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23rd September 2026
Helping you build healthy financial habits from your first pay packet
With thousands of young people preparing to enter the workplace following education, they join the 3.8 million 16 to 24-year-olds already in employment in the UK .
23rd September 2026
Market update – 23rd September 2026
It has been a relatively quiet week for markets from a global macroeconomic perspective. In the UK, attention is turning towards next month’s much-anticipated Autumn Budget, with the latest public finance figures providing an important backdrop. Government borrowing rose to £18.3 billion in August, exceeding forecasts of around £15 billion. Despite this, the UK’s debt-to-GDP ratio remained broadly stable at just under 94%.
21st September 2026
Week ending 18th September 2026
As shown in the accompanying table, it was a mixed week for global financial markets. Japan led gains, while the UK delivered a modest positive return. Most other regions declined, while the US was broadly flat.
16th September 2026
Market update – 16th September 2026
This week, comments from senior AI figures including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei briefly unsettled AI-related equities, with semiconductor stocks particularly affected. Their comments centred not on bringing AI development to a halt, but on whether the pace of progress should be moderated so that safety measures and oversight can keep up with increasingly capable systems.
14th September 2026
Week ending 11th September 2026
As you can see from the accompanying table, global equity markets were generally lower over the week, with geopolitical developments, rising energy prices, and changing expectations for interest rates weighing on sentiment.
9th September 2026
Market update – 9th September 2026
Global financial markets made a subdued start to the week, with US equity markets closed on Monday for the Labor Day holiday. Meanwhile, escalating tensions between the US and Iran over the weekend provided support for oil prices, with Brent crude rising to just under $98 per barrel adding to inflation concerns.
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Delaying pension saving by 10 years could more than double annual contributions needed
WEALTH at work, is urging people to check their pensions and be aware of the cost of delay when reviewing contributions and retirement plans. Put simply, this means checking whether you're saving enough for retirement now, rather than putting it off and potentially missing out on years of pension growth.
7th September 2026
Week ending 4th September 2026
As can be seen from the accompanying table, markets ended the week mixed, with a stronger-than-expected US jobs report pushing Treasury yields higher and reducing expectations of a September rate cut, while renewed US-Iran tensions kept oil prices elevated and added to market uncertainty.
3rd September 2026
Market update – 3rd September 2026
In India, manufacturing PMI eased to 52.8 in August from 53.5 in July. While a reading above 50 still indicates expansion, the decline points to a slower pace of growth, with new orders, export demand and manufacturing output all losing momentum. Employment also fell for the first time in nearly two years, clearly signalling that businesses are becoming more cautious.
1st September 2026
Week ending 28th August 2026
As shown in the accompanying table, it was a mixed week for global financial markets, with investors focused on the latest U.S. inflation data, developments in the Middle East, and a closely watched set of results from tech giant Nvidia.
26th August 2026
Market update – 26th August 2026
While it has been a positive week so far, market moves have been relatively subdued as investors look ahead to Nvidia's earnings release. As the semiconductor giant at the centre of the AI investment theme, its results are expected to provide an important gauge of AI-related demand.
24th August 2026
Week ending 21st August 2026
Global financial markets closed the week on a mixed note, with investor attention focused on inflation data from the UK and eurozone, alongside the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July meeting. Rising bond yields initially weighed on equity markets, particularly technology and semiconductor stocks, as investors reconsidered the outlook for interest rates.
19th August 2026
Market update – 19th August 2026
This week in China, data revealed some moderation in the region’s economic momentum. Factory output grew 4.5% year on year in July, down from 5.3% in June. Compounding this, consumers also kept their purses firmly in their pockets, with retail sales growing by just 0.6%, compared with 1% in June. The significance of the data is being treated with some caution, with markets reluctant to interpret it too negatively at this stage.