FTSE 100 Live: Stocks tumble amid Trump’s Strait of Hormuz blockade April 13, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. Markets are returning from the weekend to a major blow in hopes of a ceasefire in the Middle East. After Donald Trump revealed his two-week reprieve on strikes whilst negotiations begin, those very talks now look to be hanging by a thread. Vice President JD [...]
Oil prices could race past $150 as ceasefire in ‘difficult phase’ April 11, 2026 Oil prices could shoot up beyond $150 per barrel if trade flows through the Strait of Hormuz remain disrupted as the US-Iran ceasefire was entering a “difficult phase”. Research company Kpler said that problems across the Strait could prompt markets to change tune and lead to oil prices jumping higher. The Brent crude oil price, [...]
Starmer told Trump to be ‘practical’ amid Strait of Hormuz tax rumours April 10, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has said he spent most of a conversation with Donald Trump on Thursday night talking about a “practical plan” to secure the Strait of Hormuz, shortly after he said he was “fed up” of the US president’s impact on energy bills. Starmer said he spoke to Trump about the blocked strait, which [...]
Healey: Defence investment is Starmer’s ‘highest priority’ April 10, 2026 Defence secretary John Healey has said defence investment is the Prime Minister’s “highest priority” as military officials wait for a long-awaited strategy paper on procurement and spending. At the London Defence Conference, Healey said Sir Keir Starmer has taken a “personal interest” in drafting the Defence Investment Plan, which was due to be published last [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks jittery as North Sea oil prices smash record April 10, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. Markets are continuing to digest the ever-changing narrative coming out of the conflict in the Middle East but even as hopes of a peace deal rise, the economic overhang still threatens to send shocks across the country. In a speech by Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF’s managing [...]
Tech stocks regain safe haven status amid Iran ceasefire April 9, 2026 American tech stocks have reasserted their role as a market safe haven, as easing tensions between Washington and Tehran trigger a sharp rebound across beaten-down AI and software names. A two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran, alongside a potential reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, has already sparked a relief rally. The Nasdaq jumped [...]
JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs to lead Wall Street profit haul on back of Iran war April 9, 2026 Top Wall Street banks are tipped to reveal huge profit growth next week amid firm investment banking activity and soaring trading volumes on the back of volatility in the Middle East. Goldman Sachs will issue the starting gun on US banks earnings season on Monday, where boss David Solomon has already teased a boom in [...]
‘Beautiful thing’: Trump moots US-Iran tax for ships in Strait of Hormuz April 8, 2026 President Trump has floated the prospect of a “joint venture” with the Iranian leadership on administering a tax on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz in a new peace deal for the region. Trump said both the US and Iran could jointly tax ships passing through the stretch of water, which is critical for [...]
Rolls-Royce shares boom amid hopes of trade resumption April 8, 2026 Shares in the retail stock darling Rolls-Royce skyrocketed as investors went back to bullish ways on news of a ceasefire in the Middle East. The stock price for the engineering giant soared by as much as 10 per cent as trading opened. It meant the stock hit 1,259.80p. The jump in the share price will [...]
Barclays and Lloyds shares pop as FTSE 100 banks rally on ceasefire April 8, 2026 A whopping surge from Barclays and Lloyds led a rally across banking stocks on Wednesday morning as the City welcomed news of a ceasefire in the Middle East. Barclays soared eight per cent as trading in London kicked off, hitting highs of 438p, helping the firm claw back losses made since the start of the [...]