Second time lucky for Lucy Rigby? Markets The Square Mile has welcomed its fifth City minister in two years and a familiar face is back in the hot seat- but can she deliver? Few tears were shed in the City when it became clear that Rachel Reeves would be out of Number 11 Downing Street. Yet the surprise return of her erstwhile [...]
As it happened: Stocks jump as oil drops; Unilever shares soar on decade-best sales Markets Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 liveblog. It’s Tuesday and the UK’s blue-chip index has made strong gains following a peaky start to the day. The markets took a boost yesterday after oil dropped back after reaching two-month highs of more than $100 per barrel last week when the Iran backed-Houthis took responsibility for tanker [...]
As it happened: Stocks rise; oil falls after Trump pauses Iran strikes Markets Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 liveblog. It’s Monday and the FTSE 100 has made a positive start to the week, gaining more than 70 points on the market open after oil prices began to fall from last week’s two-month highs. Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, slipped to $90.58 in early trading [...]
As it happened: Stocks jump as oil drops below $100; Trump in tariff blitz July 24, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 liveblog. Stocks jumped on Friday after oil eased back after reaching two-month highs on Thursday. The benchmark price of Brent crude oil slipped 4.1 per cent on Friday to $96.63 per barrel. Prices had surged to $100 following attacks by the Houthis, an Iran-backed militia based in Yemen, on [...]
As it happened: Stocks slip as oil hits $100 following Houthi attacks on tankers July 23, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 liveblog. Stocks slipped on Thursday morning as oil surged back to $100 per barrel for the first time since May. Brent crude barrelled up after the Iran-backed Houthis claimed to have attacked two Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea. The US last night launched its [...]
As it happened: Stocks rise but oil tops $95; inflation eases July 22, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 liveblog. It’s Wednesday and new Chancellor John Healey secured an early boost after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that inflation slowed in June. Headline CPI inflation dipped from 2.8 per cent in May to 2.6 per cent in June. Grant Fitzner, chief economist at the [...]
FTSE 250 facilities manager swept off London Stock Exchange in £3.1bn deal July 21, 2026 Mitie is set to become the latest company picked off the London Stock Exchange, after agreeing to a £3.1bn takeover by UK rival OCS. The global facilities management company agreed to pay 221.6p in cash for the firm, comprising 218.5p per Mitie share and a final dividend of up to 3.1p. The offer price is [...]
As it happened: Stocks rally as defence shares surge on John Healey as Chancellor July 21, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 liveblog. It’s Tuesday and the markets have been adjusting to the first full day of Andy Burnham’s Labour government. Burnham shocked Westminster and the City on Monday evening when he appointed John Healey as his Chancellor, just weeks after he had resigned in protest as defence secretary. [...]
As it happened: John Healey named Chancellor as Burnham shakes-up cabinet July 20, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Andy Burnham has become the UK’s newest Prime Minister, succeeding Sir Keir Starmer just two years after his landslide win at the 2024 general election. Starmer visited the King this morning to give him his resignation. In his farewell speech outside Number 10, the outgoing Prime Minister said [...]
Private equity firms eye valuation gap as City falls to takeovers July 20, 2026 The London Stock Exchange has seen a sharp uptick in takeover premiums this year as a deals spree from led by private equity firms and foreign buyers accelerates. The average price paid by acquirers relative to companies’ share prices has hit 45 per cent, according to data from AJ Bell. Foreign buyers account for 86 [...]