Astrazeneca ploughs £300m into UK in surprise U-turn Pharma British drugs giant Astrazeneca has promised to plough £300m into its UK operations, just months after cancelling a nine-figure investment in a new lab after getting in a spat with the UK government over drug pricing. In a stunning volte-face, the UK’s largest pharmaceutical company said it would revive its £200m investment into a megalab [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks drop as oil holds firm over $110; UK growth slashed Markets Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Oil prices are holding firm tipping over the $110 mark, bringing the cost of a barrel closer to the highs of $118 it peaked at earlier in the Iran war. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil – advanced another one per cent on [...]
FTSE 100 Live: BP tumbles on buyback suspension, Barclays profit boost Markets Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. It was a rocky day for bond markets on Monday as political jitters rippled through the City. The 10-year gilt yield – a key benchmark for the government – rose as much as 10 basis points to 4.62 per cent following news that Scottish Labour [...]
Don’t overlook UK stocks in 2026 December 1, 2025 The UK stock market has long been shunned by retail investors, as the AI boom, inflation woes and gloomy economic conditions spark the search for greater returns in overseas markets, particularly the US. While this narrative has held back many investors from tapping into the UK, the London index has bounced back in 2025, with [...]
UK and US agree to zero tariff deal on pharmaceuticals December 1, 2025 The government has agreed to a major deal with Washington that will see the UK become the only country to secure zero import tariffs on pharmaceutical products into the US for at least three years. The deal follows months of negotiations between the government and the Trump administration, after the June trade deal left the [...]
Astrazeneca injects $2bn to boost US manufacturing capabilities November 24, 2025 FTSE 100 giant Astrazeneca plans to invest $2bn into growing its manufacturing footprint in Maryland, as part of its efforts to boost its US capabilities and presence. The investment will support the “significant expansion” of its biologics manufacturing facility in Frederick, doubling its capacity and increasing its medicine supply, as well as the construction of [...]
Autumn Budget: Reeves must cure British ‘pessimism’ disease November 5, 2025 Ahead of the Autumn Budget, City Reporter Samuel Norman sits down with top industry names for a Budget Briefing. This week, chief executive of Peel Hunt urges Reeves to use the Budget to start the cure for British pessimism. As Rachel Reeves ruminates over which tax prescription to write to fill her fiscal black hole, [...]
Scrap stamp duty on shares or risk FTSE 100 exodus, Peel Hunt warns October 24, 2025 The government must scrap stamp duty taxed on share trades or risk a growing number of firms quitting London for the New York Stock Exchange, investment bank Peel Hunt has warned. As much as £200m is already set to be lost from government tax receipts by the decision of Astrazeneca, the FTSE 100’s largest constituent, [...]
Astrazeneca vows to lower US medicine prices after pressure from Trump October 13, 2025 Astrazeneca has bowed to pressure from US president Donald Trump to lower the cost of its medicines for patients in America. The Cambridge-based pharma giant said it will provide direct-to-consumer sales to eligible patients with prescriptions for chronic diseases at a discount of up to 80 per cent off list prices, alongside participating in the [...]
Ministers planning drug pricing shake-up to stem pharma exodus October 8, 2025 Ministers are drawing up a radical overhaul of NHS spending rules in a bid to shore up the UK’s world-leading life sciences industry after a string of pharma giants cancelled major UK investment projects. In what would amount to one of the largest shake-ups of NHS drug purchasing rules in recent history, the Prime Minister [...]