UK investors plan to boost portfolios in 2026 December 29, 2025 Nearly two-thirds (62 per cent) of investors with at least £100,000 in assets plan to increase the amounts they put away in 2026 despite market uncertainties, a survey indicates. More than a fifth (23 per cent) said they will look to bolster their portfolio significantly, according to the research for Scottish Widows. Despite market challenges, [...]
Pizza Hut, Poundland and WH Smith: The high street brands that closed stores in 2025 December 29, 2025 A raft of major UK retail and hospitality brands shut down stores across the UK this year, with other high street mainstays closing their doors for good. It came amid a backdrop of pressure on consumer finances, rising inflation for most of the year and increased costs for businesses. As a result, numerous businesses launched [...]
Could this be 2026’s hottest stock market? December 29, 2025 Global equity markets were dominated by US tech stocks this year, with indices whipsawing as investors either piled money into markets or abruptly pulled out depending on the strength of AI sentiment. The Nasdaq rocketed up 19.5 per cent, hitting its peak of $23,958.47 (£17,949.09) in October, while Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ caused the index to hit [...]
OpenAI, SpaceX, Anthropic: the tech giants lining up blockbuster IPOs December 28, 2025 For more than a decade, Silicon Valley’s most powerful companies have stayed private for longer than ever before, buoyed by deep pools of capital and sovereign wealth funding. But, as interest rates remain higher, AI infrastructure costs balloon and some of the world’s largest private firms mature into businesses of national, and increasingly geopolitical, importance, [...]
Why Snap thinks 2026 will be Sport’s most connected and branded year yet December 28, 2025 Snap’s Kahlen Macaulay looks at why 2026 will be the year where sport is most watched, connected and branded. Pulitzer-winning US playwright Neil Simon was once asked why humans find sport so captivating. His reply? “It’s the only entertainment where, no matter how many times you go back, you never know the ending.” Simply, sport is [...]
Starmer’s future hinges on May election reckoning, polling expert says December 27, 2025 The future of Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership hinges on the forthcoming May elections where the Labour party is expected to take a bruising, a polling expert has said. Conservative peer Lord Robert Hayward said: “A few months ago it looked as if May 7 would be decisive for the leaderships of both Labour and Conservatives. [...]
Why mascots are the next branding opportunity for sports teams December 26, 2025 Mascots aren’t just tacky costumes anymore, they’re the next frontier in the world of sport branding, writes Mike Perry. Surveying today’s sports brand landscape, one striking fact stands out. Teams aren’t just competing on the pitch anymore, they’re competing for hearts, thumb-scrolls and wardrobe space. For younger fans the experience of fandom is increasingly about [...]
Best of 2025: Mass hallucinations – how I caught an AI reporter December 26, 2025 As we tick off the final days of 2025, we’re rounding up some of our favourite features of the year. Here we present City AM Life&Style Editor Steve Dinneen’s award-nominated tale about the threat AI poses to journalism. The ‘customer’ in the fried chicken shop didn’t touch his meal. Instead, he photographed the kitchen door’s [...]
Asda: Will 2026 be the year supermarket giant bounces back? December 26, 2025 This time last year, analysts warned that Asda needed to “dig down into its soul” if it was to turn around its fortunes. After a rollercoaster 2024 in which it struggled with debt, strikes and falling sales, the Leeds-headquartered supermarket giant was hoping the new year would begin to reveal green shoots of recovery. Under [...]
The London IPOs to look out for in 2026 December 26, 2025 The year 2025 will not, it is safe to say, go down in history as a blockbuster one for London IPOs. Over its first nine months, the UK capital’s bourse was even languishing below its of Omani and Mexican counterparts when it came to capital raised at market debuts. We can take some consolation from [...]