HSBC seals $300bn price tag as FTSE 100 banks rally Banking Shares in Britain’s banking giants were helping lift the FTSE 100 out of the red this morning as blue-chip lenders rallied ahead of earnings season. HSBC topped the index’s risers with a gain of nearly three per cent to 1,278.20 – an all-time high for Europe’s largest lender. The rally came after Citigroup raised the [...]
Currys shares soar after retailer defies high street gloom Retail Shares in tech retailer Currys soared this morning after the firm released an upbeat Christmas trading update, defying wider gloom on the high street. The London-listed firm recorded a three per cent uptick in UK and Ireland revenue as it clawed a bigger market share from strong sales in mobile, as well as growth in [...]
THG rises after revenue beats top end of guidance Business THG shares rose on Tuesday after the e-commerce business boasted a surge in second-half revenue amid a rise in Christmas season demand. The Manchester-based business, known for its wellness and beauty brands like Myprotein and Lookfantastic, said its second-half revenue came in around 14 per cent ahead of the top end of its guidance, led [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Barclays slumps on credit card cap, Fed’s Jerome Powell faces probe January 12, 2026 Good morning from the City AM liveblog team. The FTSE 100 broke through the five-figure mark last week in a welcome start to the year for the London markets. The index saw its best annual performance in 2025 since the recovery from the financial crash in 2009. That was helped along in no small part [...]
Lloyds shares to offer best cash-back rate in Europe, analysts say January 9, 2026 Lloyds shareholders are set for a bumper few years as analysts predict the bank will continue to splash cash on dividends and buybacks. The bank has been tipped to move to a half-year buyback, in a move that will majorly ramp up the money it hands back to investors. In 2025, Lloyds beat out its [...]
Auction Tech fends off 11 takeover bids from largest shareholder January 5, 2026 Digital marketplace Auction Technology Group has fended off 11 hostile takeover bids from its largest shareholder. The London-listed tech firm said on Monday it had dismissed the latest offer from investment giant FitzWalter Capital, which valued ATG at 360p per share. ATG said the bid – which was received on 23 December – “fundamentally undervalued” [...]
Martin Lewis discovers the stock market December 11, 2025 All of us at City AM would like to give a heartfelt congratulations to personal finance guru Martin Lewis for his discovery of the stock market. This newfound enthusiasm could even see him in the running for the City Champion gong at next year’s City AM Awards. Lewis opened his ITV money show this week [...]
Budget whiplash: How bank shares were hit by the Treasury’s ‘hokey cokey’ leaking November 25, 2025 Last week the House of Commons speaker reprimanded the Treasury for what he called a “hokey cokey” Budget. “Can I just say it isn’t normal for a Budget to be put in the press,” Sir Lindsay Hoyle said in his dressing down of ministers. “One minute it’s in, next minute it’s out.” Few sectors have [...]
Budget: Rachel Reeves told to make ‘simple fix’ to ‘badly outdated’ shares scheme November 24, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been told to make “simple fixes” in the Budget this week to hand hundreds of millions of pounds in tax incentives to small businesses. It was first reported last month that proposals had been drawn up to lift the cap on Enterprise Management Incentives (EMIs). The scheme allows smaller businesses to [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Nvidia invests in Revolut, M&C Saatchi, S4C shares tumble November 24, 2025 Good morning from the City AM liveblog team. Rachel Reeves is set to plug a looming £30bn hole in the public finances with a “dog’s breakfast” of tax hikes, according to new analysis. The Institute of Economic Affairs warns that the gap will likely be addressed by combining broad-based income tax rises with a patchwork [...]