FTSE 100 Live: Blue-chip stocks boom on Trump and Iran ceasefire April 8, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Markets are in line for a major boom this morning after Donald Trump confirmed a two-week ceasefire with Iran shortly ahead of his latest bomb threat deadline. Trump announced the two-week postponement by stating the US and Iran were “very far along” with a “definitive” [...]
Virgin Money swallowed up by Nationwide as top boss exits April 7, 2026 The boss of Virgin Money is set to depart the firm later this years as the UK bank fully consolidates into the Nationwide umbrella. Chris Rhodes took the reins at Virgin Money following its acquisition by Nationwide in late 2024. Before this post, Rhodes served as finance boss at the UK’s largest building society for [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks dip ahead of Trump’s Iran deadline April 7, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The London market is set to return from the bank holiday break with a major hangover. Whilst the City enjoyed an Easter break, volatile trading continued with Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil – hovering around the $110 mark after see-sawing between gains [...]
‘A whole civilisation will die tonight’: Trump ramps up Iran threats as deadline draws nearer April 7, 2026 Donald Trump has dialled up his threats on Iran warning a “whole civilisation will die tonight” ahead of his latest looming deadline for Iran. The chaotic sentiment has rocked markets across Europe after indexes struggled to find direction during early trading. The FTSE 100 see-sawed between gains and losses as the City market returned from [...]
Trump turmoil in Asia sends chills through Seoul while China keeps its cool April 6, 2026 The war in the Middle East has sent shockwaves through global markets, stoking volatility across exchanges and asset classes everywhere. But one region, Asia, has been particularly exposed, due to its position at the forefront of the daily trading cycle. As the latest on-the-ground headlines line up alongside President Donald Trump’s erratic social media posts [...]
US markets hold steady after Trump’s expletive weekend ultimatum April 6, 2026 US markets held their nerve on Monday, as Wall Street traders returned to their desks for the first full session after President Donald Trump’s explosive, expletive-strewn demands for Iran to re-open the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude oil held the $107-a-barrel mark. But the global benchmark eased overall, by $1.50 to $107.54. European stock exchanges [...]
Speedy Hire shares tumble as firm sounds alarm on ‘worsening conditions’ April 2, 2026 Speedy Hire shares tumbled on Thursday after the tools and equipment hire services company slashed its profit expectations and warned “conditions have worsened” in the market. The London-listed firm said it now expects pre-tax earnings of £90m in 2026, down from £97m the previous year. “Market conditions have worsened…with uncertainty around the UK Budget in [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Dow Jones joins City in red; Oil soars on Iran war fears April 2, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. After a dose of optimism hit markets on Wednesday, that looks to all be eradicated come this morning. In a 19-minute long address to the nation, Donald Trump vowed to “finish the job” in Iran and warned the country would be hit “extremely hard” in [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks boom as Trump signals end to Iran war; Starmer eyes closer ties to EU April 1, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. President Trump has made his clearest indication yet that the war in Iran might soon come to a close, saying the US will “leave” Iran in “two to three weeks” when they are certain the regime will not be able to build a nuclear weapon [...]
Motor finance compensation to ‘to fire starting gun’ on banking M&A March 31, 2026 The financial watchdog’s long-awaited motor finance redress scheme is predicted to “fire the starting gun” on a wave of deals throughout the banking sector. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) launched the final rules for its redress programme on Monday, with the bill for lenders expected to come in at just north of £9bn, down from [...]