As it happened: Stocks reach new record as investors shrug off Iran war fears July 31, 2026 Welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. It’s Friday morning and the FTSE 100 has opened into the green, following two consecutive days of record gains for the blue-chip index. London’s blue-chip index was up as high as 0.7 per cent in early trading to 10,971.88p, “The FTSE 100 tested new record highs on Friday morning as [...]
High interest rates and low confidence put construction firms under pressure, Lords warns July 30, 2026 Construction firms have been hit by a barrage of reduced market confidence, high interest rates and rising national insurance costs, builders’ merchant Lords has warned, after it suffered its biggest-ever single-day stock fall. The London-based firm released a challenging market update on Thursday, which saw its shares plunge 20.61 per cent to an all-time low [...]
Watchdog probes KPMG over Wood Group audit July 30, 2026 The audit watchdog has opened an investigation into Big Four giant KPMG and two accountants over the accounts belonging to engineering and consulting firm John Wood Group. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) revealed on Thursday that it officially launched two separate regulatory investigations concerning the financial reporting and statutory auditing of the former London-listed group. [...]
Foxtons hits out at Renters’ Rights Act as profit halves July 30, 2026 Foxtons’ profit slipped as the London estate agency hits out at the Renters’ Rights Act, blaming the new tenant powers for causing a surge in renters cancelling their tenancies. The London-listed firm said the new law meant a higher number of tenants cancelled their rental agreements in May and June, meaning the estate agency lost [...]
LSEG boss hails ‘growing momentum’ of Pisces as profit soars July 30, 2026 The boss of London Stock Exchange operator LSEG has hailed the “growing momentum” of its new Pisces venue as it reported a jump in profit. Chief executive David Schwimmer said the new private markets venue, which recently saw some of its first major transactions, was “opening up significant new market opportunities.” Earlier this month, autonomous [...]
Here’s how to fix London listings July 30, 2026 The exodus from the London Stock Exchange demands practical solutions, not complaint, says Jonathan Dickson This week DCC Energy became the latest FTSE 100 group to be taken private, amid growing global competition for listings. Just last month, it emerged that as many as 20 FTSE 100 companies may move direct listings to New York. [...]
It’s not up to retail investors to revive the London Stock Market July 30, 2026 The British Isa has once again reared its head. We report this week that Standard Life chair Nicholas Lyons has argued that the tax-free wrapper on a stocks and shares Isa should be restricted to investments in UK assets. “Do we really want to be lowering the cost of capital for American companies by giving [...]
St James’s Place suffers £1bn hit to flows as investors look to dodge pension tax July 29, 2026 St James’s Place took a £1bn hit to net inflows in the first half of the year as investors pulled cash from its funds to dodge market volatility and a looming pension tax bill. Net inflows declined from £3.8bn to £2.7bn in the first half of the year, in line with analyst expectations. The group [...]
Record Interactive Investor inflows drives profit rise at Aberdeen July 29, 2026 A surge in inflows at Interactive Investor helped wealth firm Aberdeen achieve rising profit in the first half of the year. The investment platform signed up tens of thousands of new customers, growing customer numbers by 14 per cent to 525,000 over the period, as the firm won out against rivals in the battle to [...]
Rathbones suffers near £1bn net outflows as it braces for FCA probe fallout July 29, 2026 Rathbones took a near-£1bn hit in net outflows in the first half of the year as it braces for further costs from a probe into the company following concerns raised by the financial watchdog. The wealth manager said it will take a knock from costs to improve its operations after a review by the Financial [...]