Starmer drama: Traders bet against UK as short-selling on pound and banks surges May 14, 2026 Traders are betting against the UK as the political storm in Westminster continues to send jitters through asset markets. The pound has tumbled to a two-week low against the dollar, clinging onto the $1.35 mark on Thursday morning. Meanwhile, figures from IG revealed that short-positioning on the pound-dollar, a bet that the price will further [...]
Future bets on SheerLuxe as Google squeezes digital publishers May 14, 2026 Future said the acquisition of SheerLuxe and a push into AI-driven products would help return the publisher to growth after weaker digital ad and ecommerce markets dragged profits lower in the first half. The media group behind Marie Claire, TechRadar and Go.Compare reported revenue of £349.1m for the six months to March 31, down from [...]
Ministers to be handed ‘statutory powers’ to steer regulator’s growth agenda May 13, 2026 Ministers will be handed new “statutory powers” to steer UK watchdog’s growth agenda and define what it means in different “regulatory contexts“. In the King’s Speech, the government revealed its Regulating for Growth Bill – a cross-sector piece of legislation designed to beef up the UK’s regulatory system’s fostering of growth. The government’s report takes [...]
Uzbekistan national investment fund lists in London after $604m IPO May 13, 2026 Uzbekistan’s national investment fund has completed the country’s first ever public market debut, raising hundreds of millions of pounds at a valuation of £1.5bn, in London’s first major IPO of 2026. In an update on Wednesday, the National Investment Fund of the Republic of Uzbekistan (Uznif) confirmed it had completed its dual listing on both [...]
Intertek to bow to pressure on £10bn private equity takeover May 13, 2026 FTSE 100 giant Intertek is poised to accept a £10bn takeover offer from a Swedish private equity firm after months of uncertainty, in what would be a huge blow to the London Stock Exchange. The testing and quality assurance firm said on Wednesday morning that it “would be minded” to recommend the latest offer from [...]
JP Morgan chief threatens to pull £3bn investment if Labour becomes ‘hostile to banks’ May 13, 2026 The chief executive of JP Morgan has threatened to pull a major investment from the UK if Labour government policy turns “hostile to banks”. Jamie Dimon – the influential American banker – revealed plans for a £3bn square feet tower in Canary Wharf last year, which is projected to inject as much as £10bn over [...]
As it happened: Market jitters as Streeting set to make bid against Starmer May 13, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. UK borrowing costs are taking a modest breathe this morning after settling much higher yesterday after a session jam-packed with political turmoil. The 10-year yield on UK gilts spiked ten basis points to over 5.1 per cent on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the 30-year yield soared to [...]
On the Beach shares slide as Brits delay booking holidays May 12, 2026 On the Beach has suffered one of its biggest-ever single-day stock selloffs amid investor fears over a slowdown in holiday bookings. Shares in the Manchester-based business plunged 17 per cent to 140p after the London-listed business said it saw a more than 12 per cent fall in sales to £52.2m for the six months to [...]
Vodafone says UK merger is ‘ahead of plan’ as boss bets on mega multi-brand strategy May 12, 2026 Vodafone said it is “building momentum” as the telecoms behemoth pushes further into the British market following its £4.3bn VodafoneThree deal and signs of stabilisation in Germany. The FTSE 100 telecoms group reported better-than-expected annual revenue of €40.4bn (£35bn) for the year to March, up from €37.4bn last year. Meanwhile, pre-tax profit slipped slighty to [...]
Compass shares jump as it shrugs off inflation concerns with profit upgrade May 11, 2026 Shares in Compass Group jumped on Monday morning as shrugged off concerns over inflation eating into its margins after upgrading its profit forecasts. The FTSE 100 catering giant, which has served meals everywhere from prisons to oil rigs, upped its profit growth estimate from 10 per cent to “above” 11 per cent for the year [...]