FTSE 100 Live: AI boom continues, JD Sports update November 20, 2025 Good morning from the City AM liveblog team. Among the least-desired accolades for a company chief executive is to see their firm’s share price rise the moment they announce their departure. Unfortunately for him, the latest exec to have been dealt this honour is the boss of WH Smith, Carl Cowling, who yesterday watched the [...]
Jet2 shares soar as Tiktok meme pays dividends November 19, 2025 Jet2 has seen its shares jump after a viral TikTok trend helped the London-listed airline see record passenger numbers over the summer. The London-listed business said it saw an increase of 750,000 passengers flown to 14m over the six months to the end of September. That helped group revenue rise 5 per cent to £5.3bn. Jet2 [...]
WH Smith chief executive quits after damning Deloitte audit report November 19, 2025 The boss of one of Britain’s best-known retailers has quit the role after an investigation into the firm’s accounting practices uncovered major flaws. WH Smith chief executive Carl Cowling said he would step down with immediate effect on Wednesday after the report, produced by Big-Four audit firm Deloitte identified weaknesses in the operations of the [...]
Klarna shares fall as banking transformation triggers wider losses November 18, 2025 Swedish fintech unicorn Klarna recorded steeper losses in the third-quarter as costs related to the firm’s transition to becoming a fully-fledged bank offset record revenue. The buy now, pay later firm – which has set its sights on becoming a digital bank – recorded a loss of $95m (£72m) for the three months ending 30 [...]
Firstgroup doubles down on open access expansion despite DfT concerns November 18, 2025 Firstgroup has doubled down on its open access expansion plans as the transport business defied government concerns over the scheme. The FTSE 250 firm said it was “focused on growing” its operations in open access, an arrangement under which private rail operators will continue to run services after the nationalisation of all major routes as [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Miners sink blue-chip index; CMA crackdown November 18, 2025 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. We’re another day closer to the all-important Autumn Budget and the mood started on a sour note once more on Monday. The FTSE 100 struggled to slip out of the red ending the day on a loss of 0.24 per cent to 9,675.43p. Meanwhile, the [...]
Nearly half UK fintech founders consider shifting business overseas November 17, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ mission to garner favour with the fintech industry has faltered with founders blasting the government’s approach to the sector as they weigh a move overseas. The Chancellor has attempted to ramp up the UK’s status as a competitive hub in the global fintech ecosystem, but founders have said they are yet to feel [...]
WPP shares jump as embattled advertiser draws takeover interest November 17, 2025 Shares in advertising giant WPP soared as markets opened on Monday following reports the firm was the subject of takeover interest. The FTSE 100 group is said to be in the centre of deals chatter with interest from French rival Havas, as well as private equity firms Apollo and KKR. WPP soared ten per cent [...]
Mixed shareholder reaction after huge £5.3bn FTSE 250 infrastructure merger November 17, 2025 Shareholders of two of the UK’s biggest infrastructure funds have had mixed reactions after the firms reached an agreement to merge in a blockbuster £5.3bn deal. FTSE 250-listed HICL Infrastructure and The Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG) said they had signed heads of terms on the business combination, in a move that will see voluntary winding [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Budget and bubbles continue to set agenda November 17, 2025 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. We are now just over a week out from the Labour government’s second Budget and last week rogue Westminster briefings sent ripples through markets. After continuous weeks and media outings teasing a manifesto-breaking income tax hike, the government rowed back with several reports pointing to [...]