London pensions firm eyes more deals after HSBC and Lloyds takeovers Insurance Pension consolidator Chesnara has said it is eyeing more deals after it swung back into profit following its takeover of HSBC Life UK. The London-listed firm recorded a £61m pre-tax profit in the first half of 2026, bouncing back from a £5m loss in the same period last year. Revenue soared to £255.9m, up from [...]
As it happened: Miners fuel FTSE 100 recovery; oil jumps as Trump claims Strait of Hormuz FTSE 100 Live Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The FTSE 100 is falling on Wednesday as oil prices continue their march upwards and investors digest a jump in inflation. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) put the consumer price index inflation reading at 2.9 per cent for the 12 months to July. The previous inflation reading [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 drops as Antofagasta prompts miner sell-off; oil prices cool FTSE 100 Live Welcome back to City AM liveblog. The FTSE 100 dropped on Thursday morning, as the mining sector dragged on the blue-chip index. Antofagasta has fallen furthest, by nearly five per cent, after investors pounced on a production shortfall and cut to full-year guidance disclosed in its update this morning. This spook has weighed on the [...]
Airtel and Sumup set to kick off London’s fintech IPO test August 12, 2026 Airtel and Sumup are set to hand a potential $20bn boost to the London Stock Exchange with long-awaited IPOs that could help pave the way for a host of fintech firms to come to market. Telecommunications giant Airtel is planning to list its mobile money business in London before the end of the year, its [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 falls as Iran and US clash over Strait of Hormuz; Oil stockpiles ‘rapidly depleting’ August 12, 2026 Welcome back to City AM liveblog. Oil prices broke above $89 per barrel on Wednesday morning, notching the sixth consecutive sessions amid mixed signals around a potential deal between the US and Iran. The regime in Iran has said that the United States must end the war before they loosen their grip on the Strait of [...]
The European fintech American dream is being called into question August 12, 2026 A double US banking application blow has called into question the fintech dream of landing on Wall Street. In this week’s column, Samuel Norman takes a look at the expansion roadmap for Europe’s top fintechs as well as the latest response to the booming profits in UK banks half-year reports. Denied, denied, withdrawn. That is [...]
Plus500 splashes cash on investors after US expansion bears fruit August 10, 2026 Plus500 has kicked off another round of bumper returns to shareholders after delivering its highest customer income in five years following expansion into the US market. The FTSE 250 fintech recorded revenue of $462.9m for the first half of the year, up 12 per cent year-on-year. Meanwhile customer income, which measures revenue generated directly from [...]
As it happened: Stocks rise despite new tensions in Strait of Hormuz; Oil price climbs August 7, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. New tensions in the Strait of Hormuz this morning are leaving markets on edge and handing a blow to earlier optimism around a peace deal between the US and Iran. Oil is moving higher, reversing some of the drawback from the beginning of this week, after an attack [...]
As it happened: Stocks rise as oil fluctuates after Red Sea attack; US-Iran deal ‘being circulated’ August 5, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Oil prices have snapped a losing streak following Yemen’s Houthis said they had attacked a Saudi vessel in the Red Sea. Brent crude drew back above the $80 per barrel mark on Wednesday morning on the news, but prices were still down for the week by around 10 [...]
Oil price falls but Trump and Iran clash on negotiations claim August 3, 2026 The price of oil has drifted lower after Donald Trump called off strikes on Iran but progress towards a finalised peace deal continues to stall as the President clashes with Iran’s leadership. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – tumbled over five per cent on Monday to below $83 per barrel as [...]