Company failures in England and Wales surged past that of the 2008 financial crisis in the last year, with more than 25,000 businesses going under. At the same time, gold prices soared to record highs against the backdrop of economic uncertainty and investor fears. Here’s a look at these major developments and other key updates.

In a surprise turn of events, more companies have gone to the wall in England and Wales over the past year than even in the blackest days of the 2008 financial crisis. Figures released yesterday show there were 25,551 insolvencies between August 2023 and July 2024. This is more than the 25,186 businesses that failed during the worst of the Great Recession, which started with the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. This is news underlining how many firms remain far from recovery.

This is what Rebecca Dacre, an international audit and advisory firm from Forvis Mazars, explained. “The high number of insolvencies is a big wake-up call. Many businesses are still far from getting back to their feet. High interest rates and a decrease in consumer spending have made it hard for many businesses to survive, especially in the retail and hospitality sector.”

Last month 2,191 companies went bust, which might be a fall on June but is still an alarming number. November 2023 was the worst with 2,467 failures. For comparison, the worst month for company collapses during the financial crisis was October 2008, with 2,732.

The rise in company failures is one driven by the high interest rates and rising costs, according to David Hudson of FRP, a restructuring expert. He believes it is going to continue, since in general many companies are still under pressure from very high debt levels because of the pandemic, and might not recover fast enough even with hope of economic conditions improving soon.

The price of gold expanded to multiple new record levels. The gold prices rose to over $2,530 an ounce today, fueled by the combination of these factors. Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo—an investment platform—said investors were rushing for cover in the face of geopolitical risks. Strong demand from China looking to protect their money, along with continuing uncertainty regarding the upcoming US presidential election, is further fueling increases in the price of gold.

Aside from these economic changes, there have also been updates concerning other financial and business news. First off, a major UK telecommunications company, that being BT, has had its value reduced by more than £1 billion on account of the company failing to win a major broadband deal in competition with its rival, Sky. On the bright side, the British pound has surged to a one-year high against the US dollar, trading to $1.3022. That strength is in part because there are expectations the US will soon be cutting interest rates.

In Europe, the central bank of Sweden cut its key interest rate, though inflation in the eurozone edged higher. But there was some cheer from the central bank in Germany, which said it still thinks the country will dodge a recession. Rescuers in Italy are still looking for six people who are missing from the wreck of a yacht that sank off Sicily, among them British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and his daughter.

Tesla has also been in news over its cars exported from China. The European Commission has slapped a lower tariff of 9% on Tesla, where other companies have been charged with higher duties. This is because Tesla cooperated with the EU’s investigation into unfair subsidies for electric vehicles from China.

So, from the unprecedented number of company failures, through the record highs of gold prices, to the newest updates concerning Tesla, the financial world is abuzz with fundamental changes and challenges. Continue to watch for updates on these stories as they develop