Revolut US licence win ‘strengthens pre-IPO story’ Fintech Revolut’s conditional approval for a US banking licence has been hailed as a “consequential” step in the fintech’s march towards a long-awaited public debut. The digital bank landed approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for its American national bank charter last week, clearing a major hurdle to launch its operations [...]
Investors fret as UK fintech chief bows out Fintech Lisa Jacobs has overseen a tumultuous time at the helm of London-listed fintech Funding Circle. After she announced plans for her exit, Samuel Norman takes a look at Jacobs’ tenure in this week’s column. As she announced plans to bow out from fintech firm Funding Circle on Tuesday, Lisa Jacobs was desperate to play down [...]
Value of UK deals rockets as buyers pounce on FTSE 100 firms Merger/Acquisition The value of UK merger and acquisitions more than doubled in the first half of 2026 as foreign buyers capitalised on sluggish valuations to pick off some of Britain’s most valuable companies. Takeovers worth some £124bn were struck in the first six months of the year, up 107 per cent year-on-year from £60bn in the [...]
Investors dump UK stocks as Budget rumours compound caution September 8, 2026 UK equity funds have been hit with another month of outflows after investors dumped stocks in favour of cash and bonds. Investors withdrew a net £601m from UK stock funds during August, driving a broader £315m net outflow across global equity strategies. The retreat marks the fourth consecutive month of net selling globally and the [...]
Ladbrokes-owner and Aston Martin on chopping block in FTSE reshuffle August 31, 2026 Ladbrokes-owner Entain and Aston Martin are among a handful of firms facing the chopping block in the looming quarterly reshuffle of the London market indices. Entain is slated to tumble out of the FTSE 100 after a bruising period, made worse by the increase of taxes on bookies. The betting business “has battled with high [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 drops as Antofagasta prompts miner sell-off; oil prices cool August 13, 2026 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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
As it happened: Stocks reverse losses after Trump threatens harder strikes on Iran; Oil at four-week high July 15, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Oil prices have reached a four-week high after the Strait of Hormuz became too unsafe for ships travel through following the exchange of strikes between the US and Iran. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – tipped over the $87 per barrel mark on Tuesday [...]
As it happened: Choppy day for FTSE 100 after Iran closes Strait of Hormuz as strikes ramp up July 13, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Markets are returning from the weekend to face another geopolitical shock after Iran confirmed it had closed the Strait of Hormuz once more. The narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea had slowly seen a pick up in traffic [...]