Rachel Reeves’ wealth fund pumps £600m into Rolls-Royce SMR April 13, 2026 Rachel Reeves’ flagship wealth fund has announced a fresh heap of financing for Rolls-Royce SMR following its tie-up with Ed Miliband’s state-owned energy company. The National Wealth Fund has revealed a £599m financing package for Rolls-Royce Small Modular Reactors (SMR) in a bid to kick start delivery on its project with Great British Energy. The [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks tumble amid Trump’s Strait of Hormuz blockade April 13, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Markets are returning from the weekend to a major blow in hopes of a ceasefire in the Middle East. After Donald Trump revealed his two-week reprieve on strikes whilst negotiations begin, those very talks now look to be hanging by a thread. Vice President JD [...]
From jet fuel to fertiliser – economic pain is heading West April 6, 2026 A quiet Easter Sunday was abruptly punctured when US President Donald Trump unleashed a brutal, expletive-filled ultimatum to the Iranian regime. In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “Tuesday will be power plant day, and bridge day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. “There will be nothing like it!!! Open the f***in’ strait [...]
Miliband to bow to pressure on North Sea drilling April 3, 2026 Energy secretary Ed Miliband is poised to bow to significant pressure to allow drilling in the North Sea to counter collapsing fuel supply chains and soaring energy costs. Miliband is planning to give the green light to the Jackdaw gasfield, which could supply gas to more than a million homes this winter. This would be [...]
Oil soars as Trump vows to hit Iran ‘extremely hard’ April 2, 2026 The price of oil has spiked by over 7 per cent following Donald Trump’s vow to keep hitting Iran ‘extremely hard’ over the next few weeks, in an address to the nation. After a 17-minute speech on Wednesday evening, which failed to reassure global markets, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped 5 per cent [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Dow Jones joins City in red; Oil soars on Iran war fears April 2, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. After a dose of optimism hit markets on Wednesday, that looks to all be eradicated come this morning. In a 19-minute long address to the nation, Donald Trump vowed to “finish the job” in Iran and warned the country would be hit “extremely hard” in [...]
Bank of England: UK economy risks ‘large and overlapping’ shocks April 1, 2026 The Bank of England has issued a major warning that the financial system is facing increasing risks of “large, frequent and potentially overlapping shocks” amid the volatility from the Middle East war‘ and ongoing market risks’s impact on energy and global markets. In the latest meeting of the central bank’s Financial Policy Committee top officials [...]
Europe urges fewer flights, remote working as Iran war drains oil supplies April 1, 2026 The spiralling energy crisis is forcing Europe into emergency mode, with politicians urging citizens to work from home, cut back on driving and avoid flying as the conflict in Iran cuts off a critical share of the world’s oil supply. The European Commission’s energy chief, Dan Jørgensen, said Europe is facing a prolonged crisis that [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks boom as Trump signals end to Iran war; Starmer eyes closer ties to EU April 1, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. President Trump has made his clearest indication yet that the war in Iran might soon come to a close, saying the US will “leave” Iran in “two to three weeks” when they are certain the regime will not be able to build a nuclear weapon [...]
Andy Haldane: My mission to ignite Britain’s animal spirits March 31, 2026 As the Bank of England’s chief economist, Andy Haldane had a front row seat to the maladies of UK’s sluggish economy. After a four-year stint running the RSA, he is back as president of the British Chambers of Commerce, and tells Ali Lyon business is still taxed mindlessly, over regulated, and far too risk averse. [...]