FTSE 100 Live: Next gets Christmas boost; JLR sales crash after cyber attack January 6, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. British defence stocks were taken for a ride on Monday after rising geopolitical tensions put heightened investor appetite. It was the City’s defence giants Babcock and BAE leading the FTSE 100 to start the week, alongside gold miners who were benefiting from the surging price [...]
Soaring food costs send shop price inflation higher January 6, 2026 Soaring food costs pushed shop price inflation higher in December, fresh data has revealed, as Brits faced the crunch during the Christmas season. Food inflation reached 3.3 per cent in the final month of 2025, up from three per cent in November, with fresh produce rising to 3.8 per cent from 3.6 per cent previously. [...]
The Traitors winner Alan Carr on his new approach to drinking January 5, 2026 On Christmas Eve I was on The Celebrity Traitors winner Alan Carr and Lee Peart’s new podcast Bottom’s Up!, a hilarious series all about friendship and wine, which, as you are reading this ‘Wine Without the Snobbery’ column, may be right up your decanter. Carr clearly has celebrations in mind. “As I approach a milestone [...]
Used car marketplace Motorway takes out £25m loan after losses widen January 5, 2026 Motorway has agreed a fresh £25m loan after the online car marketplace reported widening losses. The London-based tech firm, which hit a valuation of over $1bn in a 2021 funding round, said it secured the loan one day before Christmas Eve, with £15m having already been drawn down by the end of the year. The [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Shell and BP lead index near 10,000 amid oil tensions January 5, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM morning liveblog. The FTSE 100 kicked off the new year on the front foot marking an intraday high of 10,046.25p on Friday in the first trading session of 2026. Whilst it slipped back in later trading, strong performances across blue-chip heavyweights including Rolls-Royce and Fresnillo, led [...]
Starmer: I’ll still be prime minister going into 2027 January 4, 2026 Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has insisted he will still leading the country this time next year, dismissing concerns about his leadership, despite growing rumours about challenges within the party. The Labour leader said that frequent leadership changes were not in the national interest, taking note of the “chopping and changing” of prime minister under [...]
The ultimate Sunday Scaries: How to cope with the January return to work January 4, 2026 Forget Blue Monday, the Sunday before going back to work after the Christmas break may be the scariest day of all. Here's how to cope.
Why Squad Cost Ratio rules can’t afford to ruin joy of Premier League January 2, 2026 Trevor Watkins, global head of sport at Pinsent Masons and Former director and chairman of AFC Bournemouth, discusses why changes in Premier League football’s financing rules cannot afford to ruin the sport With the Christmas period behind us, the traditional festive season of football fixtures – once a full list on Boxing Day but now [...]
Activity in UK’s embattled manufacturing sector hits 15-month high January 2, 2026 The UK’s embattled manufacturing sector took another small step towards recovery at the end of 2025 thanks to an influx of new orders. The latest UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) from S&P Global UK hit a 15-month high as the industry continued to grow for the second consecutive month. The PMI reading hit 50.6, up [...]
Here’s one New Year’s resolution worth trying: Becoming a billionaire January 1, 2026 A new year has rolled around again – a time for many to put their thinking caps on and set some life goals. A gym membership is one of the most popular resolutions, but is also one of the worst-kept (ask a gym manager how busy Februaries are compared to Januaries). For the less active [...]