political master; they don’t call him “the magician” for nothing.

Follow the World
Follow the World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

Trump makes decisions instinctively. He can shift position quickly and often listens to the last person in the room. Right now – that person is Netanyahu.

Gaza is one part of a jigsaw of challenges, which could become opportunities.

Diplomatic normalisation between Israel and the Arab world is a prize for Trump and could genuinely secure him the Nobel Peace Prize.

But without the Gaza piece, the jigsaw is incomplete.

Continue Reading

World

IDF presence in Gaza ‘only issue’ still to be resolved in push for Israel-Hamas ceasefire, Sky News understands

Published

on

By

IDF presence in Gaza 'only issue' still to be resolved in push for Israel-Hamas ceasefire, Sky News understands

Only one issue remains unresolved in the push to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, according to Sky sources.

Intense negotiations are taking place in Qatar in parallel with key talks in Washington between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Two sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations have told Sky News that disagreement between Israel and Hamas remains on the status and presence of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) inside Gaza.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Gaza ceasefire deal in progress

The two sides have bridged significant differences on several other issues, including the process of delivering humanitarian aid and Hamas’s demand that the US guarantees to ensure Israel doesn’t unilaterally resume the war when the ceasefire expires in 60 days.

On the issue of humanitarian aid, Sky News understands that a third party that neither Hamas nor Israel has control over will be used in areas from which the IDF withdraws.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the media, Tuesday, July 8, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Image:
Benjamin Netanyahu briefed reporters on Capitol Hill about the talks on Tuesday. Pic: AP

This means that the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) – jointly run by an American organisation and Israel – will not be able to operate anywhere where the IDF is not deployed. It will limit GHF expansion plans.

It is believed the United Nations or other recognised humanitarian organisations will adopt a greater role.

On the issue of a US guarantee to prevent Israel restarting the war, Sky News understands that a message was passed to Hamas by Dr Bishara Bahbah, a Palestinian American who has emerged as a key back channel in the negotiations.

Follow The World
Follow The World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

Read more from Sky News:
Trump puts pressure on Netanyahu
Netanyahu backs Trump for peace prize
Potential Gaza deal explained

The message appears to have been enough to convince Hamas that President Trump will prevent Israel from restarting the conflict.

However, there is no sense from any of the developments over the course of the past day about what the future of Gaza looks like longer-term.

Final challenge is huge

The last remaining disagreement is, predictably, the trickiest to bridge.

Israel’s central war aim, beyond the return of the hostages, is the total elimination of Hamas as a military and political organisation. The withdrawal of the IDF, partial or total, could allow Hamas to regroup.

One way to overcome this would be to provide wider guarantees of clear deliverable pathways to a viable future for Palestinians.

But there is no sense from the negotiations of any longer-term commitments on this issue.

Two key blocks have been resolved over the past 24 hours but the final challenge is huge.

The conflict in Gaza erupted when Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Some 20 hostages are believed to remain alive in Gaza.

Israel has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.

Continue Reading

World

‘Widespread sexual violence’ took place during Hamas’s 7 October attacks, report by Israeli experts says

Published

on

By

'Widespread sexual violence' took place during Hamas's 7 October attacks, report by Israeli experts says

A newly released report led by Israeli legal and gender experts presents detailed evidence alleging “widespread and systematic” sexual violence during the Hamas-led terror attack on 7 October.

Warning: This story contains descriptions of rape and sexual violence

The findings, published by the Dinah Project, argue that these acts amount to conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), and assert that “Hamas used sexual violence as a tactical weapon of war”.

The report draws on 18 months of investigation and is based on survivor testimonies, eyewitness accounts, and interviews with first responders, morgue personnel and healthcare professionals.

According to the Dinah Project, the documented patterns – such as forced nudity, gang rapes, genital mutilation, and threats of forced marriage – indicate a deliberate and coordinated use of sexual violence by Hamas operatives during the attack.

Reported incidents span at least six locations, including the Nova music festival, and several kibbutzim in southern Israel.

A destroyed car near the police station in Sderot, following the 7 October attacks by Hamas. Pic: AP
Image:
A destroyed car near the police station in Sderot, following the 7 October attacks by Hamas. Pic: AP

One section of the report describes victims “found fully or partially naked from the waist down, with their hands tied behind their backs and/or to structures such as trees and poles, and shot”.

At the Nova music festival and surrounding areas, the investigators found “reasonable grounds to believe” that multiple women were raped or gang-raped before being killed.

The report’s findings are consistent with earlier investigations by the United Nations and the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Read more:
What is the possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal?

Israeli soldier describes arbitrary killing of civilians in Gaza

The UN’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict previously concluded that there were “reasonable grounds to believe” CRSV took place during the attack.

Pic: AP
Image:
Destroyed vehicles near the grounds of the Supernova electronic music festival. Pic: AP

Significantly, the Dinah Project urges the international community to officially recognise the use of sexual violence by Hamas as a deliberate strategy of war and calls on the United Nations to add Hamas to its list of parties responsible for conflict-related sexual violence.

Follow The World
Follow The World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

The nature and scale of sexual violence on 7 October have been a subject of intense controversy, with some accusing parties of weaponising the narrative for political ends.

This report seeks to confront what its authors call “denial, misinformation, and global silence,” and to provide justice for the victims.

Hamas has denied that its fighters have used sexual violence and mistreated female hostages.

Continue Reading

Trending