Wall Street scales to record highs as investors bet the end of the Iran war is in sight Markets Wall Street surged to fresh record highs on Wednesday amid growing optimism among investors and traders that the end of the US-Iran war is near as both nations gear up to return to the negotiating table. The benchmark S&P 500 breached 7,000 points for the first time in history, after climbing 0.8 per cent over [...]
Standard Life’s Briggs warns ‘retirement adequacy is a genuine concern’, as £2bn Aegon deal unveiled Business The boss of one of the UK’s largest pension providers has spoken out on the state of the nation’s retirement financing on the day he unveiled a blockbuster industry takeover. Andy Briggs, chief executive of Standard Life, told City AM that “retirement adequacy is a genuine concern” and pointed to further potential dealmaking. He noted [...]
Fix consumer attitudes to boost stock market participation, say industry experts Investing Consumer anxiety over how to invest is the single-biggest barrier to getting more people to enter the stock market, fresh research has found. Targeted support was found most effective when focusing on consumer’s perceived attitudes of investing and the stock market, ultimately increasing investment by at least 30 per cent, according to new findings from [...]
‘Dragged out of the dark ages’: Investment industry welcomes risk warnings review April 9, 2026 The UK investment industry has welcomed the findings of the Risk Warnings Review, emphasising the need to remove the extremes-focused view on investing. The review, a study commissioned by the Chancellor as part of the Leeds Reforms, found that consumers’ perception of risk has seriously hindered investing in the UK, with the state of risk [...]
The UK’s risk aversion culture is holding back investment April 9, 2026 The UK perception of investment risk is holding back a wave of capital into equities as Brits continue to view the stock market as a casino and squirrel their savings away in the safety of cash. The UK investment sector has become plagued by the widespread, standardised use of risk warnings, which instead of telling [...]
Ask the expert: How do I convert my property portfolio into a pension? April 2, 2026 Do you have a personal finance question that you’re struggling to find an answer to? Email askthexpert@cityam.com Questions will be published anonymously. Fidelity personal finance specialist Marianna Hunt is back to advise a reader who is looking to turn their property portfolio into pension income. Q: How do you convert an exclusively property portfolio into [...]
Cavendish warns Iran conflict could damage long-term growth April 1, 2026 Heightened geopolitical tensions, including the Iran war, could damage investor confidence and suffocate long-term growth if they persist, UK investment bank Cavendish has warned. The AIM-listed group noted that while certain “macroeconomic conditions had been trending more positively”, including gradually declining interest rates and rising capital allocation into European markets, investor sentiment continued to be [...]
NS&I set to fork out millions over huge missing savings scandal March 26, 2026 National Savings and Investments (NS&I) is set to fork out millions of pounds to customers following a missing savings scandal. The government-backed bank is expected to pay out to customers who claim there have been failures in managing their money, with failings dating back years, according to reports in The Telegraph. The bank has been [...]
Iran war throws gold’s shine under the spotlight March 25, 2026 The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has thrown gold’s safe haven status into question after the asset suffered a sharp selloff. The price of gold has tumbled by more than 15 per cent since the start of the Iran war, despite holding pre-war levels for the first initial 10 days of the conflict as [...]
Caxton extends losses as Iran war slams markets March 25, 2026 London based hedge fund Caxton Associates has extended its losses as the Middle Eastern conflict continues to impact global markets. The fund’s losses rose by more than $1.3bn (£971.1m), with its $9bn macro fund, which is run by chief executive Andrew Law, is down 15 per cent this month to 20 March, according to two [...]