John Lewis reinstates staff bonus but remains ‘cautious’ March 12, 2026 John Lewis has returned its staff bonus after years of its suspension, as the retail titan turned a profit but remains “cautious” in a testing retail environment. The partnership, which also owns Waitrose, made a £134m profit in the year to January 2025, up six per cent from the year before, and notched growing sales [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks drop as oil returns to near $100 after tankers attacked March 12, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The price of oil shot back above triple digits this morning, rising as much as nine per cent in Asian trading following the news two tankers were struck in the Gulf. An Iraqi news agency broke the news that 38 crew members have been rescued [...]
Closed shop? Not for long: How new laws are opening doors for trade unions March 12, 2026 The first wave of the Employment Rights Act hit the statute books last month, signalling a potential end to the decades-long decline of UK trade unions, but businesses are already feeling the turbulence, triggering a surge of work for City employment lawyers. The Employment Rights Act has caused turmoil in businesses, not just because of [...]
Labour workers rights reforms could backfire for young workers March 12, 2026 Labour’s employment rights reforms could damage opportunities for young workers if the new laws reduce the number of flexible, entry-level roles, the UK’s top retail trade body has warned. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has called on the government to ensure the implementation of its reforms, which were passed into law in December, doesn’t hamper [...]
Revolut is now a bank. Raise a glass to this stellar British success story March 11, 2026 It has been a painfully long wait for Revolut. But at last, the patience of Europe’s most valuable fintech has paid off. Its British banking licence has arrived. This is the final step in Revolut’s decade-long journey to become a fully-fledged bank. That means it is no longer – by any yardstick – a startup. [...]
House of Lords warns ministers’ pension power grab ‘dangerous and unjustified’ March 11, 2026 A member of the House of Lords has described the reserve power in the Pension Schemes Bill as “dangerous and unjustified” as ministers face intense scrutiny over the detail of their overhaul of the pensions system. Speaking in the House of Lords during an urgent question session, Baroness Stedman-Scott, a Conservative member, called out the [...]
Labour’s housebuilding target ‘impossible the day it was announced’ says construction boss March 11, 2026 Labour’s housebuilding target was impossible the day it was announced, the boss of a leading construction materials firm has warned. Rob Wood, chief executive of materials specialist Breedon Group, told City AM the government’s plans to build 1.5m homes by the next general election will fail because Labour is not backing its construction industries. Wood [...]
Reeves hints at ‘scope’ for energy package amid inflation rout fears March 11, 2026 Rachel Reeves has indicated that the government can afford to provide a heavy subsidy package protecting Brits from soaring energy prices. Appearing before the Treasury Committee on Wednesday, the Chancellor warned the war in Iran was “certainly not good” for the UK economy but suggested that the government was prepared to respond to the crisis [...]
Reeves’ £1.2bn consultancy savings plan in doubt, watchdog warns March 11, 2026 Despite Rachel Reeves’ focus on cutting government spending on external consultancy services, a damning report stated that the government is unable to set meaningful targets to reduce its reliance on external firms. The UK government has said it wants to put an immediate stop to all non-essential consultancy spending and halve consultancy spending in future [...]
Legal & General shares slide after profit disappoints March 11, 2026 Legal & General share price tumbled in early morning trading, after the asset management and insurance giant’s reshape was overshadowed by lower-than-expected profit. Shares fell 5.5 per cent to 244p on Wednesday, after core operating profit of £1.62bn fell short of analyst’s £1.65bn expectation, creating a “source of disappointment for investors”, despite it rising six [...]