FTSE 100 Live: Stocks jittery as North Sea oil prices smash record April 10, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Markets are continuing to digest the ever-changing narrative coming out of the conflict in the Middle East but even as hopes of a peace deal rise, the economic overhang still threatens to send shocks across the country. In a speech by Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF’s managing [...]
Easter boosts high street footfall but retailers hold their breath April 10, 2026 Retail footfall jumped in March as Easter boosted shopping activity, but business leaders fear tax and employment costs could yet cause havoc. Total footfall in the UK increased by 2.4 per cent last month, according to trade body the British Retail Consortium (BRC), offering a welcome boost for retailers after wet weather drove shoppers away [...]
Energy bills threat recedes but retail and hospitality remain on brink April 8, 2026 Retail and hospitality leaders are optimistic that the Iran-US ceasefire could spare them from the worst energy bill shocks, but are urging the government to address an array of other cost pressures. British businesses had warned that the soaring energy prices caused by the war in the Middle East could be devastating if the conflict [...]
M&A in a time of geopolitical turmoil April 8, 2026 Dealmakers are being more selective and concentrating their bets to cope with AI, tariffs and instability in the Middle East, says Jerome Pottier A trillion dollars of dealmaking in under three months should feel like a boom. By the numbers, it is. Activity is up 27 per cent year on year, and the megadeal is [...]
Workers’ rights laws couldn’t come at a worse time for businesses April 8, 2026 The government’s Employment Rights agenda is becoming a reality, and the timing could scarcely be worse. As the first provisions of the Employment Rights Act come into force, Britain’s economic outlook is darkening rapidly. Growth is faltering under the weight of an energy shock, inflation is stirring again and businesses are staring down a period [...]
Businesses brace for costs as new workers’ rights kick in April 7, 2026 Businesses across Britain are bracing for a sharp hike in costs and hiring struggles as the government’s new workers’ rights laws begin to take effect this week. The British Retail Consortium (BRC), a leading trade body, said the Employment Rights Act risks adding to an onslaught of rising cost pressures facing firms, including wage hikes [...]
Stagflation to batter UK economy as growth grinds to halt April 7, 2026 The UK economy is set to suffer from stagflation over the coming months as growth across the services sector ground to a halt in March, researchers have indicated. The war in the Middle East has brought output growth to its slowest level since last April while input price inflation hit its highest level since the [...]
From jet fuel to fertiliser – economic pain is heading West April 6, 2026 A quiet Easter Sunday was abruptly punctured when US President Donald Trump unleashed a brutal, expletive-filled ultimatum to the Iranian regime. In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “Tuesday will be power plant day, and bridge day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. “There will be nothing like it!!! Open the f***in’ strait [...]
Miliband to bow to pressure on North Sea drilling April 3, 2026 Energy secretary Ed Miliband is poised to bow to significant pressure to allow drilling in the North Sea to counter collapsing fuel supply chains and soaring energy costs. Miliband is planning to give the green light to the Jackdaw gasfield, which could supply gas to more than a million homes this winter. This would be [...]
Declining patent filings show Britain has stopped innovating April 3, 2026 There are lots of ways to measure innovation, but if we go by patent filings, it's a sorry image for the UK, writes Ayushma Maharjan.