Cabinet rallies around Starmer as Scottish Labour leader calls on PM to quit February 9, 2026 Every Cabinet minister, alongside former deputy leader Angela Rayner, has given public backing to Sir Keir Starmer’s position, following a speech from the Scottish Labour leader calling for the PM to step down. Possible leadership contenders, also including Wes Streeting, Shabana Mahmood and Ed Miliband, have posted supportive messages on social media in quick succession. [...]
Octopus boss: UK risks ‘falling behind’ without China energy ties February 9, 2026 The boss of Octopus Energy has warned that the UK risks being “left behind” in the clean energy race if it fails to work more closely with China on renewable technology, claiming the country should not ignore China’s advances in wind and clean power manufacturing. He argued that collaboration could cut energy bills and strengthen [...]
Luke Littler attracts Meta to darts with Oakley glasses partnership February 9, 2026 Tech giant Meta has entered the darts market by joining world champion Luke Littler’s ever-growing stable of partners. The deal saw Littler don a pair of Oakley Meta glasses to record his throws in a practice session filmed for social media. It sees Oakley and Meta join Xbox, fast fashion brand Boohoo, Target Darts, KP [...]
Horner in talks with MSP Sports Capital over £450m Alpine F1 stake February 9, 2026 Former Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner could return to the Formula 1 grid as a team owner at Alpine. A 24 per cent stake in the French team owned by Otro Capital has been at the heart of a number of sale discussions over recent months, with Horner involved in those. But the [...]
No 10 communications chief quits as Mandelson fallout deepens February 9, 2026 Keir Starmer’s communications chief has resigned less than six months after joining the Prime Minister’s Downing Street operation, in a further deepening of the crisis engulfing the government over Peter Mandelson’s links to Jeffrey Epstein . Tim Allan, the founder of PR agency Portland, said in a statement he was leaving government to “allow a [...]
Private equity made to wait for Super Bowl win as Seahawks triumph February 9, 2026 Private equity was forced to wait for its first NFL Super Bowl win after the Seattle Seahawks beat the Sixth Street-backed New England Patriots on Sunday. The fund, based out of Super Bowl host city San Francisco, acquired a minority stake in the Patriots last November after the NFL opened up its league to a [...]
Downing Street resignations trigger bond market jitters February 9, 2026 Nervousness rippled through UK bond markets on Monday after a series of Downing Street resignations concentrated minds on the uncertain future of prime minister Sir Keir Starmer. The 10-year gilt yield – a key benchmark for the government – jumped as much as 10 basis points to 4.62 per cent in the early afternoon following [...]
FCA to publish London share trading data to defend UK public markets February 9, 2026 The City watchdog is planning to start collecting and publishing all available data on share-trading in an attempt to show that liquidity in UK public markets is not as bad as it is often thought. The plans will act as a stopgap until the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issues its ‘consolidated tape’ of trading data [...]
Asian markets surge after Takaichi secures historic election victory February 9, 2026 Japanese stocks surged to a record high on Monday, while wider Asian markets also experienced a boost, after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party secured a historic election victory. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) secured 316 out of 465 seats in Sunday’s election, winning a two-thirds super majority. In response, the Nikkei 225 rocketed [...]
Natwest shares sink after bank unveils £2.7bn wealth deal February 9, 2026 Natwest has beat its banking rivals to snap up wealth manager Evelyn Partners and laid out plans to kick off a new round of shareholder returns. The FTSE 100 banking giant, which returned to privatisation last year, said it had sealed a £2.7bn deal to purchase the firm from its private equity owners Permira and [...]