‘Absurd’: Government seeks quantum tech chief – no experience necessary August 12, 2026 The government is recruiting a senior official to oversee billions of pounds of quantum investment despite saying candidates do not need any background in the technology. A job advert for a deputy head of the Office for Quantum published on Tuesday says the successful candidate could oversee the rollout of the UK’s national quantum programme, [...]
London IPO candidate Utmost sees inflows slide August 12, 2026 A wealth soultions firm expected to IPO in London later this year has posted a fall in inflows as a boost generated by last year’s UK government tax shake up tailed off. Utmost, owned by private equity firms Oaktree Capital and Brookfield, recorded £4.4bn of inflows in the first half of the year, down from [...]
Britain faces energy squeeze from solar eclipse August 12, 2026 Britain is facing a shortage of electricity supply as the solar eclipse plunges the country into darkness and chokes off solar power generation. The UK’s most significant solar eclipse since 1999 is expected to wipe out the vast majority of solar power production as the moon blocks up to 95 per cent of the sun [...]
Brits fear AI is slipping out of human control after ‘rogue’ systems escape tests August 12, 2026 More than eight in 10 Brits are worried that AI could act outside the limits set by humans, according to the latest City AM/Freshwater Strategy poll, after a string of high-profile incidents in which advanced AI systems behaved in unexpected – and alarming – ways during safety testing. The polling found that 85 per cent [...]
Emergency government meeting held over high temperature amid ‘strain on public finances’ August 12, 2026 The government will hold an emergency meeting to discuss the country’s response to this summer’s high temperatures and drought amid fears that it will add a “strain” on the public finances. Prime Minister Andy Burnham will chair the ‘Cobra’ meeting of ministers overseeing health, water, housing and local government, as well as officials from agencies [...]
Andy Burnham to ‘go further’ in business rates reform August 12, 2026 Andy Burnham said he would “go further” in introducing business rates reform after already announcing that property taxes would be cut for pubs in return for higher levies on vape shops. The Prime Minister said he will look to bring in more radical changes to the business rates system as part of efforts to ease [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 falls as Iran and US clash over Strait of Hormuz; Oil stockpiles ‘rapidly depleting’ August 12, 2026 Welcome back to City AM liveblog. Oil prices broke above $89 per barrel on Wednesday morning, notching the sixth consecutive sessions amid mixed signals around a potential deal between the US and Iran. The regime in Iran has said that the United States must end the war before they loosen their grip on the Strait of [...]
Lammy’s cohabitation rules threaten unmarried couples with ‘horrendous’ court costs August 12, 2026 Justice secretary Alex Norris is facing backlash from senior legal figures on plans to give unmarried couples court-enforced rights after three years of cohabitation, passed on to him by predecessor David Lammy. The government is currently consulting on proposals to reform British couples’ cohabitation rights, which would give the courts power to intervene when unmarried [...]
The City is awash with talk of an early general election August 12, 2026 Every month since January 2025 we’ve run a nationwide survey of UK voters, with our polling partners Freshwater Strategy. The latest set of results, our 20th survey of voters’ attitudes, landed on Monday and I’ve been going through the data. Here’s an interesting development: For 19 consecutive months we’ve asked voters whether they felt the [...]
Retail investors are returning to UK markets August 12, 2026 For decades, British retail investors have snubbed their home market. But in 2026 things are changing, writes Rupert Hargreaves.