Stamp duty holiday first ‘meaningful change’ in a long time, says London Stock Exchange boss December 9, 2025 The London Stock Exchange has welcomed the government’s move to grant a stamp duty holiday to newly-listed entrants, hailing it the first “meaningful change” seen in a long time. Chancellor Rachel Reeves launched a three year stamp duty holiday for fresh listings on the London market in her Budget last month. The Treasury’s plans have [...]
Is it time to bulk up your portfolio with these fitness stocks? December 9, 2025 The fitness boom has rocked the global markets in 2025, as both consumers and investors reexamined their approach to health and wellbeing. What was once a spur of the moment run in an old pair of trainers or a reluctant trip to the gym has become a staple in daily life, leading to an increased [...]
How Natwest, Lloyds, Barclays and HSBC fired up the FTSE 100 in 2025 December 9, 2025 If 2025 was supposed to be the year of the AI bubble, nobody told Britain’s banking giants. Amidst the noise of the US tech boom, the UK’s FTSE 100 banking heavyweights, Natwest, Lloyds, Barclays, and HSBC, have staged a formidable, if understated, rally. Lloyds delivered an astonishing 75.8 per cent gain, while Barclays surged 65 [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Unilever demerger; House prices hit record high December 5, 2025 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. The Autumn Budget started nearly an hour earlier than expected on 26 November after the fiscal watchdog leaked its forecasts for the UK and with it all the Labour government’s economic policy for the next year. But start as you mean to end rings true [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Budget to send borrowing costs soaring; New AIM IPO December 4, 2025 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. Sir Keir Starmer has asked the British public to judge his premiership on the government’s ability to “make people feel better off”. Well, in the capital the Prime Minister shouldn’t be expecting a warm reception from young Brits, who are feeling the pinch of the [...]
FTSE 100 Live: HSBC names new chair; Bloomsbury and Google tie-up December 3, 2025 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. Are we on the verge of another financial crisis? It’s quite the eerie question but it was one of many posed to the Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey following the latest financial stability report on Tuesday. The head of the central Bank [...]
FTSE 100 Live: OBR chiefs face MP grilling; Food inflation slows December 2, 2025 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) admitted its “worst failure in the 15-year history” of the fiscal watchdog on Monday. This morning, from 10am, two of its remaining spokespeople will be facing a grilling from the Treasury select committee of MPs. The sensational leak of [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Starmer denies Budget ‘misleading’ as Reeves on brink December 1, 2025 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. It was quite the Budget week to end November and for many more questions were created than answered. Whilst Labour might’ve hoped it would be be their rallying moment – with the lifting of the two-child benefit cap and doubling of the Chancellor’s fiscal buffer [...]
Blockbuster FTSE merger abandoned after shareholder fury December 1, 2025 A plan to merge two FTSE-listed funds to form the UK’s largest infrastructure investment firm has been abandoned after shareholders expressed frustration with the terms of the deal. HICL Infrastructure said it will no longer be proceeding with its planned merger with The Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG) after its board “determined that it cannot progress [...]
FTSE 100 Live: London house prices fall amid Budget jitters November 28, 2025 Welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. Markets were still digesting the twist, turns and taxes of the Autumn Budget on Thursday, with ministers taking to the media to defend the £26bn cash raid. A number of businesses began weighing in, including Britain’s bookies, which were in the firing line when Reeves took to the [...]