In London this week the main narrative was the threat ai has on humanity , and continuing the story King Charles the third had a meeting with the big tech CEOs
Parliamentary Recess & Legislation: Both Houses rose for the autumn conference recess. MPs debated the Sovereign Grant Bill while the House of Lords began scrutinizing the Representation of the People Bill regarding political finance and electoral reforms.
TUC Congress: The annual trade union conference in Brighton focused heavily on worker protections against artificial intelligence, enhanced rights for the self-employed, and calls for a permanent ban on cryptocurrency political donations. First Secretary Louise Haigh addressed delegates regarding government AI safeguards.
No 10 North Diplomacy: Prime Minister Andy Burnham hosted Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin at No. 10 North in Manchester, marking the first official visit by an international leader to the government's northern hub.
The Cardiff Agreement: The First Ministers of Wales and Scotland signed a formal intergovernmental pact to enhance cooperation on living standards, child poverty reduction, and regional economic resilience.
ftse 100 this week
FTSE 100 Weekly Summary (Week Ending September 18, 2026)
Overall Performance: The blue-chip index eked out a marginal weekly gain of 0.1%, closing at 10,659.13 on Friday following a late-week sell-off that marked its biggest single-day drop since July.
Central Bank Decisions: Global monetary policy dominated headlines. The US Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan both implemented interest rate hikes, while the Bank of England held its benchmark rate steady but cautioned that future increases might be necessary if energy and geopolitical pressures persist.
Bond Yields & Commodities: Rising global bond yields and elevated Brent crude prices (trading near $104 a barrel) heavily pressured equities late in the week.
Domestic Economic Data: On the brighter side, official figures showed UK retail sales rose 0.5% in August, beating forecasts and reversing July's decline.
Notable Movers: Airtel Africa was a major drag on the index, plummeting over 11% after reports emerged that its Airtel Money unit might downsize its upcoming London IPO. Financial heavyweights like HSBC and Lloyds also faced downward pressure, while firms like IG Group and Fresnillo recorded solid gains.
ftse 250 FTSE 250 Weekly Summary (Week Ending September 18, 2026)
Overall Performance: The mid-cap index experienced a volatile week, initially dipping before staging a mid-week recovery and closing out the period around the 24,205–24,371 range.
Bank of England Support: Market sentiment was partially bolstered as the Bank of England held benchmark interest rates steady, providing relief for domestically focused mid-cap equities.
Economic Data: Downward pressure earlier in the week was counterbalanced by stronger-than-expected UK retail sales figures, which helped lift consumer-facing sectors.
Headwinds: Broader global macro uncertainties and geopolitical tensions continued to trigger periodic bouts of selling across domestic indexes.
equities the s&p500 and nasdaq major stock indexes ended up for the week even the fed hiking interest rates France and Germany down for the week in asia both stock indexs both the japanese nikkie 225 and the korean kospi up for the week
commodities oil brent crude and wti west texan intermediate both down for the week in precious metals gold and silver up for the week
forex in global currency's we had dollar dxy up for the week GPB great British pound was down for week euro eur/usd also down for the week
crypto bitcoin Ethereum and ripples xrp all up for the week