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 [...]
Trump official warns UK on ‘Russia-style’ X ban after Grok row January 11, 2026 A key Trump administration official has sent the UK a firm warning following speculation Elon Musk’s X platform may face a ban after a scandal around AI-generated images. Sarah Rogers, under-secretary for public diplomacy at the US State Department, issued a series of messages criticising the UK on the rumoured ban. Rogers said the UK [...]
FTSE 100 defence stocks boosted by Trump’s calls for military spending hike January 8, 2026 Shares in top FTSE 100 defence stocks were boosted on Thursday morning, following President Trump’s push for a 50 per cent boost to the US military budget. BAE Systems shares shot up 6.7 per cent following the market open to highs not seen since October, while Babcock rose by more than 2.2 per cent. President [...]
Shell and BP shares sink as China slams ‘bully’ US over oil dispute January 7, 2026 Shares in FTSE 100 oil giants took a tumble on Wednesday as President Donald Trump ramped up the pressure on Venezuela to hand over oil. Shell had sunk near four per cent by midday to 2,644.7p whilst BP was down 3.5 per cent to 416.65p. The losses in the oil giants – which make up [...]
Europe’s second largest neobank joins rush for US banking licence January 7, 2026 Europe’s second biggest digital bank has become the latest fintech aiming to capitalise on President Donald Trump’s deregulation agenda after filing for a US banking licence. Bunq has set its sights on the US after lodging an application for a national charter to operate as a bank with a US Treasury Bureau. The Dutch challenger [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Next gets Christmas boost; JLR sales crash after cyber attack January 6, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. British defence stocks were taken for a ride on Monday after rising geopolitical tensions put heightened investor appetite. It was the City’s defence giants Babcock and BAE leading the FTSE 100 to start the week, alongside gold miners who were benefiting from the surging price [...]
FTSE 100 closes above 10,000 after Trump triggers defence rally January 5, 2026 British defence and mining stocks set the FTSE 100 flying high on Monday after the fallout from the United States’ capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro heightened investor appetite. The surging stock prices helped the blue-chip index cement its first close over the 10,000 mark, ending the session at 10,004.57 after a 0.5 per cent [...]
FTSE 100 ends record year with close just below 10,000 December 31, 2025 The FTSE 100 closed just below the record 10,000 in the final trading session of the year on Wednesday after a last-minute surge fizzled out. After a record-breaking 41 new all-time highs this year, the index ended 2025 up 20.2 per cent at 9,931. At the beginning of trading, it looked as if the index [...]
Gold notches new high as Trump escalates Venezuela threats December 23, 2025 Gold has returned to its record-breaking routine this week as escalating geopolitical tensions and falling interest rates sent the metal to new highs. The yellow metal was closing in on $4,500 on Tuesday morning, reaching highs of $4,497 in early trading. On Monday, the price of an ounce of gold crossed the $4,400 mark for [...]
Paypal becomes latest fintech to capitalise on Trump’s deregulation December 16, 2025 Paypal has its sights set on acquiring a banking licence in the US as it becomes the latest fintech aiming to jump on President Donald Trump’s deregulatory agenda. The payments giant on Monday said it had submitted applications to the Utah Department of Financial Institutions and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to form Paypal Bank. [...]