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 [...]
West Ham: Staveley receives Sadiq Khan encouragement to buy London Stadium August 4, 2026 The door is open for West Ham United to buy their London Stadium home, with the Mayor welcoming any future discussions after Amanda Staveley said property would be part of her next football investment, Morning Wire can reveal. The former Newcastle United co-owner has agreed a deal – subject to majority owner Daniel Kretinsky not [...]
Exclusive: Blackstone set to back AI ‘droid’ firm at $3.5bn valuation August 4, 2026 Blackstone is weighing a fresh funding injection for Nvidia-backed artificial intelligence firm Factory in a deal likely to value the coding company at more than $3.5bn, Morning Wire has learned. The New York-headquartered investment giant, which has been ploughing cash into AI firms and digital infrastructure in recent years, is considering the investment as part [...]
UK founders cast doubt on Burnham’s pro-business push August 4, 2026 The majority of Britain’s top scale-up founders believe business conditions will not improve under Andy Burnham as just one in 20 entrepreneurs feel the new PM backs the private sector. New research by Helm, a membership group of over 400 scale-up founders, suggested that a substantial number of its members were pessimistic about Burnham’s premiership. [...]
Meet the top lawyer challenging Gianni Infantino’s Fifa power play August 3, 2026 Uefa has enlisted a leading US white-collar expert as legal tensions escalate over Gianni Infantino’s unsuccessful Fifa World Cup sell-off. US legal giant Dechert’s former Chair, Andrew Levander, has been nabbed by the European body, which informed Zurich-headquartered Fifa his client was “actively considering legal action, arbitration, and/or regulatory complaints”. Fifa has promised that raising [...]
Trump regime distances itself from Infantino as under-fire Fifa boss faces calls to quit August 3, 2026 The Trump administration has denied answering the call of Gianni Infantino as the under-fire Fifa boss scrambles to save his job. Infantino is facing a possible vote of no confidence from Fifa members following last week’s fierce backlash to his plan to sell stakes in a new subsidiary that would hold the commercial rights to [...]
‘Brilliant and provocative’ columnist and broadcaster Rod Liddle dies aged 66 August 3, 2026 The writer and broadcaster Rod Liddle has died at the age of 66. Liddle, a titan of Fleet Street, died at hospital in Middlesbrough on Sunday evening following a short illness. The journalist, who wrote columns for The Sunday Times, The Spectator and The Sun, was previously the editor of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. [...]
London’s IPO lull expected to last into 2027 August 3, 2026 London’s IPO market is expected to remain subdued for the rest of the year, as domestic and overseas political upheaval puts companies off listing. The UK’s stock market has had minimal IPO activity this year to date, seeing just seven new listings which raised a combined £557m. This ended the IPO surge seen at the [...]
Oil price falls but Trump and Iran clash on negotiations claim August 3, 2026 The price of oil has drifted lower after Donald Trump called off strikes on Iran but progress towards a finalised peace deal continues to stall as the President clashes with Iran’s leadership. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – tumbled over five per cent on Monday to below $83 per barrel as [...]
Liverpool FC eye US retail empire to steal march on Premier League rivals August 3, 2026 Liverpool FC are in talks to become the first Premier League football team to open a chain physical retail stores in the United States. The 20-time English champions already have 26 bricks-and-mortar stores across the world, including in London, Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Africa, and want to grow to 40 by 2030. The move [...]