By: Christian May

Editor-in-Chief Christian May is the Editor-in-Chief of City AM. He served in the role from 2015 to 2020 and returned in 2024. He writes the daily Editor's Letter for print and online and releases The Week in Business roundup video each Thursday. He is particularly interested in the health of London's capital markets, economic policy, politics, regulation and business activity in the City of London. He regularly appears in the broadcast media and presents a daily Business News slot on LBC at 0730, Monday to Friday. Find Christian on X and LinkedIn.

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All 521 Articles

Bank of England governor Mark Carney tries, and fails, to prevent Brexit analysis frenzy

November 28, 2018

House prices plummeting 31 per cent. Unemployment shooting up to 9.5 per cent. GDP collapsing by 4.3 per cent amid a sharp recession. These were the scenarios the Bank of England used to conduct its mandated “stress test” for some of the UK’s biggest financial companies back in 2016. Last year, the wonks at Threadneedle Street [...]
Hammond shows how to ease austerity the Conservative way

October 30, 2018

The Philip Hammond of a few years ago would have seen a few billion pounds courtesy of an unexpected windfall and promptly locked it away, like the chairman of the bank in Mary Poppins. But something has changed. Yesterday, Hammond was more Tigger than Eeyore. He announced a whopping £30bn of extra public spending by [...]
The City helps fuel economic growth right across the country, so be wary of those who want to clip its wings

October 28, 2018

One of the most pernicious elements of Labour's current economic platform is the idea that the City is entirely distinct from (and damaging to) the so-called real economy. Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell's stump speeches routinely contain attacks on predatory bankers, fat-cats and financial speculators. The labour leader also seems to have a personal vendetta against [...]
Editor’s Notes: Brexit can’t mean an end to good governance, respite for Grenfell survivors, and from pulling pints to pitching policy

October 26, 2018

There are complaints that Brexit is taking up so much time in Westminster that parliament doesn’t have the energy or the space to focus on anything else. In reality, legislators are as busy as ever but they may well be too distracted to offer effective legislative scrutiny. Last night, no fewer than nine human rights [...]
Jes Staley seeks to brush off Bramson challenge but Barclays still faces the headwinds

October 24, 2018

Barclays CEO Jes Staley struck a bullish tone yesterday, insisting his investment banking division was on the up. Third quarter profits jumped to £1.5bn, up from £1.1bn a year ago. If this puts a spring in Staley's step, there are plenty of items in his in-tray to pull him back down to earth – not [...]
James Dyson’s post-Brexit globalism: design cars in the UK, build them in Asia and sell them all over the world

October 23, 2018

Sir James Dyson is one of Britain's most celebrated inventors and entrepreneurs – and rightly so. He has invested billions in UK-based research and development, collaborated with dozens of universities, championed design and engineering, ploughed vast sums into pushing the boundaries of robotics and artificial intelligence, employed thousands of people, backed apprenticeships and training schemes [...]
British support for the House of Saud cannot be unconditional

October 15, 2018

When Theresa May welcomed Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Downing Street earlier this year, an official statement declared that the two countries would work together to promote “universal human rights.” At the time, this form of words jarred with the reality of life in the oil rich kingdom. Today, in the aftermath [...]
Editor’s Notes: The joy of Scan-dining, coming down to earth and never mind the Banksys

October 12, 2018

The City’s restaurant scene has changed enormously even in the last few years. There’s more life in the Square Mile at weekends and more choice for City lunches than ever before. These are exciting times. A good way to get a sense of this is to embark, as I did yesterday, on a lunch safari. [...]
From battlefield to boardroom: helping veterans to launch their own business

October 9, 2018

The London Stock Exchange is used to hosting VIPs as visiting dignitaries or company CEOs ring the opening bell. This morning, however, the LSE will be welcoming people whose task is not to launch a company's IPO but instead launch the careers of former service personnel. Defence secretary Gavin Williamson will unveil a new report [...]
Editor’s Notes: A subversive Brexit comedy? It’s about bloody time; art’s in the right place and Conservative party conference diary

October 5, 2018

Whenever Brexit is introduced as a subject for comedy, it is invariably the Remainers laughing at the Leavers. I don't say this to make a populist point, it is simply an observation. Think of Radio 4 comedy, BBC panel shows and the stand-up circuit. It’s risk-free to be a Remainer – and laughing at the Leavers, [...]

UK fintech Zempler Bank gets snapped up for less than half its previous valuation

Why KKR-Arctos is not just about private equity getting bigger

The unlikely City florist that once served the royals

By: Christian May

All 521 Articles

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