As it happened: Stocks slip as London’s rally loses momentum September 18, 2026 Welcome back to City AM‘s FTSE 100 liveblog. Stocks in London fell this morning as a three-day rally faded and erased much of the gains made following the Bank of England’s decision to hold interest rates yesterday. The FTSE 100 was trading down nearly one per cent at 12:50pm, dragged lower by falls for Shell [...]
Next boss Wolfson tells Healey: ‘You can’t spend your way out of a crisis’ September 17, 2026 Lord Wolfson, Next’s chief executive, has urged Chancellor John Healey to cut spending at next month’s Budget, warning, “you can’t spend your way out of a funding crisis”. The retail boss has urged the government to clamp down on spending, avoid further tax hikes and slash planning red tape to boost economic growth. He told [...]
Next lifts profit targets but sounds alarm on ‘vicious circle’ of high tax and low growth September 17, 2026 Next has lifted its profit target again following “much better” than expected trading in the first half of the year as the retailer was spurred on by booming international sales and record summer temperatures. The FTSE 100 retail giant saw sales across its group jump by nine per cent in the six months to July, [...]
Marks and Spencer shares slide as investors brace for inflation hit September 16, 2026 Shares in Marks and Spencer have taken a dip as investors fear that rising inflation will push shoppers away from the upmarket grocer and towards its budget rivals. FTSE-100-listed M&S, whose food arm accounts for more than half of its revenue, dropped as much as four per cent on Wednesday to 357p. The share price [...]
Morrisons sales rise as debt-ridden grocer cuts costs September 16, 2026 Morrisons has toasted faster sales growth as the private-equity-owned grocer nears £1bn in savings as it races to trim its huge debt pile. The grocer saw like-for-like sales jump by 3.2 per cent to £1.4bn in the three months to the end of July, as its chief executive attributed this “stronger sales momentum” to the [...]
Brewdog founder James Watt slams Burnham over Neets crisis September 16, 2026 Brewdog co-founder James Watt has attacked Andy Burnham for “dangerous narratives” around youth joblessness, criticising the government for hiking the cost of employment. The beer tycoon said the Prime Minister is wrong to “blame the system” and should instead cut the cost of hiring workers and “get out of the way”. The Scottish businessman, who [...]
WH Smith warns on profit again as discounting hits margins September 16, 2026 WH Smith has cut its profit target again after warning that intense discounting and “inflation headwinds” are hitting its bottom line. The convenience retailer had initially told investors it could make as much as £105m in pre-tax profit this year, before slashing the target to between £75m and £90m. On Wednesday, the group reduced its [...]
Can cautious Wolfson keep stunning Next shareholders? September 16, 2026 Lord Simon Wolfson has become a shareholder darling over his 25 years in charge of Next. Felix Armstrong asks whether he can keep on surprising them. Few companies listed on the London Stock Exchange are more bound up with the personality of their chief executives than Next. Lord Simon Wolfson, the long-time boss of the [...]
Wickes gains as Brits go budget in kitchen refurbs September 15, 2026 Wickes is benefiting from a slowdown in consumer spending as Brits switch to the value home improvement retailer and away from premium rivals, its boss has said. The FTSE 250 group posted a 2.1 per cent jump in revenue to £865m in the six months to June, buoyed by rising sales of big ticket items [...]
Healey urged to drop ‘death tax’ holding back family businesses September 14, 2026 John Healey has been urged to drop a so-called “death tax” which business leaders say means family firms are losing out to overseas investors. The Chancellor has been told to unwind sweeping reforms to inheritance tax, made by his predecessor Rachel Reeves, which family businesses say undermine the government’s attempts to drive economic growth through [...]