Headlines

The failure of a Mayfair-based mortgage lender is unravelling into a major financial scandal as it emerged that more than £2.5 billion of investor money is at risk and that retail clients may also be exposed to potential losses, The Times reported. Apollo, one of the biggest investment institutions in the world, was the latest to confirm a potential problem on Friday, revealing that its Atlas arm had £400 million invested in the business, Market Financial Solutions. TPG, previously known as Texas Pacific Group, later confirmed it had exposure of £44 million.

Barclays and Jefferies, the American bank, are reportedly among lenders with multimillion pound exposures to a UK mortgage provider that has collapsed amid allegations of fraud, The Times reported. The FTSE 100 bank is said to have an exposure of £600 million to Market Financial Solutions, which entered administration after a High Court judge said “very serious” allegations of fraud needed to be investigated, prompting the latest source of alarm about the private credit industry. Jefferies has a reported exposure of £100 million.

The Bank of Mexico increased its forecast for economic growth this year following a better-than-expected performance in the fourth quarter of 2025, the Wall Street Journal reported. In its quarterly economic report Thursday, the central bank said it expects gross domestic product to expand 1.6% in 2026, up from its previous estimate of 1.1%. The bank left its GDP forecast at 2.0% for 2027. The central bank said it still sees moderately faster growth, although from a higher base than previously estimated.

Confidence among firms in the eurozone fell unexpectedly in February amid fresh uncertainties surrounding Europe’s political and economic relationship with the U.S., the Wall Street Journal reported. The European Commission said Thursday that its Economic Sentiment Indicator—which measures attitudes of businesses across multiple sectors of the economy, as well as consumers—fell to 98.3 in the month, compared with a downwardly revised 99.3 in January. Eurozone confidence started the year on a strong foot, but repeated trade shocks have dragged on sentiment this month.

Many Europeans who do not own their home are not optimistic about buying one, EuroNews.com reported. Across 23 countries, almost half say they will never be able to purchase a home or are not interested in doing so, according to the RE/MAX European Housing Trend Report 2025. The survey, conducted in August 2025 asked a simple question: “When, if ever, do you think you will be able to purchase a property?” On average, 29% of respondents said: “Never – I don’t think I will ever be able to purchase a property”. The share ranged from 13% in Turkey to 44% in Czechia.

In the days since the US Supreme Court declared most of President Donald Trump’s global tariffs illegal, more than 100 companies filed new lawsuits, underscoring widespread concerns that the administration won’t readily refund the billions of dollars it’s already collected, Bloomberg News reported. Public companies and household names are joining the clamor. FedEx Corp. filed suit on Monday, followed by Dyson Inc., Dollar General Corp., Bausch & Lomb Inc., Brooks Brothers, and Sol de Janeiro USA Inc. Units of cosmetic giant L’Oreal SA and shoe companies On Holding AG and Skechers USA Inc.

Rachel Reeves stands to rake in almost £40bn from interest on student loans before the end of this parliament, official forecasts have revealed, The Telegraph reported. Between this financial year and 2029-30, accrued interest on student loans will total £39.9bn, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility. This is counted as a current receipt for the Government, contributing to the £1.2tn of revenues flowing into the Exchequer this year.

Wall Street's top regulator on Friday said it had adopted ‌final rules requiring disclosures of shareholdings ‌and transactions by directors and officers of foreign companies traded ​in the United States, something Congress had mandated late last year, Reuters reported. The move adds to an apparently tightening regulatory environment for foreign companies in the ‌United States. Last ⁠year, the U.S.

There has been lots of talk in recent months about the state of the commercial property industry. Since the pandemic the vacancy rate for offices in Dublin has spiked, yet that tells only a part of the story, according to a commentary in the Irish Times. The latest survey from GeoDirectory, prepared by EY, gives us a snapshot of the market more broadly, and it isn’t a pretty one. The vacancy rate across all commercial properties in the country hit 14.6 per cent at the end of 2025, according to GeoDirectory’s latest report.

The government expects its interest payments on outstanding debt to roughly double over the next four years as the Bank of Japan’s gradual rate hikes push up borrowing costs, Bloomberg News reported. Interest payments are projected at ¥21.6 trillion ($139 billion) in the year starting April 2029, up from the current year’s budgeted ¥10.5 trillion, according to a Finance Ministry document released Thursday. The projections assume annual nominal economic growth of 3%. Overall debt-servicing costs are seen rising about 46% to ¥41.3 trillion during the same period.