By: Maria Ward-Brennan

Senior Reporter Maria Ward-Brennan is a senior reporter focused on law and professional services. Contact her via email on maria.ward-brennan@cityam.com or X (Twitter) @MariaW_B

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FTSE 100 Live: Centrica profit falls; Stocks dip after record rally

February 19, 2026

Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. It’s been quite the week for the “old and unexciting” FTSE 100. The blue-chip index closed 1.2 per cent higher on Tuesday led by a rally in the mining sector. Antofagasta led the pack up over 10 per cent, which came a day after its [...]
Law firms exposed as legal AI giants on poaching mission of tech talents

February 19, 2026

The legal world is facing a new kind of talent war, with law firms and tech companies battling to attract the sharpest minds. As legal tech grows, the fight for experienced lawyers is heating up. Think back to a few years ago, when the war for talent dominated the headlines after the US firms in [...]
Modernisation and missteps: Lloyd’s of London struggles for a new era

February 19, 2026

Lloyd’s of London, one of the world’s largest (re)insurance markets, has faced its fair share of battles in recent years, and one of the biggest fights has been against itself and its old-fashioned ways. Back in 2018, the incoming chief executive, John Neal, had an ambitious mandate: to restore stability and modernise Lloyd’s following a period [...]
Employment Rights Act: Business braces for shorter strike notices, stronger unions

February 18, 2026

The first batch of reforms, following the passage of the Employment Rights Act, came into effect on Wednesday, granting employees new trade union powers. As of Wednesday, measures under the legislation kicked in, including the repeal of most of the Trade Union Act 2016 and the introduction of protections against dismissal for taking industrial action. [...]
BAE Systems rides defence wave to dividend boost and record results

February 18, 2026

BAE Systems shareholders are set for a pay bump as the London-listed group has benefited from the wave of increased global defence spending. Sales at Europe’s largest defence contractor rose 10 per cent to a record £30.7bn, while underlying profit grew 12 per cent to £3.3bn. The group saw its total order backlog reach a [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Inflation falls to near year-low; BAE leads stock rally

February 18, 2026

Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Inflation has fallen to a near year-low this morning hitting its slowest pace since March and fuelling hopes that the Bank of England will take the chop to interest rates next month. New data from the Official for National Statistics showed rose the Consumer Price [...]
Employment Rights Act changes could cost Premier League clubs millions

February 18, 2026

Premier League clubs could be forced to pay millions in player dismissal fees when Labour changes to the Employment Rights Act come into force next year. It comes as the UK’s unemployment rate reached a near five-year high on Tuesday morning. The Employment Rights Act, a brainchild of former deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, will [...]
Businesses to rush redundancies ahead of new Employment Rights changes

February 17, 2026

Businesses plan to carry out a “clean up” of redundancies by the end of the year in anticipation of the Employment Rights Act coming into force next January. The government’s plan to remove the unfair dismissal cap in its Employment Rights Act will lead to more claims, especially among higher-earning employees. To avoid expensive layoffs [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Unemployment rises; Debenhams’ £35m raise

February 17, 2026

Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The UK unemployment rate has risen again this morning, with fresh data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showing the rate had surged to 5.2 per cent in the three months to December 2025. This was up from 5.1 per cent in the latest [...]
Winter Olympics 2026: How insurance keeps Milano Cortina on track

February 17, 2026

Every four years, the world’s greatest athletes fight to take gold, but it’s the unseen safety nets, drafted by insurers, that keep the Winter Olympics running smoothly. German-based Allianz became the exclusive insurance partner of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2021, with coverage until the 2032 summer games in Brisbane, under the oversight of [...]

Starmer vows to ‘resist pressure’ over Iran policy amid criticism of UK response

Exclusive: ‘Punchy’ £2.5m crowdfund to value Kane-backed Reflo at £25m

Ford Mustang Sutton CS800DH review: Taming a wild horse

By: Maria Ward-Brennan

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