Shell and BP shares sink as China slams ‘bully’ US over oil dispute Markets Shares in FTSE 100 oil giants took a tumble on Wednesday as President Donald Trump ramped up the pressure on Venezuela to hand over oil. Shell had sunk near four per cent by midday to 2,644.7p whilst BP was down 3.5 per cent to 416.65p. The losses in the oil giants – which make up [...]
FTSE 100 closes above 10,000 after Trump triggers defence rally Markets British defence and mining stocks set the FTSE 100 flying high on Monday after the fallout from the United States’ capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro heightened investor appetite. The surging stock prices helped the blue-chip index cement its first close over the 10,000 mark, ending the session at 10,004.57 after a 0.5 per cent [...]
Gold notches new high as Trump escalates Venezuela threats Investing Gold has returned to its record-breaking routine this week as escalating geopolitical tensions and falling interest rates sent the metal to new highs. The yellow metal was closing in on $4,500 on Tuesday morning, reaching highs of $4,497 in early trading. On Monday, the price of an ounce of gold crossed the $4,400 mark for [...]
Paypal becomes latest fintech to capitalise on Trump’s deregulation December 16, 2025 Paypal has its sights set on acquiring a banking licence in the US as it becomes the latest fintech aiming to jump on President Donald Trump’s deregulatory agenda. The payments giant on Monday said it had submitted applications to the Utah Department of Financial Institutions and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to form Paypal Bank. [...]
Brits may have to hand over social media profiles to visit US December 10, 2025 US officials will vet the social media activity of Brits travelling into the US as President Trump increasingly turns his fire on a “decaying” and “weak” Europe. Those planning to visit on short term Esta visas would have to give personal details of family members, including dates and places of birth, and phone numbers used [...]
JP Morgan set to loosen crypto rules allowing Bitcoin as collateral October 24, 2025 JP Morgan is set to shake up its crypto rules with plans to allow institutional clients to use Bitcoin and Ether holdings as lending collateral. The new scheme will work with a third party to safeguard the crypto assets and follows the banking giant’s delving deeper into the world of digital assets. The US lender [...]
Autumn Budget: JCB boss calls on Reeves not to do anything ‘daft’ October 22, 2025 The chief executive of JCB has called on Chancellor Rachel Reeves not to do anything “daft” in her Autumn Budget which would deter inward investment. Graeme Macdonald, who leads the Staffordshire-headquartered manufacturing giant under chairman Lord Anthony Bamford, said he’s “not optimistic” about the Budget next month, adding that Reeves is “definitely” going to raise [...]
Wall Street banks toast to $130bn revenue in deal making boom October 15, 2025 Wall Street banks raked in bumper profits, comfortably breezing past analyst expectations in the third quarter, driven by the continued strength of trading desks and a sharp revival in deal making. JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup brushed past estimates on Tuesday, with Jamie Dimon’s banking juggernaut collecting $14.4bn (£10.8bn) in profit – a 12 [...]
JP Morgan bulks up financial cushion as Dimon warns of uncertainty October 14, 2025 JP Morgan has bulked up its financial cushion against loan losses as chair Jamie Dimon warns of heightened risk and global uncertainty. The lender set aside an additional $810m (£610.2m) to cover potential losses from unpaid loans. This defensive money consisted of $608m earmarked for consumer loans – such as credit cards and mortgages – [...]
Construction sector hit by waning activity ahead of Budget October 6, 2025 Business activity expectations in the construction industry have fallen to the lowest since the end of 2022 as companies remained glum on future outlook ahead of the Autumn Budget. The latest Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) from S&P Global showed construction output showed the industry hit its highest level for three months at 46.2 – though [...]