How will war in the Middle East affect your finances?

The war in the Middle East is continuing to tighten the screw on the finances of people around the world. Stock markets have fallen and the oil price has surged over $100 a barrel for the first time in four years – fuelling fears of a new cost of living crisis.Here is how it could affect your bills, spending and investments if you live in the UK.“Average petrol and diesel prices have rocketed in the last week and are unfortunately likely to keep on rising, so the situation for UK drivers is looking increasingly bleak,” said Simon Williams, the head of policy at the RAC.Speaking on Monday morning, he said petrol had risen by 5p to 137

Live Nation reaches surprise settlement with justice department in antitrust case

Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster, has reached a surprise settlement with the Department of Justice in its antitrust case just one week after the trial began.Under the agreement, Live Nation will create a $280m settlement fund for states that participated in the lawsuit and Ticketmaster will be required to open parts of its platform to rival ticketing companies, Live Nation announced Monday.The agreement also will require Ticketmaster to divest from exclusive booking agreements it has with 13 amphitheaters in the US and cap service fees at 15% of the ticket price. The agreement also limits long-term exclusivity contracts utilized by Ticketmaster when partnering with venues.An attorney for New York State told jurors last week that Ticketmaster keeps an average of $7

Yorkshire Water receives fresh funding despite sewage fines and pay row

A leading European investor will pump fresh funding into Yorkshire Water including helping to cover a £600m loan, despite recent heavy sewage fines and a scandal over executive pay at the utility company.EQT, a Swedish private equity group, said on Monday it would take a 42% stake in Kelda Holdings, the Jersey-registered parent company of Yorkshire Water, which has 5.7 million customers across Yorkshire and parts of the East Midlands and Lincolnshire.The move will effectively make it Yorkshire Water’s joint owner, bringing the stake of an existing shareholder, GIC, an investment firm, to 42%, and TCorp, the investment vehicle of Australia’s New South Wales public sector, to 16%.EQT said part of the deal would involve contributing to a £600m “inter-company loan repayment” that is due before March 2027, while it was “fully supportive” of spending plans to clean up Yorkshire’s record on sewage spills

Iran war drives oil prices above $100 a barrel for first time since 2022

Oil prices surged past $100 a barrel for the first time since 2022 as fallout from the US-Israel war with Iran continued to rattle global markets and leading economies moved to tackle a worsening energy supply crisis.A weekend of escalating violence in the Middle East intensified concerns around a sustained supply crunch, propelling oil prices to their highest level in four years and triggering a deep stock market sell-off.At least five energy sites in and around Tehran were hit by airstrikes, prompting accounts of “apocalyptic” scenes in the Iranian capital. Kuwait’s national oil company also announced a precautionary production cut amid retaliatory attacks by Iran.The strait of Hormuz – one of the world’s most important trade arteries, through which about a fifth of global oil and seaborne gas tankers typically pass – has in effect been closed for a week

British AI datacentre firm Nscale raises $2bn as Sheryl Sandberg and Nick Clegg join board

Nscale, a UK company vital to the government’s AI ambitions, has raised $2bn (£1.5bn) in a funding round and appointed the former Meta executives Sheryl Sandberg and Nick Clegg to its board of directors.It brings the valuation of the London-based startup, which is backed by the US tech company Nvidia, to $14.6bn, it said in a statement, and follows a $1.1bn funding round the company raised last September

UK interest rate cuts unlikely this year amid Iran war – and a rise could be ahead

UK interest rates are not expected to be cut this year and could even rise next summer, according to financial markets, in a dramatic reversal of forecasts before the US-Israel war on Iran.Markets data on Monday showed that investors predict the Bank of England will most likely keep its base rate on hold at 3.75% for the remainder of the year, and would raise them to 4% next June.Before the Iran war began, a rate cut at the Bank’s next meeting on 19 March had been an 80% chance, but policymakers are now expected to wait to see how the conflict develops, with a 99% probability of a hold at the meeting and no rate cuts for the rest of 2026, markets indicate.Statements from the Iranian leadership and Donald Trump at the weekend showed both sides in the conflict were prepared to fight for several more months, leading financial markets to register sharp falls