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 [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 up on defence boost; oil falls back as Trump weighs Iran deal October 26, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 live blog. The FTSE 100 has enjoyed a major rally on the back of booming defence stocks ahead of an expected investment from the government at the forthcoming Budget. This is also coming alongside a modest relax in oil prices on new diplomatic hopes in the Middle [...]
Top court rejects Tesco appeal in ‘equal pay’ case October 23, 2026 The Supreme Court has blocked Tesco from appealing a key ruling in a long-running equal pay claim brought by more than 16,000 shop workers. Tesco is one of several UK supermarkets caught in a legal battle over allegations that it underpays its store workers, mainly women, compared with distribution centre workers, who are mostly men. [...]
Supermarkets blindsided by ‘shambolic’ stockpiling warning October 23, 2026 Supermarkets have been caught off guard by the government’s “shambolic” campaign to urge Brits to stock up on supplies of food and water, industry sources told City AM. Retailers were not told the details of the government’s “Be Ready” campaign until days before it was announced and expected it to be a more “low key” [...]
Boohoo eyes £100m profit as online seller revives fortunes October 23, 2026 Fast fashion firm Boohoo has set its sights on a £100m profit after emerging from years of consecutive losses. The London-listed firm, which owns Debenhams, Karen Millen and Pretty Little Thing, said its turnaround plans are “significantly ahead” of schedule after producing its first pre-tax profit since 2021. Boohoo has endured a rocky few years, [...]
Retail sales fall faster than expected ahead of Budget October 23, 2026 Retail sales fell at a faster pace than expected in September, new figures have shown, as consumer confidence suffered a major drop ahead of the Budget. Total sales at retailers fell 0.4 per cent in September, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), a bigger drop than the 0.1 per cent forecast by City [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 slides as oil surges to five-month high October 23, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 liveblog. It’s Friday morning and London’s blue-chip index is set for a flat open as pressures on markets persist. The price of a barrel of oil has surged to $114 per barrel, trading at its highest level in over five months. It follows escalating Houthi attacks on [...]
Bloomsbury ‘confident’ of Harry Potter boost despite share slide October 22, 2026 Bloomsbury is “confident” that a new Harry Potter TV show will spur the publishing house to record profit, after a slip in first-half sales spooked investors. The FTSE 250 group slipped as much as eight per cent on Thursday morning to 616p after it posted a five per cent dip in revenue to £152m and [...]