As it happened: Stocks fall as US and Iran clash over Strait of Hormuz; Fed chair says inflation risk is easing July 1, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Oil prices are holding steady above $73 per barrel after days of heightened tensions between the US and Iran ahead of peace talks in Qatar. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – posted its biggest quarterly decline since 2020 for the second quarter of the [...]
UK banks’ digital ID bid is a game of optics – and the odds are not in their favour July 1, 2026 A digital ID row has dominated headlines in the last year, and banks are set to join the row. In this week’s column, Samuel Norman takes a look at what they might be in for. Britain’s banks have voluntarily thrown themselves into one of the most toxic culture wars of the decade. Few subjects evoke [...]
UK fintech Monovate posts £8.3m loss as Visa and Mastercard partner dumps European arm June 30, 2026 A key fintech partner of Mastercard and Visa suffered a hit to its bottom line as the business restructured its European operations and counted the costs of a major accounting error. Monovate – which acts as a licensed middle man bridging businesses and payment giants – made a loss of £8.3m in 2025, which was [...]
Wise profit slides as costs racks up from US listing June 26, 2026 Money transfer firm Wise saw its profit fall in its latest financial year as costs related to its new primary listing on Wall Street helped take a chunk out of the company’s bottom line. The UK fintech’s profit before tax slid eight per cent to $660m (£500m) – down from $717.5m – in its first [...]
As it happened: Stocks tumble after Apple rattles global markets; UK food exports hit by US tariffs June 26, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Markets are digesting fresh inflationary fears driven by Apple’s price hike as well as renewed threats over the safety of the Strait of Hormuz this morning after a projectile struck a vessel off the coast of Oman. Asian equity markets took a tumble overnight as price increases announced [...]
Barclays and Lloyds join banking sector plan for digital ID June 25, 2026 Barclays and Lloyds are among a group of top UK lenders working on a plan that would see customers able to use digital identification tools in their banking app. The collective of banks – which also includes HSBC, Nationwide, Natwest and Santander – are working with industry body UK Finance on a process where users’ [...]
Wise triggers staff backlash after cutting paid paternity leave June 23, 2026 Money transfer firm Wise is facing uproar from staff after cutting paid paternity leave, City AM can reveal, even after its own billionaire boss took a three-month sabbatical to spend time with his newborn. The UK fintech reduced its paid leave for fathers and secondary caregivers earlier this month from 18 weeks to eight, in [...]
Global tech stocks plunge as SpaceX comes back down to earth June 23, 2026 Global tech stocks have been rocked by a widespread sell-off today after investors dumped shares in SpaceX and triggered a rout across markets. Asian markets sank overnight, with South Korea’s Kospi falling 8.3 per cent leading to the stock exchange forcing a trading-halt as investors dashed to sell-off their chip exposure. Much of this stemmed [...]
Starling names HSBC veteran as chair in boardroom shake-up on road to IPO June 23, 2026 Starling has appointed the former top boss of HSBC Bank as its new chair as the digital challenger shakes up its boardroom on the road to its long-awaited IPO. The UK fintech named Colin Bell – who has served as a non-executive director at Starling since November 2025 – as chairman of its board ahead [...]
HSBC targets $100m in savings with Google Cloud AI tie-up June 17, 2026 Europe’s biggest lender HSBC has sealed a a tech tie-up with Google where it aims to use AI to scout priority projects that could bank the firm $100m in “efficiency gains”. The FTSE 100 giant is planning to roll out Google Cloud across its operations in a deal that the bank says will allow 200 [...]