UK financial system exposed to ‘serious harm’ from AI risks January 20, 2026 The Treasury, the financial watchdog and the Bank of England have been handed a stiff warning that the nation’s financial system is not adequately prepared for an AI shock. A group of influential MPs sat on the Treasury Select Committee took aim at the institutions for “not doing enough to manage the risks presented by [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Gold surges amid Trump tensions; JLR leads growth rebound January 15, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Rachel Reeves’ report card for 2025 has received another dim review with fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showing growth came in at a sluggish 0.1 per cent in the three months to November 2025. This was led by a modest rebound [...]
M&S shakes off cyber chaos with strong Christmas sales January 8, 2026 Marks & Spencer (M&S) has delivered a steadier than feared Christmas trading update, offering some festive cheer for investors after a year, overshadowed by a costly cyber attack and months of disrupted online sales. The retailer reported group sales of £5bn for the 13 weeks to 27 December, up 3.3 per cent excluding Ocado Retail, [...]
Fifa World Cup faces threats from cyber attacks and hacktivists January 6, 2026 The 2026 Fifa World Cup faces the “very real risk” of cyber attacks from anti-Western “hacktivists”, according to experts. This summer’s tournament – being co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada – is set to be targeted by rogue states determined to disrupt the global spectacle. An attempt to harm Fifa World Cup infrastructure [...]
Jaguar Land Rover sales tumble after cyber attack disruption January 6, 2026 Sales at Tata-owned Jaguar Land Rover tumbled in the last quarter of the year after a massive cyber attack wreaked havoc with the carmaker’s production plans. Wholesale volumes were down by more than 40 per cent to 59,200 in the three months to the end of December, while retail sales slumped 25 per cent to [...]
Labour pencils £210m cyber plan to curb escalating attacks January 6, 2026 The UK government has unveiled a £210m cyber action plan aimed at shoring up the public services, as ministers face mounting pressure to respond to a sharp rise in attacks on major British businesses. The plan, published on Tuesday, comes amid a backdrop of high-profile cyber incidents that hit retailers including M&S, Co-op and Jaguar [...]
Activity in UK’s embattled manufacturing sector hits 15-month high January 2, 2026 The UK’s embattled manufacturing sector took another small step towards recovery at the end of 2025 thanks to an influx of new orders. The latest UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) from S&P Global UK hit a 15-month high as the industry continued to grow for the second consecutive month. The PMI reading hit 50.6, up [...]
The great high street outage of 2025 December 24, 2025 On paper, British high streets have seen worse. Footfall has survived recessions, pandemics and price shocks before, and tills were just about still ringing. But this year it flickered, stalled and, in some cases, went dark – brought to its knees by a wave of cyber attacks that exposed the fragility of retail in the [...]
UK economic growth downgraded for second quarter December 22, 2025 Growth in the UK economy was revised downwards on Monday after fresh figures revealed economy expanded less than initially thought in the second quarter. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) cut the UK’s economic growth in the three months to June to 0.2 per cent from 0.3 per cent previously. The third quarter’s sluggish 0.1 [...]
Cyberattacks decaying Western economies, expert warns December 4, 2025 The global cyber environment has become a “society wide crisis”, where a recent slew of attacks are threatening the foundation of Western economies, an expert has warned. A year-long avalanche of detrimental attacks on British retailers; Co-op, M&S, and more recently, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR); has pointed to a far deeper concern, Charl van der [...]