Reckitt shares slump as Durex owner fears £150m Iran war hit April 22, 2026 Reckitt shares slumped after the consumer goods giant warned it could take a hit of up to £150m if the Iran war keeps oil prices high for the rest of the year. The FTSE 100 firm – which owns Durex condoms and cleaning brands like Dettol, Vanish and Calgon – saw its stock fall by [...]
Shoe Zone shares plummet as retailer kicks out at budget tax raids April 22, 2026 Shoe Zone shares plummeted after the retailer hit out at Rachel Reeves’ budgets for stifling consumer confidence, saying the chancellor’s policy and the Iran war will kick it into a loss this year. The firm’s share price slumped by more than 32 per cent on Wednesday’s market open, leaving the stock down more than 48 [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks jitter as inflation surges; Trump extends ceasefire April 22, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Inflation has surged this morning follow the outbreak of war in Iran. Fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has shown the consumer price index rose by 3.3 per cent in the 12 months to March 2026. That’s up from three per cent [...]
Government urged to halt food inflation ‘before it’s too late’ April 21, 2026 The food industry’s leading trade body has urged the government to act on food inflation before it’s “too late” to protect consumers and businesses. The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) expects food inflation to soar from three to between nine and 10 per cent this year, and has accused the government of lacking “urgency” to [...]
THG defies retail gloom with best quarter in five years April 21, 2026 THG shares rocketed on Tuesday as the firm shrugged off wider gloom in the retail market after delivering its best quarterly performance in five years. The Manchester-based beauty and nutrition e-commerce firm posted revenue growth of 7 per cent for the first quarter of 2026, adding that growth was only “modestly impacted” by disruption in [...]
Sainsbury’s to deliver food inflation update as Argos future could be settled April 21, 2026 After Tesco hit back against fears of double-digit food inflation last week, supermarket rival Sainsbury’s is set to update the market this week. From the Iran war to the future of Argos, Felix Armstrong looks ahead to a landmark set of results due on Thursday. Sainsbury’s spooked shoppers last week when it threatened people caught swapping [...]
M&C Saatchi profit slumps amid Iran war warning and ‘softer’ UK market April 20, 2026 Advertising firm M&C Saatchi expects the Iran war to deal a blow to its sport and entertainment business, and revealed a profit slump for last year. For the year to December 2025, profit tumbled by 34 per cent to £19m. Revenue dipped by more than seven per cent to £205m. The firm, whose chief executive [...]
EV sales surge as oil shock drives shift from petrol April 20, 2026 Electric car sales are accelerating across Europe, as rising fuel prices and tensions linked to the Iran conflict push drivers away from petrol and diesel. Battery electric vehicle (BEV) registrations jumped 51 per cent year on year in March across 15 European markets, with over 224,000 new electric cars sold in one month, according to [...]
Chip makers and defence contractors power profit upgrade for London tech stock Renishaw April 20, 2026 London-listed engineer Renishaw upped its profit guidance on Monday, sending its shares to the top of the FTSE 250, helped by demand from defence contractors and chipmakers. The Gloucestershire-based precision tech firm is known for its precision equipment used in the lithography process of making microprocessors. On Monday, it pointed to “a substantial expansion” of [...]
‘No more Mr Nice Guy’: Oil prices spike as Trump renews Iran power plant threats April 20, 2026 The price of oil has been driven higher by the latest round of escalations in the Middle East renewing fears of a drastic global energy shock. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – jumped over six per cent on Monday morning to over $96. It follows a weekend of tensions where shipping [...]