FTSE 100 Live: Economy grows 0.1 per cent; Rolls-Royce eyes profit jump November 13, 2025 Good morning from the City AM liveblog team. The FTSE 100 is inching a step closer to the magic 10,000 mark after almost a year of outperforming counterparts across the Atlantic. London’s blue-chip index managed to rally to a 0.12 per cent gain in yesterday’s session closing at 9,911.42p. In the afternoon, it inched to a [...]
Squint hard enough and you can see signs of the AI bubble bursting November 13, 2025 Is the AI bubble bursting? Naturally, most eyes are on the movements of the world’s biggest tech firms – the OpenAIs, the Microsofts, the Nvidias. These are, after all, where a large share of AI investment has been deployed. But for the earliest tell-tale signs, it’s worth looking a lot further down the food chain. [...]
Business leaders bemoan Budget uncertainty as tax hikes loom November 13, 2025 Business leaders up and down the country have poured scorn on the Chancellor after months of Budget uncertainty damaged consumer confidence and forced firms to hold off key investment decisions. Scores of chief executives, from retail to hospitality to telecoms and manufacturing, have voiced their concern over the lack of a clear fiscal plan after [...]
Starmer promised a calmer politics – how’s that working out? November 13, 2025 They say that if you’re explaining, you’re losing. That quote, attributed to Ronald Reagan, came to mind yesterday as I watched Keir Starmer squirm his way through howls of laughter in the House of Commons as he insisted “we are a united team.” This was fish in a barrel stuff for Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, [...]
How did South Korea clinch the top spot in global markets? November 13, 2025 Stock markets across the globe have shrugged off months of geopolitical and economic turmoil with all major indexes rallying since the start of the year. The FTSE has risen 19.8 per cent since January, hitting record highs,while the Nasdaq has jumped 21.7 per cent buoyed by the AI boom, and Japan’s Nikkei 255 reaped the [...]
Reeves’ £28bn wealth fund under fresh scrutiny November 13, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ flagship National Wealth Fund has come under scrutiny after an audit identified “weaknesses” in the multi-billion pound vehicle’s risk controls. An audit of the National Wealth Fund (NWF) pointed to potential failures in the effectiveness of risk, management, governance and internal controls. Whilst the findings from the report confirmed “improvements have taken place”, [...]
Leadership spat sends jitters through bond markets November 13, 2025 Jitters coursed through UK bond markets on Wednesday after a leadership crisis engulfing the Labour government triggered a jump in gilt yields, leading investors to warn that more political instability risked exacerbating the ‘moron premium’ applied to UK borrowing costs. Interest on 10-year gilts rose by three basis points, while the pound slumped to its lowest level [...]
UK must stop treating wealth as an offence November 13, 2025 Wealth creators are not a target, but the UK’s greatest economic fuel. The government won't get anywhere before it recognises it.
Reeves and Starmer are now at the mercy of the markets November 13, 2025 A government elected on competence and stability may now gamble both to stave off internal revolt. For investors, the message is that British politics has not regained the calm that markets briefly hoped for, says Helen Thomas The markets once again have a starring role on the stage of political intrigue. Allies of the Prime [...]
If income tax thresholds remain frozen benefits should too November 13, 2025 Consistency matters. If the fiscal situation is truly so dire that tax thresholds must remain frozen, then the same logic should apply to spending, says John O’Connell The biggest casualty of the upcoming Budget will not be the rich or the poor. It will be those who are caught in the middle: the working and [...]