Bank of England expected to leave interest rates on hold today; UK unemployment falls – business live
Posted on Thursday June 18, 2026

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

Tesco’s UK sales growth has more than halved as it said the conflict in the Middle East had created “ongoing uncertainty for many households”, knocking its shares in early trading.

The UK’s biggest retailer said comparable sales rose 1.8% to £13.4bn in the three months to the end of May, below both the 4.2% reported in the previous quarter and the 2.3% growth City analysts had expected.

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Tesco’s UK sales growth more than halves amid Iran war uncertainty
Posted on Thursday June 18, 2026

UK’s biggest retailer reports better figures than expected by City analysts and is cheered by strong online sales

• Business live – latest updates

Tesco’s UK sales growth has more than halved as it said the conflict in the Middle East had created “ongoing uncertainty for many households”.

The UK’s biggest retailer said comparable sales rose 1.8% to £13.4bn in the three months to the end of May, below both the 4.2% reported in the previous quarter and the 2.3% growth City analysts had expected.

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Rejoining customs union would not fix damage caused by Brexit, research finds
Posted on Thursday June 18, 2026

Exclusive: Economists find Brexit caused 12% depression in UK exports, most of which is due to leaving single market

Brexit has depressed UK exports to the EU by 12%, and rejoining the customs union would undo only a fraction of the damage, research shared with the Guardian shows.

With the UK’s future relationship with the bloc likely to feature prominently in a potential Labour leadership contest, the economists John Springford and Anton Spisak, of the Centre for European Reform, provide fresh evidence of the damage caused by exiting.

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Dubai property sales have fallen ‘off a cliff’ since start of Middle East war
Posted on Thursday June 18, 2026

Sellers of luxury villas have wiped tens of millions of pounds off asking prices, with sales down 19% in May from the previous month

Property sales in Dubai have fallen “off a cliff”, a leading market watcher has said, after war in the Middle East forced a dramatic slowdown in one of the world’s most expensive real estate markets.

Sales in the city dropped 19% in May compared with the previous month, accelerating from a 4% drop in April, the researcher ValuStrat found.

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UK critical infrastructure hit by 200 cyber incidents in a year, agency says
Posted on Wednesday June 17, 2026

Head of National Cyber Security Centre says UK in ‘ongoing contest with capable adversaries’ and AI could add to threat

The UK’s critical national infrastructure has been hit by more than 200 cyber incidents over the past year and state-linked assailants were behind three-quarters of the attacks, according to the state cybersecurity body.

Richard Horne, the chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), said hostile states such as Russia, China and Iran were increasingly targeting systems behind the UK’s key services.

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Inspired by Ukraine, and worried by China: Taiwan teaches its citizens how to fly drones
Posted on Thursday June 18, 2026

Ordinary Taiwanese, young and old, are joining courses to learn how to fly drones amid looming China military threat

In a small, crowded room in Taipei, Pan Chien-chin is trying to keep a drone hovering steadily. Imagining himself flying a plane, he gently nudges controller joysticks to guide the insect-like device as it hums through the air.

Cheers break out as Pan, who has never flown a drone before, steers it around a rectangular course marked by traffic cones without crashing. Around him are about two dozen fellow trainees, all signed up for the same course: Taiwan’s first civil defence drone training programme.

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World Cup 2026: England turn on the style; Fifa denies ticketless fans breached security – live
Posted on Thursday June 18, 2026

⚽ All the latest news from day eight of the tournament
⚽ Player guide | Bracketology | Golden Boot | Mail us

A fresh England news line hot off the wires coming right up …

If by some bizarre chance you missed it, here’s a gallery of some of the best images from England 4-2 Croatia:

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Harry Kane reveals half-time Tuchel pep-talk inspired England to victory over Croatia
Posted on Wednesday June 17, 2026

• Storming second-half display comes after coach’s speech

• Coach tells team to ‘show the world what we can be’

Harry Kane has revealed that a half-time speech from Thomas Tuchel when he told England “to show the world what we can be” inspired victory in their opening match of the 2026 World Cup.

Croatia equalised twice before half-time after Kane had equalled Gary Lineker’s record for goals scored by an England player at the World Cup finals with a penalty and a header from Declan Rice’s corner. But a much-improved performance in the second half saw Jude Bellingham re-establish England’s lead before Marcus Rashford came off the bench to wrap up the victory late on.

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