IOC looks tin-eared at best, cruel at worst over Ukraine helmet saga February 19, 2026 The reputations of the IOC and its president Kirsty Coventry have suffered badly from its handling of the Ukraine helmet row at the Winter Olympics, says Ed Warner. Are you not entertained? The Winter Olympics have delivered stories ranging from the titillating (penile injections, condom shortages and a narcissistic declaration of infidelity) to the enraging [...]
What does the Schroders acquisition mean for Cazenove Capital? February 19, 2026 The City was stunned last Thursday, after one of London’s oldest financial institutions entered a surprise mega deal with an American investment firm. Schroders announced it had agreed a £9.9bn takeover by Nuveen, ending over two centuries of independence for the asset manager. The shock acquisition is set to create one of the world’s largest [...]
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 [...]
Mark Kleinman: Audit watchdog at risk of becoming empty shell February 19, 2026 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his weekly City AM column Audit watchdog at risk of becoming empty shell Will the last one to leave please turn out the lights? That might seem an exaggerated extrapolation on the retirement of Sir Jan du Plessis, the septuagenarian chairman [...]
The FCA rule change everyone missed that could upend the mortgage market February 19, 2026 The FCA has set out a new, more pragmatic approach to affordability assessments that could open up the market, increasing competition and benefiting consumers and lenders alike, says Fernando Zandona Mortgages, and who provides them, have hardly changed in decades. The mortgage market remains one of the few sectors of UK financial services that seems [...]
Chiharu Shiota and Yin Xiuzhen at the Hayward Gallery February 18, 2026 As you walk into one gallery in this new exhibition, a thick weave of string forms a kind of nightmare spiders’ web around a dozen institutional-looking beds. Once a month, these will be occupied by volunteers, bringing an element of performance to Chiharu Shiota’s installation. There’s a sense of child-like wonder as you navigate narrow [...]
‘Hundreds of outdoor drinkers’: City AM’s Pub of the Week is The Wren on Watling Street February 18, 2026 If you’re looking for a man in finance, go to TikTok, where videos streamed millions of times tell you to go to Watling Street. It’s the skinny lane with St Paul’s Cathedral at the end and four pubs along it, where in the summer hundreds tightly pack with al fresco pints. Ye Olde Watling, where [...]
Cash ISA changes add complexity to the market, says building society February 18, 2026 The government’s decision to cut the cash ISA tax-free ceiling has added “complexity” to the market, a building society executive has said, as Britons still seek to have a cash safety net. Speaking in an interview with City AM, Stuart Haire, chief executive of Skipton Group has said that while the government was correct to [...]
Fascinating Wimbledon exhibition reveals players drank champagne on court February 18, 2026 Suzanne Lenglen was the Serena Williams of her day. It was the Roaring Twenties and the six-time Wimbledon women’s singles champion was practically unbeatable. How? In breaks between games, she would neck champagne or cognac, passed to her by either her father or her coach. She gave it up once but then went back to [...]
Victor Garvey’s mad new MATER1A concept is a Willy Wonka-esque theatre of gastronomy February 18, 2026 MATER1A, 115 Westbourne Grove, W2 4UP | ★★★★★ | Cuisine: Japanese, fine dining, tasting menu A benefit of having written restaurant reviews for 15 years is that you begin to see the overarching warp and weft of the business, the trends that slowly emerge and dissipate, the way hospitality gradually evolves, holding up a mirror [...]