As it happened: WPP leads FTSE higher as market digests ‘do no harm’ Budget October 29, 2026 Welcome to City AM‘s FTSE 100 liveblog. It’s Thursday morning and stocks are set to rise on the market open. Investors will be picking through John Healey’s maiden Budget throughout the day, which pushed up shares in banks and gambling firms after they were spared worse tax raids. The FTSE 100 closed level on Wednesday [...]
‘Smoke and mirrors’: Why high street still faces a £250m tax hike under Healey October 29, 2026 Andy Burnham propelled himself to Downing Street by pledging a revival of Britain’s struggling high streets. Felix Armstrong asks: has John Healey delivered it? Among the sectors clamouring for John Healey’s attention ahead of his maiden Budget, none were louder than those calling for the government to revitalise Britain’s ailing high street retailers. Shuttered shops, [...]
Jobs on the line as Poundland poised to appoint administrators October 28, 2026 Poundland’s directors are poised to appoint administrators as the beleaguered discount retailer staggers towards collapse. The company is preparing to make a filing to the High Court, which could come as soon as Wednesday evening, which would fire the starting gun on its race to find buyers for its assets and new homes for its [...]
Healey funds high street tax cuts with raid on gambling firms and online sellers October 28, 2026 The government will fund tax breaks for small high street shops by hiking taxes on gambling and cracking down on online sellers, John Healey said. In his first Budget, the Chancellor said he will slash taxes on the high street by raising the threshold at which small firms start paying business rates from £12,000 to [...]
Dove owner Unilever hikes prices as energy costs surge October 28, 2026 Dove owner Unilever hiked its prices over the summer as it looked to offset rising energy costs caused by the Iran war. The FTSE 100 consumer goods group told shareholders on Wednesday its prices rose by 2.3 per cent in its third quarter, as its volume growth slowed from 5.5 to 2.9 per cent. The [...]
Budget 2026 Live: Healey introduces pension tax allowance and lays out bank surcharge plans October 28, 2026 Welcome to City AM‘s Budget liveblog. The Chancellor has delivered his Budget speech in the House of Commons. John Healey announced a range of measures to tackle the cost of living but the market will keep a close eye on his tax and spending plans as the government looks to balance the books. Healey has [...]
Poundland owners push retailer towards insolvency October 27, 2026 Poundland’s owners are resisting a takeover bid from an Irish property firm and instead pushing the discount retailer close to collapse. The leading bidder to take over the struggling discount retailer, Martin Property Group (MPG), has failed to win the favour of Poundland’s owners because it has not offered to pay for a loan up [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 slides as oil holds at $115; tech surges October 27, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 live blog. The FTSE 100 is sliding after a bruising session for heavyweight stocks, while tech continues to perform elsewhere. Brent crude is also trading above $115 per barrel as renewed diplomatic efforts in the Middle East raised hopes of preventing a wider escalation of the US-Iran [...]
Healey warned ‘the dam is breaking’ on shop price inflation October 27, 2026 The Chancellor has been warned that the “dam is starting to break” on surging shop price inflation, which retailers had kept at bay with heavy discounting. Shop prices rose by 2.1 per cent in the year to October, according to new data from the British Retail Consortium, ahead of September’s 1.4 per cent and the [...]
Sadiq Khan urges banks to stay in London as tax raid looms October 26, 2026 Sadiq Khan has urged London’s biggest banks to keep investing in the UK, days away from an expected tax raid on the sector. On Monday, the Mayor of London said the City’s banking sector is “really important” but refused to say whether he opposed the tax raid, adding that “those with broader shoulders carry the [...]