We reached Mars 50 years ago, why haven’t we sent people? Opinion Viking 1 landed on Mars 50 years ago, so why haven’t we sent people there? Because there are no property rights in space, says Rainer Zitelmann Today marks the 50th anniversary of one of the greatest achievements in the history of space exploration. On July 20, 1976, NASA’s Viking 1 became the first spacecraft to [...]
UK investors turn to bonds as equities valuations continue to stretch Markets UK investors piled into bonds in June, as soaring valuations in equity markets has left many investors looking to avoid heightened risk and stretched value. Bond funds attracted over £1bn of net inflows last month, making it third-strongest on record for fixed income funds, according to the latest data from Calastone. The streak came as [...]
Gold set for worst quarter in over 10 years as retail interest cools Markets Gold is poised to enter its worst quarterly performance in over ten years, as retail investor enthusiasm fades and higher US interest rates loom, a far cry from last year’s continuous record-breaking prices. The price of the precious metal fell below $4,000 per troy ounce on Wednesday, hitting $3,978.5. On Tuesday it fell to $3,942.9, [...]
Winners and losers: Billionaires boom but Brits suffer largest fall in wealth since pandemic July 1, 2026 The artificial intelligence boom fuelled a 13 per cent surge in global billionaire wealth last year, according to a fresh study which also found the UK has suffered the biggest fall in overall wealth levels of any developed nation since the pandemic. According to the UBS temperature check of high-net-worth individuals, nearly 400 billionaires were [...]
How the SpaceX IPO revealed a ‘back door’ into Britain’s capital markets June 29, 2026 The UK’s public offer platform regime was rolled out as part of a package of reforms designed to get capital flowing into British companies. Now SpaceX has used it to raise funding in the biggest IPO of all time – in New York. Maisie Grice asks whether the changes are working as intended. In January, [...]
Tesla casts long shadow over SpaceX’s bumpy market debut June 25, 2026 Tesla’s record-breaking returns for early investors have become something of a benchmark for SpaceX as Elon Musk’s latest company weathers a volatile start to life on the public markets. SpaceX shares have fallen more than 20 per cent from their post-IPO high after briefly pushing the company above a $2 trillion (£1.5 trillion) valuation in [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 scrapes into green after Segro’s surge; Oil at pre-war levels after Trump snaps at industry June 24, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. European markets were a mixed bag on Wednesday after a bruising sell-off had investors across the globe dumping their equity exposure. In Europe, the FTSE 100 closed down just shy of 0.1 per cent on Tuesday, undershooting the bigger losses seen on Germany’s Dax at one per cent, [...]
Global tech stocks plunge as SpaceX comes back down to earth June 23, 2026 Global tech stocks have been rocked by a widespread sell-off today after investors dumped shares in SpaceX and triggered a rout across markets. Asian markets sank overnight, with South Korea’s Kospi falling 8.3 per cent leading to the stock exchange forcing a trading-halt as investors dashed to sell-off their chip exposure. Much of this stemmed [...]
Oracle slashes 21,000 jobs amid AI embrace as tech sell-off rocks Asia June 23, 2026 Software giant Oracle axed around 21,000 roles in the last year as the US tech giant turbocharged its AI adoption plans – even as markets continue to question the rapid acceleration of the tech boom. The computing firm – which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange – said in its annual report the [...]
SpaceX kicks off bond sale as it looks to begin mass borrowing spree June 22, 2026 Elon Musk’s SpaceX has begun selling investment grade bonds for the first time in what is anticipated to be a mass borrowing spree in order to fund the company’s ambitious AI plans following its blockbuster Nasdaq listing. Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Morgan Stanley are arranging calls with investors [...]