FTSE 100 Live: Zurich and Beazley £8bn deal gets time; Defence and bank stocks rally Markets Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The first round of 2026 tech wobbles kicked into action last week and revived fears of an AI bubble. When Anthropic released a new AI tool designed to help in-house legal teams triage agreements and draft routine responses, the reaction trickled down through law firms straight into [...]
Big banks bet on gold rally as metals channel meme stock Investing It’s all over for doughnuts and cameras as social media’s retail investors set their sights on a new favourite investment meme. Precious metals’ start to 2026 has been nothing short of a rollercoaster. Gold rose 65 per cent last year, hitting multiple fresh records as geopolitical tensions flared. Investors flocked to the traditional safe-haven asset [...]
On this day: Big Bang hits the Square Mile Opinion On this day, 27 October 1986: Big Bang hits the Square Mile, and changes the City forever. Eliot Wilson takes us through it.
‘It’s a desert out there’: London sinks to 23rd in IPO venue rankings September 30, 2025 The pace with which London is losing its status as a global financial markets hub has been laid bare after the capital fell to as low as 23rd in a global ranking of IPO destinations. Just £184m was raised on the London Stock Exchange in the first nine months of the year, a far cry from [...]
London hot on New York’s heels as financial centre race ramps up September 25, 2025 London is now within a whisker of ousting New York as the world’s leading financial hub, fresh rankings reveal, but risks remain over the capital’s fintech prospects. The City was chomping at the heels of the Big Apple with just a singular rating point between the two. New York once more topped the rankings in [...]
Currys kicks off year with strong sales despite high street pressures September 4, 2025 Currys has reported a robust start to its new financial year, with sales growth across the UK, Ireland and Nordics, and a £50m share buyback programme as the electricals retailer looks to reward shareholders. In a trading update for the 17 weeks to 30 August, the FTSE 250 firm said UK & Ireland like-for-like revenue [...]
AIM boss: Inheritance tax sums don’t add up June 19, 2025 As AIM celebrates its 30th anniversary the market’s boss is eying a crucial birthday present from the Treasury: tax clarity. AIM shareholders were thrust into the tax spotlight last month after a leaked memo revealed Angela Rayner proposed Chancellor Rachel Reeves slap a series of taxes savers. Scrapping the inheritance tax exemption for AIM shares [...]
FTSE 100 on track for longest winning streak ever May 2, 2025 The FTSE 100 is set to net its longest winning run ever as it recovers from the tariff-induced market chaos of April. Should the UK’s flagship index continue its morning rally and close in the green on Friday for the 15th consecutive trading session, it will beat the current record of 14 days achieved in [...]