British inflation unexpectedly rose to 10.4% in February, pushed up by higher food and drink prices in pubs and restaurants, according to official data which is likely to prompt the Bank of England to raise interest rates on Thursday, Reuters reported. The figures - including increases in underlying inflation measures that the BoE closely monitors - are likely to bolster the concerns of those BoE policymakers who worry that inflation will be slow to fall, even after 10 straight rate hikes.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesperson on Tuesday urged lawmakers to back a major element of the new deal over post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland, adding it was a good deal amid criticism from some Conservatives, Reuters reported. An influential group of eurosceptic Conservative lawmakers on Tuesday warned that the newly agreed 'Stormont brake" mechanism to prevent Northern Ireland being subject to unwelcome European Union laws was "practically useless".

The Bank of England sought to clarify its rules regarding the order in which shareholders and creditors should bear losses in the event of insolvency, in the wake of the controversial write-down of Credit Suisse Group AG’s riskiest bonds, Bloomberg News reported. The central bank said in a statement on Monday that additional tier 1 instruments, the securities rendered worthless as part of the UBS Group AG takeover, rank ahead of common equity tier 1 (CET1) and behind tier 2 (T2), a mix of reserves, hybrid instruments and junior debt.

Virgin Orbit has begun drawing up detailed contingency plans for its insolvency days after halting its operations and furloughing its workforce, SkyNews.com. Sky News has learned that the commercial space satellite venture founded by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group is working with Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) and Ducera, two restructuring firms, on fallback plans in the event that it cannot secure new funding.

The British government ramped up its efforts to get more people into work and make Britain an enticing investment destination as it announced on Wednesday an expansion of free child care, extended household energy subsidies and bolstered business investment incentives, the New York Times reported. Amid double-digit inflation, rising interest rates and widespread labor strikes, Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor of the Exchequer, detailed his plan to help Prime Minister Rishi Sunak keep the promise he made in January to expand the economy this year and pull it out of stagnation.

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank has shown the need to build a larger and more diverse financial system by bolstering the stock market and unlocking cash in pension schemes, Britain's finance minister Jeremy Hunt said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. Following the collapse of its parent company in the United States, Silicon Valley Bank's UK arm was sold to HSBC over the weekend to avoid disrupting its customers in Britain. SVB was heavily focused on lending to the technology sector. Fallout from the collapse continued to roil banking shares in Europe on Wednesday.

Ukraine won a significant boost in its attempt to set aside a $3 billion defaulted bond after the UK Supreme Court ruled that judges need to consider the backdrop of Russia’s campaign of threatening behavior in the run-up to the annexation of Crimea, Bloomberg News reported. Britain’s top court declared that a judge should pore over Russian attempts to strong-arm Ukraine into issuing the bond, giving the green light to a full-blown London trial.

Binance is halting its sterling deposits and withdrawals, a company spokesperson said on Tuesday, a month after the world's largest crypto exchange ceased dollar transfers, Reuters reported. Binance has been informed by its partner for sterling transfers, Paysafe, that it would halt its services from May 22, the spokesperson said, impacting all Binance customers. Sterling transfers for new users were stopped on Monday, it said.

British banks are not yet seeing a "flight to quality" in deposits among customers nervous about the safe-keeping of their money following the collapse of U.S. lender Silicon Valley Bank last week, Lloyds chief executive Charlie Nunn said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. "What's happened with SVB is relatively idiosyncratic compared to the UK," Nunn told a Morgan Stanley event, referring to the demise of the specialist lender, which has triggered widespread banking turmoil and a rout in stocks globally.

Silicon Valley Bank’s British subsidiary will be acquired by the banking giant HSBC, the Bank of England announced on Monday as it emphasized the stability of the nation’s banking system, the New York Times reported. “This action has been taken to stabilize SVBUK, ensuring the continuity of banking services, minimizing disruption to the U.K. technology sector and supporting confidence in the financial system,” the central bank said in a statement, referring to the American bank’s British subsidiary. “The wider U.K.