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 [...]
Supermarket giants welcome crackdown on Aldi and Lidl October 22, 2026 Supermarket giants, including Waitrose and Morrisons, have welcomed the competition watchdog’s decision to crack down on Aldi and Lidl. Lidl and Aldi are currently excluded from a law which bans the UK’s biggest supermarket chains from engaging in so-called ‘landblocking‘. Top grocers have already warned that the existing rules allowed the two German discounters to use a “problematic” [...]
Budget 2026: Sainsbury’s boss urges Labour to tackle Neets crisis October 22, 2026 The boss of Sainsbury’s has urged the government to tackle the UK’s youth unemployment crisis, as he hit out at previous hikes to the cost of hiring workers. Simon Roberts, chief executive of the UK’s second-largest grocer, said John Healey must “focus on doing the right thing for young people” at next week’s Budget. In [...]
Sainsbury’s shares slide as ‘tough’ conditions slow growth October 22, 2026 Shares in Sainsbury’s tumbled after the supermarket giant posted slowing sales growth and warned that shoppers are facing “tough” cost-of-living pressures. The UK’s second-largest supermarket saw its stock slide by nearly four per cent in early trading to 346p. This came despite the firm lifting the lower end of its full-year profit target from £965m [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 losses ease as oil higher after Saudi drone attack October 22, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 liveblog. London’s blue-chip index is sliding this morning after a shaky week for trading. Oil pressures have climbed higher after a drone attack on Saudi Aramco’s Shaybah oil field killed two people. The incident renewed tensions in the Middle East and heightened concerns over further disruptions to [...]
Budget 2026: Consumer confidence tumbles as Healey urged to slow ‘tsunami of costs’ October 22, 2026 John Healey has been urged to tackle the “tsunami of costs” facing firms as consumer confidence tumbled ahead of the crucial Budget next week. Brits’ confidence in the state of the economy worsened from -32 to -40 in October, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)’s index, marking the third consecutive month of deteriorating sentiment. [...]
Halfords shares hit speedbump despite accelerating sales October 21, 2026 Halfords’ share price recovery is facing a bump in the road after warnings of a lower profit in the second half overshadowed a boost in sales. Shares in the motoring retailer fell as much as eight per cent to 256p on Wednesday morning, putting the brakes on the stock’s gradual recovery in recent months. Halfords [...]
Domino’s Pizza loses pace after World Cup rush October 21, 2026 Sales growth at Domino’s Pizza has slowed in recent months, as the takeaway giant struggled to extend the boost in takings it enjoyed during the World Cup this summer. The London-listed firm posted sales growth of 2.3 per cent in the three months to the end of September, slowed from 5.2 and 4.5 per cent [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 claws back losses; oil hovers as Iran-US talks stall October 21, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 liveblog. London’s blue-chip index is looking to claw back losses made this week as investors weigh up the rising price of oil. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – surged above $110 per barrel on Wednesday, resuming its advance following mixed reports on diplomatic [...]
Warehouse tax ‘dropped over fears of Trump trade war’ October 21, 2026 Andy Burnham’s plans for a so-called ‘warehouse tax’ were dropped over fears a raid on US firms like Amazon could spark a trade war with Donald Trump, a top industry body has claimed. The Prime Minister, during his campaign to become Makerfield MP, pledged to hike business rates on “out of town” warehouses to fund [...]