Lloyds shares upgraded to ‘Buy’ after interest rates tailwind April 30, 2026 Analysts at UBS slapped a ‘Buy’ rating on shares in Lloyds Banking Group as the financial services giant looks to receive a bump to its bottom line from the elevated interest rate path. Jason Napier, analyst at UBS, said: “Given the tailwinds from rate hedges… we see strong future momentum in profits as a relatively [...]
Lazard to purchase Campbell Lutyens in bumper $575m deal April 30, 2026 Lazard has reached an agreement to buy private capital advisory group Campbell Lutyens in a $575m (£426.3m) deal in a bid to become a global powerhouse in one of the most important areas of Wall Street dealmaking. The 178-year-old investment bank’s existing private capital advisory team and London-based Campbell Lutyens will merge to create a [...]
United Utilities taps shareholders for £800m as it unveils investment plans April 30, 2026 One of UK’s largest listed water company United Utilities is making a submission to the regulator to increase its investment capacity in a bid to fuel expansion plans. The FTSE 100 firm is calling for Ofwat to lift its AMP8 budget, the five year investment period running until 2030, to £11.5bn from £9bn, to match [...]
LIV Golf to seek investment as Saudi Arabia PIF to cut funding April 30, 2026 LIV Golf is set to announce it is seeking new investment amid reports that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is to cut off its funding. PIF has ploughed more than $5bn into LIV Golf since launching it as a challenger to the PGA Tour in 2022 and poaching top players including Bryson DeChambeau and Jon [...]
How does a Pokemon card fetch £12m? Inside the lucrative world of rare trading cards April 30, 2026 The Pokemon and Matchattax cards you had when you were a kid could fetch big bucks now. From multi-million price tags to Premier League brand deals, Matt Kenyon digs into this unlikely new asset class. At a glance, it looked a bit like Comic Con. But in reality, Fort Knox would have been a better [...]
Oil price rockets to wartime high as Trump eyes fresh military action in Iran April 30, 2026 Brent oil surged to a new high during early-morning Thursday trading after reports that US president Donald Trump is set to receive a briefing on new military operations in Iran, raising fears over an end to the fragile ceasefire between the two nations. The global benchmark surged as much as 7.1 per cent this morning, [...]
Vertu Motors lands multi-million payout from JLR cyber-attack April 30, 2026 Vertu Motors has landed a multi-million pound payout after suffering from the disruption caused by a cyber-attack at Jaguar Landrover. The AIM-listed car dealership said it was able to agree a £3.9m business interruption claim from its insurers after the attack “disrupted JLR vehicle supply, parts availability and connected systems used by JLR franchised retailers.” [...]
Persimmon: Housebuilder sounds alarm over building cost inflation April 30, 2026 Leading housebuilder Persimmon has sounded the alarm over rising supply costs due to the Iran war as demand begins to soften. The housebuilder, one of the UK’s largest, said on Thursday it is beginning to see inflation in its supply chain, which it said could impact its finances as soon as the second half of [...]
Standard Chartered registers $190m charge on Iran war April 30, 2026 Standard Chartered’s impairment charges jumped in the first quarter as the bank set aside a hefty sum to cover volatility in the Middle East. The FTSE 100 giant booked $296m in credit impairment charges, with $190m of this coming from “precautionary management overlays” related to the war in Iran. The Asian-focused bank’s activity in the [...]
Unilever beats analyst expectations but food spin-off costs up to €500m April 30, 2026 Unilever beat analyst expectations to record nearly three per cent volume growth, despite a €500m hit from its food spin-off and falling revenue. The FTSE 100 consumer goods giant said it will face between €400m and €500m (up to £433m) of “stranded costs” after it offloaded its food brands – including Marmite and Hellman’s – [...]