As it happened: FTSE 100 surges as London swerves Asian tech sell-off; surprise GDP growth October 15, 2026 Welcome back to City AM‘s FTSE 100 live blog. Stocks are set to slip on Thursday morning despite a strong close yesterday for the UK’s blue-chip index. The ONS will reveal the rate of GDP growth for August this morning, which economists expect to reveal that the economy has shrunk. Stick with us throughout the [...]
UK banks could unleash cash buffers to spur economy, says top Bank of England regulator October 15, 2026 UK banks are holding excessively large “rainy-day funds” that could instead be deployed to boost economic activity, according to a top regulator at the Bank of England. David Bailey, executive director of Prudential Policy at the Bank of England, told City AM the watchdog had kicked off talks with international peers over how to simplify [...]
Tories to warn Burnham on ‘bending to left’ on bank tax raid October 14, 2026 Kemi Badenoch is expected to fire a bank tax warning shot to the Labour government on Thursday during a visit to Edinburgh. The Conservatives will warn Andy Burnham against “bending the knee to left-wing backbenchers and trade union paymasters,” as the pre-Budget debate heats up. It follows the banking sector swinging into defence mode ahead [...]
‘It’s hard to call the peak’: Wall Street banks land $22bn trading haul October 14, 2026 Traders at Wall Street’s biggest banks kept their blockbuster winning streak alive in the third-quarter as they made hay on volatility triggered by the war in Iran and swinging AI stocks. Equity trading divisions at the big six US banks – JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo – [...]
Plus500’s super-app ambitions risk re-telling a familiar London story October 14, 2026 Plus500 laid out plans for a super-app across the Atlantic, in this week’s column Samuel Norman looks at how it could frame their future. Also on the agenda, Healey continues pre-Budget summits and does anyone still care about the digital pound? Is a London-listed fintech turning to the US for its monumental ‘super-app’ a point [...]
Dimon warns of risks ‘under the surface’ as JP Morgan earnings miss October 13, 2026 JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon has warned of a broad set of economic risks “under the surface” as the Wall Street bank’s earnings missed expectations in the third quarter. The US banking giant reported $50.9bn (£38.4bn) in revenue for its latest three month period, up eight per cent year-on-year. But this undershot the $51.2bn forecast [...]
Motor finance legal battle set for February 2027 October 13, 2026 The City watchdog has confirmed that the legal battle over its motor finance redress scheme will take place early next year following widespread backlash against its multi-billion-pound programme. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will face challenges from three lenders, Volkswagen Financial Services, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, and Crédit Agricole Auto Finance, as well as the advocacy [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 loses early gains as oil prices stay high October 13, 2026 Welcome back to City AM‘s FTSE 100 live blog. The UK’s blue-chip index made strong gains on Monday morning, jumping more than 0.9 per cent soon after the market open. This follows Tuesday’s strong showing, when the index gained nearly one per cent. In a busy morning the corporate results, Premier Inn owner Whitbread hit [...]
We should be AI optimists, says Bank of England deputy October 12, 2026 A top Bank of England official has called for optimism around artificial intelligence and said leveraging the tech is the “best pathway” to securing economic growth. Sarah Breeden, deputy governor for financial stability at the central bank, said the UK needs to “think ahead” on the future use cases of AI for “how we might [...]
Bank of England targeted in inflation installation stunt October 12, 2026 The Bank of England has been targeted in an inflation installation stunt in the centre of the City of London. Over the weekend, a satirical art piece appeared across the road from the central bank’s office on Threadneedle Street. A black Canon printer, sitting atop a decorative silver-beaded pedestal surrounded by a stream of banknotes, [...]