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With different estimates pinning the total number of travel agencies registered in the United Kingdom in 2026 at between 16,887 to 17,519, the country surpasses many others on this front due to a historically strong travel culture and national interest in group tours and package holidays.

But amid the rise of online booking platforms and wider economic challenges brought on by the war in Iran, many have not survived the current headwinds. The United Kingdom has seen a particularly strong domino effect of travel agency collapses since the start of 2026.

Some British travel companies that either ended up in insolvency proceedings or ceased operations entirely in 2026 include Trav Expert, Groupia, Salamander Voyages, Travel Bespoke, Regen Central, Set Sail Cruises, Yourtravelshop.com, Ski Yodel, and TS Travels Group, among a number of others.

Barnes Worldwide Travel travel company shuts down operations

The most recent name to join that list is Liverpool-based Barnes Worldwide Travel Ltd. As was first reported by several British outlets, the travel company founded in 2007 ceased operations on Sept. 9.

Barnes Worldwide Travel booked tours to countries such as Greece, Cyprus, Türkiye and Egypt as well as New York and Las Vegas in the U.S. to local Liverpool travelers.

Related: Another low-cost airline is betting big on Colombia travel

“We are sorry to inform you that Barnes Worldwide Travel Ltd has ceased trading on 9 September 2026,” ABTA, the British organization representing travel agents and tour operators formerly known as Association of British Travel Agents, said in a statement.

The ABTA also offers consumer protection for packages purchased in the Unted Kingdom that include a flight but not for bookings that are only for accommodation.

Barnes Worldwide Travel was founded out of Liverpool in 2007.Image source: Shutterstock

What to do if you bought a recent trip with Barnes Worldwide Travel

As the company was not an independent tour operator but a travel agent selling other companies’ organized tours, the ABTA is encouraging travelers with booked trips to check directly with the tour provider to see whether the trip is still taking place and that they have a valid booking (in some cases over the years, travel agencies were shut down by regulators after it was discovered that they sold packages with invalid bookings).

“To ensure your holiday continues as planned, you will need to contact the credit control department of your tour operator or other principal travel business with whom you have a contract,” ABTA said further. “Your booking should continue as normal, and they will be your direct point of contact.”

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Some travel agencies filed for bankruptcy in 2026:

AVG Travels: The Melbourne-based travel agency selling cheap vacation packages to travelers in Australia and New Zealand sent more than 200 customers an email saying that the trips were canceled before entering bankruptcy in May 2026.

GoPlay Sports: In April 2026, the men’s basketball team of the University of Dallas was left without a planned trip to compete in the United Kingdom after Boston-based GoPlay Sports Tours LLC accepted two payments of $30,000 and then went unreachable.

Havantur: Havantur was forced to shut down its main European office in France at the beginning of 2026 after tourist numbers to the Caribbean country plummeted due to U.S. military actions in Venezuela and threats against the country.

Vegas Vacations and North America Destinations: Two travel agencies in the Canadian province of British Columbia, Vegas Vacations and North America Destinations, were shut down by regulators within a few days of each other in January 2026 after multiple travelers complained of buying trips and receiving invalid plane tickets and hotel bookings.

Related: 45-year-old tour company shuts down, cancels all trips

The company saw its backlog grow even more in the latest quarter.

Wall Street is about to get the one inflation number that could determine if the Federal Reserve raises interest rates next week.

With wholesale prices already showing renewed inflation pressure and crude oil prices climbing, the Sept. 11 August Consumer Price index has taken on importance for a divided Fed. 

Even a modest upside surprise in the August CPI could strengthen the case for a quarter-point rate hike when policymakers meet Sept. 15-16.

Economists and consensus forecasts expect the August CPI to show a bump in headline monthly inflation driven primarily by higher energy and gas prices.

Aptus Capital Advisors Portfolio Manager and Head of Fixed Income John Luke Tyner said the unexpected surge in the August jobs report puts additional pressure on the Fed’s price stability mandate.

“You typically don’t think about Fed decisions as binary outcomes but I wouldn’t be surprised if the fate of a September hike hinges upon the PPI and CPI prints,’’ Tyner told TheStreet in an email.

“With tariffs continuing to be in the conversation (Canada), energy prices higher, AI demand pretty much unaffected by higher rates, as well as data quirks from the government shutdown last year, it appears inflation pressures will not be fleeting soon.’’ 

The August CPI arrives one day after a hotter-than-expected August Producer Price Index report.

Producer prices rose 0.4% in August from July and 5.4% over the 12 months through August, adding to concerns that inflation pressures may be proving more persistent than Fed officials had expected.

Fed Governor Christopher Waller last week flagged both August prints as critical in the Federal Open Market Committee’s decision to hike rates or continue to hold.

Persistent sticky inflation could result in a 25-basis point hike in the Federal Funds Rate.

Then there’s Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh’s hawkish tone at last month’s Jackson Hole conference (“We have work to do”), during which he pledged the central bank would commit to taming inflation. 

“My opinion is Warsh does not want to hike and could be the swing vote on the decision,’’ Tyner said. 

“We will be interested in how markets react to the data and his decision next week. We are also interested in whether a skip in September would also mean a skip in October given Fed policy action around elections is unpopular. Bottom line: I do not envy his job,” he added.

Markets expect hot CPI report to trigger Fed rate hike

The CME Group FedWatch Tool, which gauges market expectations from federal-funds futures, shows traders increasingly betting on a rate hike at the Fed’s September meeting.

The odds rose to about 70% on Sept. 10, up from roughly 61% earlier in the week and below 50% late last month.

“This is the double-dog daring you. This is straight schoolyard,” BNY Investments Chief Economist Vincent Reinhart told The Wall Street Journal. 

Markets also are pricing in a growing likelihood that interest rates will be higher later this year.

The odds of a rate increase by the October meeting have climbed above 80%, while the probability of the rates being higher by December has risen even further.

As widely expected by investors, the European Central Bank voted Sept. 10 to raise three rates by 25 basis points to 2.5% from 2.25%, due to inflation concerns stemming from the Iran war. 

The ECB expects baseline inflation, excluding energy and food, to reach 2.5% in 2026, 2.6% in 2027 and 2.3% in 2028.

The Bank of Japan is also expected to raise interest rates due to the Iran war’s impact on gas and energy prices.

TheStreet

Fed’s dual mandate focuses on jobs, prices

The Fed’s dual mandate from Congress requires maximum employment and stable prices.

Lower interest rates support hiring but can fuel inflation. This risks fueling further inflation, potentially leading to an inflationary spiral.

Higher rates cool prices but can weaken the job market. This increases the cost of borrowing and further stifles economic activity.

The Sept. 4 blowout jobs report demonstrates the U.S. labor market is plowing through the economic uncertainty and financial jitters from the Iran war, despite higher gas and other energy prices. 

How Fed monetary policy affects you

The rate-setting FOMC voted 9-3 in July to hold the benchmark Federal Funds Rate target in a range of 3.5% to 3.75%. The three dissenters wanted to raise rates by 25 basis points because of inflation concerns.

Policymakers had cut rates by 25 basis points at its last three meetings of 2025 to shore up the softening labor market. 

Related: UBS doubles down on Fed rate-hike forecast for 2026

These “insurance” cuts stopped after the majority of policymakers decided the risk from higher prices was outweighing signs that the jobs market was stabilizing.

The funds rate is the interest rate at which banks lend balances at the Federal Reserve to other banks overnight. It sets the pace for short-term borrowing costs like credit cards, student loans and home equity loans.

Higher short-term interest rates impact mortgages, corporate credit

A change in the funds rate triggers moves in short-term borrowing costs, ranging from credit cards and student loans to home equity loans. 

Higher interest rates also increase the yield on fixed income and alter how equity markets value future corporate earnings.

The hotter-than-expected PPI report and climbing crude oil prices sent the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield surged to roughly 4.93%, near the critical 5.00% mark.

Yields across the board also reached their highest levels in three years. Market strategists note that if the 10-year crosses and holds above 5.00%, it will increase long-term borrowing costs for mortgages and corporate credit.

Related: Fed rate-hike threat heats up as August inflation data looms 

Dell Technologies is about to sit at the same table as Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia.

The company will join the S&P 100 index on Sept. 21, 2026, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. 

Dell (DELL) stock has climbed roughly 700% over the past three years, which puts the hardware giant squarely in the same conversation as the market’s biggest names.

The same rebalancing also adds Palo Alto Networks, Arista Networks, and SanDisk, while removing Nike, Simon Property Group, and Colgate-Palmolive.

Why Dell stock is on an absolute tear

Dell’s surge is not random. It is tied directly to demand for AI infrastructure, the servers, storage, and networking gear that power artificial intelligence.

In fiscal Q2 of 2027 (ended in July), Dell reported revenue of $47 billion, an increase of 58% year over year. Meanwhile, earnings per share more than tripled year over year to $7.04. 

The Infrastructure Solutions Group, which includes AI servers, storage, and networking, posted revenue of $31.8 billion, up 89%. 

Related: Analyst resets Dell stock price target after earnings

Dell booked $60.9 billion in AI orders during Q2, a fresh record, and ended the period with a $95 billion AI server backlog.

Here is a quick snapshot of what pushed those numbers higher:

AI server orders topped $131.7 billion over the past 12 months.

Traditional server revenue jumped 122% as companies replace aging equipment.

Storage revenue grew 26%, its sixth straight quarter of demand growth above the market.

PC revenue in Dell’s Client Solutions Group rose 20%, its fastest pace in five years.

Operating expenses fell to about 8% of revenue, the lowest level in the company’s 42-year history.

CEO Michael Dell addressed the durability of that demand directly at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia and Technology Conference on Sept. 9. He pointed to a structural gap between AI chip supply and what companies need.

“All of the improvements in the models, particularly from basic LLMs to reasoning to agents, has occurred well within the timeframe required to build a new semiconductor fab,” Dell said. “You just have a structural shortage, probably worse in 2027 than in 2026 from everything that we see.”

Dell CEO Michael Dell is bullish on AI demand.Bloomberg / Getty Images

What the S&P 100 addition means for Dell stock

Getting added to the S&P 100 is not just a symbolic honor. The inclusion forces index funds and institutional portfolios that track the benchmark to buy shares, adding a fresh layer of short-term demand.

The S&P 100 is a subset of the broader S&P 500, made up of the 100 largest and most established companies by market value.

Membership signals that a stock has grown large and stable enough to be treated as a core holding rather than a speculative bet.

For Dell, the timing lines up with a business that is scaling fast.

The company raised its full-year revenue guidance by $25 billion, to $192 billion, and now expects AI server revenue to triple year over year to $74 billion. Full-year earnings per share guidance sits at $25.50, up roughly 150%.

Chief Financial Officer David Kennedy told analysts on the Sept. 1 earnings call that the company generated $8.1 billion in adjusted free cash flow during the quarter and returned an all-time record $4.3 billion to shareholders, including share buybacks at an average price of $401 per share.

What’s next for Dell stock price target 

Dell’s leadership sees a long runway ahead.

COO Jeff Clarke told investors the firm expects the AI infrastructure market to be worth more than a trillion dollars by 2030, with AI making up 75% of all data center demand by then.

Clarke also pointed to a massive installed base of aging equipment still waiting to be replaced.

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Dell said 1.2 million servers in its customer base are still running on 14th generation hardware or older, a backlog of upgrades that should keep demand strong well beyond this year.

Michael Dell echoed that view, describing the company as still early in a broader shift where businesses reorganize around AI rather than simply buying faster computers.

“I would say we’re really at the very beginning of that in most companies,” Dell said. “They don’t know how to do it. It’s hard.”

Whether Dell stock keeps climbing at its recent pace is a separate question from the S&P 100 news. 

But the index addition confirms what the stock’s run already suggested. Wall Street now views Dell as core infrastructure for the AI economy. 

Out of the 21 analysts covering Dell stock, 14 recommend “Buy,” and seven recommend “Hold.” The average DELL stock price target is $595, above the current price of $535.

Related: Goldman Sachs resets Dell stock price target by $60

“In this environment you can’t just meet” expectations, an analyst says

President Donald Trump’s vow to hand out $5,000 checks if Republicans hold on to control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections raises an immediate question: Can he really do that?
Trump announced his idea to send payments to “every adult” in a speech Wednesday at the Republican National Committee’s midterm convention in Dallas.

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“Here is my promise,” he said. “If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them … because of our tremendous strength and success economically, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000, very much like a successful company will do a cash distribution to its shareholders.”
The proposal would only have one other “caveat,” Trump said, which is that the money must be spent in the U.S.
As of Thursday afternoon, the administration hadn’t shared details about how the funds would be distributed with this restriction. But there are several reasons to be skeptical that any money is coming your way.
Since the three rounds of pandemic-era stimulus checks, promises from politicians — namely Trump — to send direct payments to Americans have mostly gone unfulfilled. About 1.5 million members of the military received $1,776 “Warrior Dividends” last year, but remember those $5,000 DOGE checks floated in February 2025? They never materialized.
This time around may not be any different.
First, in order for the president to pursue these proposed payouts (per his terms), Republicans would have to dominate the midterms. The odds of a Republican House and a Republican Senate emerging from November’s elections are only 14% on Polymarket and 16% on Kalshi, the two leading prediction markets.
Trump acknowledged that his party has its work cut out for it as he announced the plan for “Trump dividends.”
“We might not win,” he said. “You win with us, and you get $5,000.” Later in the speech, he sounded more optimistic, saying, “We’re going to give you that Trump dividend of $5,000 if we win — and we’re going to win.”
However, even assuming the GOP retains majorities in both chambers, it’s still unlikely you’ll receive a $5,000 payout.
The main issue is a lack of enthusiasm among Republicans in Congress for more stimulus checks. Broadly speaking, fiscal conservatives do not want to add to the $40 trillion national debt with direct payments, and the price tag for these checks would be about $1 trillion. A precise cost cannot be estimated as the administration hasn’t shared information about a potential exclusion for the wealthy, as mentioned by Vice President JD Vance.

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Will Congress approve $5,000 ‘Trump dividends’?
The Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse, which means sending $5,000 checks would require House and Senate approval.
DOGE checks and previously proposed tariff checks never advanced in large part because GOP congressional leaders like Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., opposed them, as did some rank-and-file Republicans and essentially all Democrats. Hoping for a different outcome this time, Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, said that he will introduce a bill to try to deliver Trump’s $5,000 checks.
Democrats blasted the plan as unlawful and financially reckless.
“Actually, only Congress can make that promise since it must appropriate those funds. And Congress would never do it because it is corrupt and blatantly illegal,” Rep. Daniel Goldman, D-N.Y., wrote in a response on X.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom accused Trump of trying to “buy your vote,” while economist Peter Schiff called the move a “bribe.”
Fox News’ Bret Baier asked Vance in an interview after Trump’s speech how he responds to criticism from opponents that the president is “bribing voters to vote for Republicans” and risking more inflation. In response, Vance suggested the checks could be paid for with revenue from the Trump administration’s tariffs.
“If you keep us in power,” he said, “then you’re going to share in some of the benefit of this incredible wealth that we’re creating.”
Still, U.S. code states that it’s against the law “to make an expenditure to any person, either to vote or withhold his vote, or to vote for or against any candidate.” It’s unclear how courts might view the unprecedented $5,000 dividend proposal that Trump has announced if legal challenges arise.

Republican strategist and Executive Director of Principles First Brittany Martinez joined “Forbes Newsroom” to discuss the GOP’s first-ever midterm convention.

The updated match card for AEW All Out 2026 features Will Ospreay defending the AEW World Championship against Jon Moxley.