As it happened: Stocks fall as US and Iran clash over Strait of Hormuz; Fed chair says inflation risk is easing July 1, 2026 Welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. Oil prices are holding steady above $73 per barrel after days of heightened tensions between the US and Iran ahead of peace talks in Qatar. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – posted its biggest quarterly decline since 2020 for the second quarter of the [...]
The Debate: Should delivery robots be allowed on pavements? July 1, 2026 Are delivery robots a sign of progress or a threat to pedestrians? We hear both cases in this week's Debate.
Hated World Cup hydration breaks here to stay for even hotter 2030 and 2034 July 1, 2026 Hydration breaks are expected to remain a feature of future World Cups despite attracting widespread criticism, Morning Wire understands. The divisive three-minute pauses, taken midway through each half, have become one of the tournament’s hottest talking points. They have effectively turned football into a game of four quarters and head coaches have said they are [...]
Canary Wharf’s reinvention is a triumph July 1, 2026 Seven years ago, almost to the day, I found myself leaning backwards over the ledge at the very top of the Barclays tower in Canary Wharf. I exchanged a glance with the then Lord Mayor, Peter Estlin (a former Barclays exec, incidentally) to my left before pushing off like a commando and conducting a flawless, [...]
Two Uzbekistani London debuts delayed to next year July 1, 2026 The eagerly anticipated London listings of two Uzbekistani state-owned companies have been pushed back to 2027, the country’s deputy prime minister has said, despite the successful public debut of its national investment fund earlier this year. Jamshid Kuchkarov told an event in Tashkent that planned IPOs of Uzbekistan Airways and telecom giant Uzbektelecom will no [...]
Exclusive: Reynolds never met Thames Water investors before rejecting rescue deal July 1, 2026 Environment secretary Emma Reynolds never met the investors behind a proposed Thames Water rescue package before slapping down their deal out of hand last month, Morning Wire can reveal. Reynolds, who is the minister responsible for water policy, has left officials in her department to meet representatives of a large creditors’ group, which includes investment [...]
UK banks’ digital ID bid is a game of optics – and the odds are not in their favour July 1, 2026 A digital ID row has dominated headlines in the last year, and banks are set to join the row. In this week’s column, Samuel Norman takes a look at what they might be in for. Britain’s banks have voluntarily thrown themselves into one of the most toxic culture wars of the decade. Few subjects evoke [...]
Businesses confidence slumps as Burnham prepares for power July 1, 2026 Ministers must prioritise delivery over “changes in the machinery of government” if business confidence is to recover, one of Britain’s top lobby groups has said, in a warning to Andy Burnham as he prepares to shake-up Whitehall and shift power to the North of England. In its monthly business confidence survey, the Institute of Directors [...]
Nscale and ElevenLabs power £41bn AI boom as Britain cements unicorn crown July 1, 2026 Britain’s AI sector has more than tripled in value in just a year, with fast-growing firms including Nscale and ElevenLabs now worth a combined £41bn as the UK strengthens its position as Europe’s leading startup hub. New research from the Hurun UK Unicorn Index shows the country’s nine AI unicorns have surged to a combined [...]
The real AI risk isn’t job losses, it’s who can see what June 30, 2026 Beyond the fearmongering, it’s a more mundane AI threat that will be making waves in boardrooms, writes Paul Armstrong.