FTSE 100 Live: Stocks slump as oil rises; Reeves tax hikes trigger borrowing boost April 23, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. An extended ceasefire may have been announced in the Middle East, but its left markets with major appetite for further peace before investor sentiment recovers. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – was trading back over the $100 mark on Thursday morning. [...]
Government launches Britain’s largest ever retail investing campaign April 23, 2026 The government has unveiled its industry-backed push to encourage households to plough their savings into the stock market, in what is set to be the largest retail investing campaign of its kind in Britain’s history. Starring a red squirrel called ‘Savvy’, the Invest for the Future campaign will seek to “drive a step change in [...]
‘Dragged out of the dark ages’: Investment industry welcomes risk warnings review April 9, 2026 The UK investment industry has welcomed the findings of the Risk Warnings Review, emphasising the need to remove the extremes-focused view on investing. The review, a study commissioned by the Chancellor as part of the Leeds Reforms, found that consumers’ perception of risk has seriously hindered investing in the UK, with the state of risk [...]
Wizz Air pounced on by short sellers as Iran war knocks profits March 11, 2026 Budget airline Wizz Air has been hit by a flurry of short-selling after it issued a profit warning over disruption caused by the Iran war, making it the UK’s most shorted company. The Hungarian airline, which is listed on the FTSE 250, had 9.59 per cent short interest last month but this has soared to [...]
City stunned by Nuveen’s £10bn swoop on Schroders February 12, 2026 City analysts were stunned by Thursday morning’s announcement that Schroders has entered into a surprise £9.9bn deal with Nuveen, which holds $1.4 trillion in assets, after speculation of a sale was rebuffed in July. Schroders Group CEO Richard Oldfield squashed rumours that the Schroder family, who control almost half of the company’s shares, were eyeing [...]
DIY investment markets swells as more Brits take the plunge February 12, 2026 The UK DIY investment market ballooned by more than £100bn in 2025, as more Brits take the plunge in managing their own assets. The market swelled by 22 per cent last year, reaching £572bn by the end of December, up from the £468bn recorded in 2024, according to the last data from investment research firm [...]
UK wealth managers endure share price plummet amid AI tool fears February 11, 2026 Shares in some of the UK’s largest wealth managers tumbled on Wednesday, as investors grew concerned about the potential competitive pressure from a new AI-led investment tool. Britain’s biggest wealth group, St James’s Place, suffered a 12.7 per cent drop, trading at 1,265 pence, after US-based wealth management platform Altruist launched a tool to help [...]
Old hands vs new kids on the block: Investment platforms battle for customers January 28, 2026 Last year marked a significant change in attitudes towards retail investing in the UK, after the Treasury made tearing consumers away from the safety of their cash savings a firm ambition. In the government’s bid to revitalise London’s flagship index, Rachel Reeves slashed the cash ISA allowance from £20,000 to £12,000, introduced a three year [...]
Mark Kleinman: Reeves’ ISA reforms pose more risk than reward January 22, 2026 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his weekly City AM column Reeves’ ISA reforms pose more risk than reward If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That sounds like the right epithet to apply to the Treasury’s approach to reforming individual savings accounts (ISAs), one of the [...]
AJ Bell boss: Rachel Reeves ISA reforms ‘doomed to fail’ January 16, 2026 The chief executive of a top investment firm has issued a scathing broadside against the Chancellor’s proposal to restrict cash ISA limits. In a letter seen by Sky News, AJ Bell chief executive Michael Summersgill wrote to Rachel Reeves that efforts to push Brits towards investing with limits on cash savings are “doomed to fail”. [...]