Public sector makes wage growth higher than expected August 18, 2026 Wage growth was higher than expected as pay offers in the public sector far outweighed growth in the private sector, new data has revealed. Official statistics have shown that wage growth, including bonuses, reached 4.1 per cent between April and June compared to a market forecast of four per cent. This was still lower than [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 mixed; oil breaks $91 as Trump rules out new US-Iran ceasefire August 18, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Oil prices are marching higher after Donald Trump refused to extend the ceasefire between the US and Iran following its expiration on Monday. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – broke above $91 per barrel as tensions persisted over the Strait of Hormuz and a [...]
AIM-Listed Pulsar Group hit with High Court petition by HMRC August 18, 2026 Pulsar Group, a UK-based technology company listed on AIM, and its media matchmaking subsidiary, ResponseSource, face a winding-up petition from HMRC. The group, formerly known as Access Intelligence, provides SaaS solutions for the global marketing, public relations and journalism sectors. A petition filed with the London High Court on Friday named it. Additionally, ResponseSource, the [...]
City law firm sues prominent Emirati business family August 18, 2026 London-headquartered law firm Charles Russell Speechlys has initiated legal action against investment entities controlled by the prominent Emirati business family Al-Sari, City AM can reveal, marking the latest development in an ongoing multi-jurisdictional dispute with its former client. The case stems from overlapping legal challenges involving entities in the Al-Sari family’s portfolio. The law firm, [...]
Domestic policies are choking UK businesses August 18, 2026 The last decade of domestic policy decisions has created a towering cost stack that is choking business growth, writes Shevaun Haviland.
London’s Square Mile needs its own major sports venue to keep up with rivals August 18, 2026 As sport ramps up after a summer break, Simon Hunt argues that the Square Mile needs its own major sports venue – for the sake of the City of London’s future. Picture the scene: it’s just hit 5:30pm on a sunny Thursday evening in the office. You and your colleagues look around for something to [...]
Josh Kerr took the mile record. But how much further can we go? August 18, 2026 Josh Kerr’s performance prompts the question as to how much further world records might be expected to improve, says Paul Ormerod.
The UK’s cost stack is choking business growth August 18, 2026 Much of the UK has faced a summer of sweltering temperatures as the country hasbounced from one unrelenting heatwave to another. Businesses know all too well that unrelenting feeling. A decade of constant cost pressures from domestic policy decisions has been hugely damaging. It’s a cost stack is chocking business growth. Before a pound of [...]
Todd Boehly and Mark Walter to sell stakes in Chelsea? August 17, 2026 Todd Boehly and Mark Walters could cease being co-owners of Premier League club Chelsea after engaging in talks to sell their respective stakes to Clearlake Capital. The move could value the club at £5.5bn just years after a Boehly-fronted consortium purchased the club for £4.25bn – including promised funds for stadium developments – from the [...]
Paramount-Warner Bros deal faces ‘sufficient competition’, says CMA August 17, 2026 The Paramount-Warner Bros Discovery merger will face “sufficient competition” in the UK to prevent the combined Hollywood giant from gaining too much market power, the competition watchdog has said. In a full decision published on Monday, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) laid out why it cleared the £111bn tie-up earlier this month, after examining [...]