‘Panic mode’: FTSE 100 sinks as oil spikes on Iran’s energy threats Economics Markets were thrown into “panic mode” on Wednesday as the surging price of oil rattled global equities. The price of Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil – spiked as much as five per cent to $110 per barrel as energy facilities across the Gulf faced evacuation following the latest threats from Iran. The [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks drop as oil returns to near $100 after tankers attacked Markets Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. The price of oil shot back above triple digits this morning, rising as much as nine per cent in Asian trading following the news two tankers were struck in the Gulf. An Iraqi news agency broke the news that 38 crew members have been rescued [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Index hits record as HSBC, St James’s stock rally Markets Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. There’s a number of factors weighing on global markets at the moment, and yet the FTSE 100 was able to close Tuesday’s session unscathed. It came despite President Donald Trump’s new 10 per cent tariffs coming into effect, sending some jitters across global indexes. But [...]
Households to pay more for BBC TV licence, government confirms February 6, 2026 Households across the country will see their bills rise after the Labour government increased the TV licence fee that funds the BBC. The Department of Culture, Media and Sport said on Friday that the annual levy will be increased to £180 from 1 April. This marks a £5.50 yearly increase. The move follows rules brought [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Gold back on climb; Musk’s major Space X merger February 3, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. It was quite the day for the FTSE 100 on Monday, with the index getting swept in the global metals sell-off in early trading before clawing its way out of the red and enjoying a steady stream of gains all the way to a record [...]
FTSE 100 rebounds as Trump rules out taking Greenland by force January 21, 2026 Global markets bounced back into the green on Wednesday after President Donald Trump confirmed the US would not use military action to seize Greenland. In his address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump said: “All the US is asking for is a place called Greenland”. “We never ask for anything and we never [...]
Nato and Europe must be ‘stronger,’ JP Morgan’s Dimon tells Davos January 21, 2026 The world’s most influential banker has said the world is “simply not safe” and called for a stronger Nato and Europe in a chilling warning to the economic elite at Davos. Speaking at the World Economic Forum, JP Morgan’s top boss Jamie Dimon said the eyes of the world “woke up” after Russia’s invasion of [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks fall as Trump ramps up pressure; Unemployment at four-year high January 20, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. Thousands more Brits exited the jobs market in November as the estimated number of payrolled employees fell by 33,000. New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the UK unemployment rate for people aged 16 years and hit 5.1 per cent in September [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Gold soars as Trump’s tariffs threaten trade war January 19, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. It might be a new year but it’s the same issues controlling the global markets. The FTSE 100 closed last week one per cent higher than it started at 10,235.29p. But this came around 24 hours prior to President Donald Trump’s fresh tariff attack on [...]
FTSE 100 Live: BP’s $5bn hit; Prudential taps ex-HSBC chair January 14, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. Investors were taking a back seat to risk on Tuesday after President Donald Trump’s latest salvo on the Federal Reserve rocked global markets. The US Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation into the Fed’s chair, Jerome Powell, as Trump escalated his crusade against the central bank’s [...]