FTSE 100 Live: Schroders in £10bn deal; UK economic growth lags February 12, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. It was another record day for the FTSE 100 on Wednesday, which secured its highest close of all time. On a strong day for commodity-related stocks in London, London’s blue-chip index closed 1.14 per cent higher at 10,472p. But it wasn’t all cheery in the [...]
Activist investor Elliott builds up stake in LSEG February 11, 2026 Activist investor Elliott Management has built a significant stake in the London Stock Exchange Group as it looks to engineer a turnaround for the stock exchange operator. The hedge fund has been holding conversations with David Schwimmer, LSEG’s chief executive, according to a report in the Financial Times. The size of the stake could not [...]
Will Alphabet’s century bond start a new trend? A brief history February 11, 2026 This week Google owner Alphabet raised £1bn in a highly unusual century bond, in a sign of the extreme lengths tech firms are willing to go to to meet the ballooning capital costs of investment in AI. The 100 year sterling note formed part of a $32bn debt raise for Alphabet, following similar moves from [...]
BP shares slide as suspends share buybacks and increases cost-cutting goal February 10, 2026 Energy giant BP has suspended its share buyback programme and deepened its cost-cutting target, as it scrambles to bolster its balance sheet amid the anticipation of a weaker oil price. In its final results, the company said the decisions were taken to allow it invest in its oil production business and “fully allocate excess cash” [...]
FTSE 100 Live: BP tumbles on buyback suspension, Barclays profit boost February 10, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. It was a rocky day for bond markets on Monday as political jitters rippled through the City. The 10-year gilt yield – a key benchmark for the government – rose as much as 10 basis points to 4.62 per cent following news that Scottish Labour [...]
FCA to publish London share trading data to defend UK public markets February 9, 2026 The City watchdog is planning to start collecting and publishing all available data on share-trading in an attempt to show that liquidity in UK public markets is not as bad as it is often thought. The plans will act as a stopgap until the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issues its ‘consolidated tape’ of trading data [...]
UK businesses turn to overseas talent and AI as Reeves’ taxes bite February 9, 2026 British businesses are facing a “trade off” as rising costs for employers push firms into investing in overseas talent and leveraging AI. Whilst businesses are ditching the “wait-and-see” approach that engulfed firms amidst the tax uncertainty ahead of November’s Budget, this has not translated into a hiring upswing, the latest KPMG and REC jobs report [...]
Newly listed Smarter Web Company share price plummets amid Bitcoin fall February 6, 2026 One of the London Stock Exchange’s newest members have suffered a staggering drop in its share price after becoming embroiled in the early morning Bitcoin plunge. The Smarter Web company, which listed on London’s main market just three days ago, suffered a 22.5 per cent drop in early morning trading to 31.25 pence. Since listing [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Starmer unease rattles markets; Big tech sell-off February 6, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Speculation over Keir Starmer’s future has unleashed a fresh round of market unease as investors dumped the pound, UK equities and long-dated government bonds amid rising political uncertainty. The gulf in price between the UK’s short- and long-term debt – known as the yield curve – reached [...]
Visma hesitation tests London’s IPO revival February 5, 2026 Plans for what would be London’s biggest float in years are being held, as a brutal sell-off in global software stocks forces private equity to rethink. Visma, the €19bn (£16.6bn) software group backed by Hg Capital, may delay a London listing until the second half of the year, after markets turned sharply against the sector. [...]