Defence stocks rally after Starmer vows to ‘go faster’ on spending pledge February 17, 2026 Investors piled into defence stocks on Monday after Keir Starmer said the UK needed to “go faster” on defence spending to combat the growing threat from Russia. The Prime Minister warned that the UK needed to “step up” its defence commitments amid reports that he wants to ramp up the defence budget by tens of [...]
Babcock shares surge as Starmer calls for Europe to ‘step up’ on defence February 16, 2026 Shares in Britain’s defence giants rallied on Monday morning as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called for Europe to “step up” on defence spending. Babcock – which plays a key role in the UK’s nuclear submarine fleet as well as naval, land and air operations – surged nearly four per cent in early trading to [...]
Natwest and Lloyds shares lead FTSE 100 rally after bruising week February 16, 2026 Natwest led a rally across Britain’s banking giants on Monday morning as lenders patched their wounds after a bruising week on the stock market. The bank topped the FTSE 100’s risers at the starting bell, gaining over four per cent in early trading to 603.60p. Barclays was shortly behind, advancing over 2.5 per cent to [...]
Defence and AI drive Europe’s venture capital rebound February 10, 2026 European venture capital (VC) investment rose to €66bn (£57bn) in 2025, up five per cent year on year, as funding flowed into AI and defence tech, according to PitchBook data. The increase marks a post-pandemic high for the region, but reflects a narrowing of investor focus rather than a broad-based recovery. Large late-stage rounds in [...]
Nuclear deterrent strategy ‘no longer fit for purpose’ February 5, 2026 The UK’s nuclear deterrent strategy is outdated and a lack of expertise has left the country with an “awful lot of ground to make up”, a report backed by the former head of the civil service has warned. Lord Simon Case, who was cabinet secretary until shortly after Labour returned to government, has joined academics [...]
Rolls-Royce: FTSE 100 giants shares eye all-time high in tariff comeback February 3, 2026 Shares in aerospace giant Rolls-Royce were back on the march to an all-time high after a tariff salvo from the US sent the City giant’s stock tumbling. The FTSE 100 titan’s stock was up 1.6 per cent to 1,250.50p on Tuesday morning, making it one of the top risers on the blue-chip index. The Derbyshire-headquartered [...]
Employment falls despite manufacturing output hitting new high February 2, 2026 Employment across the manufacturing sector dropped despite output jumping to its highest level in 17 months, new data has shown. Manufacturers continued shedding staff due to high pay and tax pressures, according to S&P Global’s latest purchasing managers index (PMI). The poor reading for the labour market came in direct conflict with more positive results [...]
Babcock boss bows out after shares grow sixfold January 23, 2026 The boss of Babcock is to step down after presiding over a sixfold increase in the company’s share price during his five-year tenure. David Lockwood, who joined the defence giant as its chief executive in September 2020, will step down from the company’s board at the end of the year, the firm revealed on Friday. [...]
Starmer in dire straits as British voters pessimistic on almost every issue January 15, 2026 Leaders rarely fail because of a single decision. Starmer's problem is that voters are pessimistic on almost every major measure.
Defence splurge cannot fund planned expansion, military chief says January 14, 2026 The Labour government’s commitment to increase defence expenditure to 2.5 per cent of GDP from next year will not fully fund the planned expansion of the armed forces, a top military official has warned. Sir RIchard Knighton, chief of the defence staff, told MPs on Monday the rise in government funding would not be enough [...]