As it happened: Stocks rise despite new tensions in Strait of Hormuz; Oil price climbs FTSE 100 Live Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. New tensions in the Strait of Hormuz this morning are leaving markets on edge and handing a blow to earlier optimism around a peace deal between the US and Iran. Oil is moving higher, reversing some of the drawback from the beginning of this week, after an attack [...]
As it happened: Stocks rise as oil fluctuates after Red Sea attack; US-Iran deal ‘being circulated’ FTSE 100 Live Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Oil prices have snapped a losing streak following Yemen’s Houthis said they had attacked a Saudi vessel in the Red Sea. Brent crude drew back above the $80 per barrel mark on Wednesday morning on the news, but prices were still down for the week by around 10 [...]
Where are Andy Burnham’s economic advisers? Politics Andy Burnham’s allies boasted that highly-regarded economists had been lured as advisers. Mauricio Alencar and Ali Lyon report on the non-appointments of some of Britain’s best economists – and what the Prime Minister and Chancellor’s new teams look like. In the end, all it took was a few rumours. In the weeks leading up to [...]
Big bank bosses on alert as tax noise gets louder under Burnham August 5, 2026 Banks have delivered booming profits for the first half of the year. In this week’s column Samuel Norman takes a look at how the calls for a tax rise on the sector will get louder under the new Prime Minister. “The saxophones are getting louder” is the internet’s new saying to depict growing anxiety. If you [...]
What are we to make of John Healey? Time will tell. August 4, 2026 Who exactly is in charge of this government’s economic policy? In a bid to find out, I’ve tasked two of our journalists to hit the phones, mooch around the bars of Whitehall and track down Westminster’s new power brokers. I’ll let you know what we find out, but he fact that the answer to this [...]
As it happened: UK stocks cool after Astrazeneca drags; Trump and Iran clash over peace talks August 3, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The London stock market is starting the new week relatively mixed after Donald Trump hinted a deal between US and Iran on the Strait of Hormuz is near, but was contradicted by communication from Tehran. The US President has said that Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Iran [...]
BP quits North Sea after tax grab July 31, 2026 BP will sell its North Sea oil division after the government’s tax raid on domestic oil, in a move that will leave the British energy giant without any petrochemicals production in its home market for the first time in decades. The London-listed oil giant told investors it planned to market its assets in the region [...]
Pensioners hit with £8bn tax bill after government freezes allowances July 30, 2026 Pensioners paid some £8bn in extra tax last year after a freeze on personal allowances dragged people into higher bands, new figures have revealed. The amount of tax paid by people in retirement climbed from £21.1bn to £29.8bn, an increase of over 40 per cent in just two years, according to the latest pension participation [...]
Andy Burnham pledges ‘cost £63bn’ – and tax ideas could backfire July 30, 2026 A series of tax cuts and spending pledges proposed by Andy Burnham and John Healey could cost the government up to £63bn by 2030, new analysis has shown. Promises on defence, social care and council housebuilding could leave the Chancellor facing a bill of between £46bn and £63bn by the end of the decade, which [...]
Second time lucky for Lucy Rigby? July 29, 2026 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 [...]