As it happened: FTSE 100 hits new high after interest rates held July 30, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The Bank of England has held interest rates at 3.75 per cent in a 6-3 split. The City had pencilled in a hawkish hold from the Monetary Policy Committee after inflationary pressures were renewed on the latest round of strikes in the Middle East. Megan Greene, Catherine Mann and [...]
While rivals scramble to merge, the world’s biggest law firm is playing the long game July 30, 2026 While rival law firms grapple with mergers and headline tie‑ups, Dentons, the world’s largest law firm by size, is quietly betting that an ‘already there’ strategy will play in its favour. Dentons’ global chief executive Kate Barton told City AM the firm, like much of Big Law, is focused on globalised client relationships: “We have [...]
PwC thought leadership reports ‘100 per cent AI generated’ July 29, 2026 The Big Four giant PwC has been found to have published four ‘thought leadership’ reports that show a pattern of irresponsible AI usage, including hallucinated citations and fabricated claims. A probe by GPTZero, a company that makes AI detection software, focused on four reports published between 2024 and 2026 by PwC Middle East and found [...]
As it happened: Stocks reach all-time high; US fires back at ‘surprise’ Iran attacks July 29, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 liveblog. It’s Wednesday and the UK’s blue-chip index surged in early trading to reach an all-time high, brushing off the latest outbreak of attacks in the Middle East. The FTSE 100 hit 10,945 on the market open, eclipsing the previous intraday record of 10,934, achieved in February on the [...]
As it happened: Stocks jump as oil drops; Unilever shares soar on decade-best sales July 28, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 liveblog. It’s Tuesday and the UK’s blue-chip index has made strong gains following a peaky start to the day. The markets took a boost yesterday after oil dropped back after reaching two-month highs of more than $100 per barrel last week when the Iran backed-Houthis took responsibility for tanker [...]
AI Minister: Visa reform key to keeping tech giants in Britain July 27, 2026 AI Minister Kanishka Narayan renewed calls for more visas for top engineers, arguing that the UK will need to do more to help tech companies scale at home rather than sell overseas. In his first interview since joining Andy Burnham’s cabinet, Narayan said he would use his seat at the top table to push for [...]
As it happened: Stocks rise; oil falls after Trump pauses Iran strikes July 27, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 liveblog. It’s Monday and the FTSE 100 has made a positive start to the week, gaining more than 70 points on the market open after oil prices began to fall from last week’s two-month highs. Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, slipped to $90.58 in early trading [...]
Crown Prosecution Service caught using AI hallucination evidence July 15, 2026 British courts have had to deal with yet another case of ‘AI hallucination’ evidence – this time from the agency responsible for conducting criminal prosecutions. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) issued two apologies to the High Court after it was found to have submitted documents in an extradition appeal citing two “non-existent” legal cases. The [...]
AI is driving a VC investment boom July 15, 2026 The UK has landed some of the biggest megadeals in history, but it must double down on tech investment to keep its crown, says Nicole Lowe The UK is currently riding on the crest of a wave of near-record-breaking levels of venture capital investment and I’m delighted that it shows no sign of coming to [...]
Grid delays force Starmer-backed AI data centre to seek alternative power July 13, 2026 One of the UK’s flagship AI infrastructure projects is being forced to source its own energy supplies after discovering it would not be granted grid connection in time for its eagerly anticipated opening. Nscale, the British AI unicorn backed by Nvidia, is now looking beyond conventional electricity connections for its flagship £2bn data centre in [...]