FTSE 100 Live: Shell and BP lead index near 10,000 amid oil tensions Markets Good morning and welcome back to the City AM morning liveblog. The FTSE 100 kicked off the new year on the front foot marking an intraday high of 10,046.25p on Friday in the first trading session of 2026. Whilst it slipped back in later trading, strong performances across blue-chip heavyweights including Rolls-Royce and Fresnillo, led [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Budget hits hiring market as economy feels pinch Markets Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. On Friday, the Labour government’s mission for economic growth proved to be not just sluggish but in free fall. The latest figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) dealt another blow to Rachel Reeves as new data showed production output shrank 0.5 per [...]
Autumn Budget: Reeves launches stamp duty holiday for new listings Markets Chancellor Rachel Reeves has launched a three-year stamp duty holiday for new debut companies on the London market in her latest attempt to attract listing candidates. The Treasury’s new plans, announced as part of today’s Autumn Budget, will drop the 0.5 per cent rate paid by investors when purchasing shares in newly listed companies for [...]
Tech tailwinds boost Polar Capital as AI bubble balloons November 17, 2025 Asset manager Polar Capital reported a surge in earnings after the firm’s “meaningful exposure” to tech stocks provided a hefty tailwind. The London-listed business recorded a 21 per cent jump in pre-tax profit to £27.9m, this was up from £23.1m just last year. Whilst outflows soared to £690m, including a significant £632m concentrated in the [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Diageo taps new top chief; private equity swoop November 10, 2025 Good morning from the City AM liveblog team, It’s a new week in the City and markets will be hoping for a recovery rally after tech jitters sent stocks deeper into the red on Friday. There’s a mixed bag of factors weighing on global indexes, namely the ongoing government shutdown in the US and the [...]
Zilch eyes ‘hot’ fintech IPO market amid product launch October 9, 2025 The boss of consumer payments platform Zilch has pledged to bring something “never seen before” to public markets as the fintech IPO scene heats up. Philip Belamant told City AM Klarna’s debut on the New York Stock Exchange – where the stock popped 15 per cent – was a “brilliant” indicator for fintech prospects. “I [...]
Shawbrook gearing up for £2bn IPO in boost to London market October 2, 2025 Specialist lender Shawbrook is preparing to announce intention of its London Stock Exchange debut – a move which could take place as soon as Thursday next week. Shawbrook’s private equity owner – Pollen Street Capital – is eying a £2bn valuation for the firm from the transaction. It comes amid a dire outlook for the [...]
Merge London Stock Exchange and Nasdaq to save City market, says fintech boss September 26, 2025 The boss of a UK-born fintech unicorn has called for the London Stock Exchange (LSE) to merge with New York’s Nasdaq in a bid to save the City market’s future prospects. “It’s completely broken,” Barney Hussey-Yeo, founder of AI fintech Cleo, told City AM when asked about the recent string of delistings. Hussey-Yeo, a data [...]
City asked to contribute £120m Rachel Reeves’ stock market push September 22, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ major advertising push to re-invigorate the London market is expected to cost the City £120m, new documents have revealed. The campaign, which is being led by the Investment Association, was announced as part of Reeves’ Mansion House package where the Chancellor made her pro-business plea to the City. But smaller financial services firms [...]
Foreign takeovers risk turning UK into an ‘incubator economy’ September 15, 2025 The UK is facing a time crunch to avoid becoming an “incubator economy” as foreign takeovers continue to sweep the London market. A collection of top venture capital investors and founders have called for crucial reforms to the markets ecosystem with a focus on pensions and the IPO environment. The reforms, as outlined in a [...]