As it happened: Stocks reverse losses after Trump threatens harder strikes on Iran; Oil at four-week high July 15, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Oil prices have reached a four-week high after the Strait of Hormuz became too unsafe for ships travel through following the exchange of strikes between the US and Iran. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – tipped over the $87 per barrel mark on Tuesday [...]
In praise of Count Binface July 15, 2026 By standing in the impending by-election in Clacton, Count Binface has more than proved his worth to both comedy and democracy, says James Ford I must confess to having a conflicted attitude to Count Binface. On the one hand, the former political adviser within me (who is, of course, a profound political snob) tends to [...]
Activist investor pushes for M&C Saatchi break-up in ‘next year’ July 15, 2026 The investment firm pushing to break up M&C Saatchi has predicted that the advertising agency will not exist in its current structure within a year, in a move that would see one of Britain’s most well-known advertising agencies depart from the stock exchange. Christopher Mills, the founder of notorious activist investment shop Harwood Capital, said [...]
Government accelerates social media crackdown with midnight curfews July 14, 2026 Teenagers will face a default midnight social media curfew and stripped-back social media feeds under the government’s latest crackdown on addictive online features – but they will be able to switch the restrictions off themselves. Tech secretary Liz Kendall has announced social media platforms will disable auto-play and infinite scroll-style recommendations and restrict overnight access [...]
Clyde and Honour look keys to crack Hackwood July 14, 2026 WHILE this Saturday brings a slightly more low-key racing programme than of late, there’s still plenty of competitive action to look forward to. Newbury’s Group Three Hackwood Stakes (3.02pm) is a race that has a good ante-post shape to it, with the market leaders looking vulnerable in my eyes. Marvelman and Kind Of Blue set [...]
Thunder and Crimson can flash home at season finale July 14, 2026 HAPPY Valley draws the curtain down for the final time on the 2025/26 season in Hong Kong, when the inner-city track hosts another exciting and competitive nine-race card, starting at 11.30am. Racegoers have plenty to look forward to during the night, with live entertainment from international stars singing on stage, an unforgettable fireworks display, prize [...]
Presidio Investors Announces Sale of ElevATE Semiconductor to Diodes Incorporated July 14, 2026 Sale to Nasdaq-listed strategic acquirer marks successful realization of Presidio’s first continuation fund
‘Ugly moment’ for software stocks as IBM suffers biggest one-day slump in decades July 14, 2026 IBM shares are poised to suffer one of their worst-ever trading days after the tech giant warned customers were diverting spending away from software and into AI infrastructure. The warning wiped more than $50bn (£37bn) from IBM’s market value, sending the stock down more than 20 per cent and putting it on course for its [...]
Politicians call for easing of private school stranglehold on elite rugby July 14, 2026 Politicians have called for an easing of the stranglehold private schools have on providing England with elite rugby players. Nearly two thirds of the matchday 23 that played Fiji at the weekend had some form of private or independent education, underlining concerns about the shortage of state-school pupils making it in the sport. Just last [...]
Clearlake Capital Announces Partnership with Databricks to Advance AI-Enabled Investing and Portfolio Value Creation July 14, 2026 Partnership combines the Databricks platform with West Monroe's implementation expertise to help Clearlake build an “investment firm of the future” data platform across deal origination, due diligence, fund operations, and portfolio company transformation