As it happened: UK stocks cool after Astrazeneca drags; Trump and Iran clash over peace talks August 3, 2026 Welcome back to the Morning Wire 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 [...]
Revolut will become $1 trillion company by 2035, says early VC backer July 31, 2026 Revolut will secure a price tag of $1 trillion within a decade, an early backer of the fintech has claimed. The digital banking juggernaut is in the midst of a secondary share sale at an expected valuation of $115bn and was last valued at $75bn in November 2025, when it landed investment from chip giant [...]
Goldman Sachs criticises £1.45m paternity payout July 31, 2026 Goldman Sachs has criticised a ruling to hand one of its former senior executives a £1.45m payout over his dismissal while on paternity leave. Jonathan Reeves, who served as the deputy global head of the Wall Street bank’s compliance ‘control room’ in London, was dismissed from his job in 2022 when he was due to [...]
Natwest hikes targets again after jump in profit July 31, 2026 Natwest has upgraded its income targets for a second quarter running as the bank posted better than expected profit and dished out a bumper dividend to investors. The blue-chip lender reported a 20 per cent jump in pre-tax profit in the first six months of 2026 to £4.3bn, up from £3.6bn the year prior and [...]
As it happened: Stocks reach new record as investors shrug off Iran war fears July 31, 2026 Welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. It’s Friday morning and the FTSE 100 has opened into the green, following two consecutive days of record gains for the blue-chip index. London’s blue-chip index was up as high as 0.7 per cent in early trading to 10,971.88p, “The FTSE 100 tested new record highs on Friday morning as [...]
‘It’s going to impact work’: Lloyds to cut £2bn in costs with AI July 30, 2026 The boss of Lloyds Banking Group is preparing to wield the axe on its cost base as the bank doubles down on AI ambitions. Charlie Nunn, the chief executive of the financial services giant, said AI is “going to impact work” and “require us to reskill people and hire new people” as he revealed a [...]
Lloyds beats profit target as bank sets sights on more cost-cutting July 30, 2026 Lloyds Banking Group beat its profit forecast for the first half of the year as the bank’s top boss laid out plans to make further cost savings in the years ahead. The FTSE 100 lender – which owns the Bank of Scotland and Halifax – recorded a £4.3bn pre-tax profit in the first half of [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 hits new high after interest rates held July 30, 2026 Welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. The Bank of England has held interest rates at 3.75 per cent in a 6-3 split. The City had pencilled in a hawkish hold from the Monetary Policy Committee after inflationary pressures were renewed on the latest round of strikes in the Middle East. Megan Greene, Catherine Mann and [...]
As it happened: Stocks reach all-time high; US fires back at ‘surprise’ Iran attacks July 29, 2026 Welcome back to the Morning Wire FTSE 100 liveblog. It’s Wednesday and the UK’s blue-chip index surged in early trading to reach an all-time high, brushing off the latest outbreak of attacks in the Middle East. The FTSE 100 hit 10,945 on the market open, eclipsing the previous intraday record of 10,934, achieved in February on the [...]
Don’t hike bank taxes, Barclays warns Burnham July 28, 2026 Barclays has warned Andy Burnham not to slap fresh taxes on banks, as fears grow the new prime minister could take advantage of lenders’ bumper earnings to launch a raid on the sector. Speaking after Barclays’ half-year results this morning, executives warned that banks already faced the highest rates of tax globally and saddling them [...]