Tuesday newspaper round-up: Government borrowing costs, US tech crash, civil servants
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Tuesday 18 Aug 2026
(Sharecast News) - Government borrowing costs in several advanced economies hit their highest level since the 2008 financial crisis, or even earlier, on Monday as investors feared the Middle East crisis would keep inflation persistently high. Concerns over rising prices and government spending pushed up the cost of debt issued by Paris, Berlin, Washington DC, Tokyo and London as investors fretted that rising prices would push up interest rates. The yield, or interest rate, on 30-year French bonds rose to its highest level since September 2008 at 4.8558%, up one basis point (0.01 percentage point), LSEG data showed. - Guardian
Forty prominent progressive academics are urging Andy Burnham's government to join a new global push to tackle inequality. The experts include Nobel winner Joseph Stiglitz, University College London professor Mariana Mazzucato, vice-chancellor of the London School of Economics Larry Kramer, and Kate Pickett, co-author of The Spirit Level. In an open letter, they call on Burnham to sign the UK up to help create a new International Panel on Inequality (IPI), which is being developed at the UN. - Guardian
A US tech crash is likely and it could trigger a financial crisis in Europe, central bankers have warned. Analysts at the European Central Bank (ECB) said the AI boom that had driven Wall Street valuations to nosebleed levels has left the eurozone exposed. European households have €440bn (£380bn) invested in US tech stocks, mainly held in investment funds tracking stock market indexes. It means that a plunge in equity markets could prove very painful on the Continent. - Telegraph
Labour has handed consultants a £450m contract to deliver AI training to the Civil Service despite pledging to cut spending on external advisers. Advisers at KPMG and EY are expected to receive close to £500m as part of a deal with the Cabinet Office, according to figures from Tussell, a procurement data provider. The £456m contract marks the single biggest deal awarded by officials to the big four consulting firms since Tussell began collating figures in 2012. KPMG will receive up to £319m under the contract, while EY will be paid up to £137m. - Telegraph
The government is to pay EY and KPMG almost half a billion pounds to train civil servants - less than two years after Labour pledged to slash spending on external consultants. The two "Big Four" accountancy firms will provide ad-hoc "learning and training services" to the civil service between September 2026 and March 2028 while Labour gets the "school of government" up and running again. - The Times
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