FTSE 100 Live: Stocks boom as Trump signals end to Iran war; Starmer eyes closer ties to EU April 1, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. President Trump has made his clearest indication yet that the war in Iran might soon come to a close, saying the US will “leave” Iran in “two to three weeks” when they are certain the regime will not be able to build a nuclear weapon [...]
FTSE 100 Live: OECD slashes UK growth prospects as inflation set to jump March 26, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. The White House’s Press Secretary has said the US is “very close” to meeting its objectives in the Iran war, though offered no specific timeline on when the conflict could come to a close. But Iran’s foreign minister has said the country has “no intention [...]
Not just oil: Fertiliser and helium are at risk in the Strait of Hormuz standoff March 24, 2026 Since the start of the Middle Eastern conflict nearly a month ago, analysts have kept their eyes glued to the latest energy market data. On 2 March, Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway which is responsible for shipping roughly one fifth of the world’s oil and gas, was “closed” and oil prices have [...]
Bank of England Live: Interest rates held in first unanimous vote in eight years March 19, 2026 Welcome back to Morning Wire‘s ongoing coverage of the interest rates decision. Interest rates have been held as rate-setters at the Bank of England warned the war in Iran could send prices spiralling as soon as April. In the first totally unanimous vote in eight years, all members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted to [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Diploma leads stocks as pound ticks up; Oil dips March 18, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. The FTSE 100 index closed up 0.8 per cent higher on Tuesday at 10,403.60p. The gains were accompanied by a stronger performance from the pound, which finished up $1.334 by the time London markets closed, compared to $1.329 on Monday. Sterling and the City were [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks inch up; Gas prices surge after drone attacks March 17, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. The FTSE 100 closed up 0.5 per cent yesterday, settling at 10,317.69p led by a three per cent jump in Endeavour Mining. It came as global markets were brought some reprieve from declining oil prices. The price of Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil [...]
Oil crisis to ‘push UK into recession’ after growth flatlines March 13, 2026 Fears that the ongoing crisis in the Middle East will plunge the UK into a recession have been amplified after fresh figures revealed the economy flatlined in January. The price of oil closed above $100 for the first time since 2022 last night as interventions from the global energy body failed to calm markets amid [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks fall as oil rocks markets; Reeves struck by flat economy March 13, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. Fresh figures this morning have shown the UK economy was flat in the first month of the year. It marked a blow to the government’s growth agenda but this will likely be viewed as a small blow ahead of global economies being thrown into turmoil [...]
Oil surges again as industry faces ‘largest disruption in history of the market’ March 12, 2026 The global energy body has warned the current oil crisis triggered by the war in the Middle East marks the “largest disruption” in history of the commodity’s market. The International Energy Agency (IEA) made a record intervention in the market on Wednesday, with the release of 400m barrels from the strategic reserves. But the move [...]
FTSE 100 Live: US stocks sink on open; Iran warns oil price could hit $200 March 9, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. The chaos in global markets of last following the breakout of conflict in the Middle East is poised to continue as tensions in the Gulf showed no sign of slowing down over the weekend. The price of oil notched its highest gains in a single [...]