‘Downfall’: Home REIT faces SFO probe into suspected bribery and fraud January 14, 2026 The UK’s top financial crime unit has unveiled a major probe into the past management of Home REIT after identifying as much as £300m in suspected fraud and bribery. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said it has carried out raids and arrests into the former London-listed social housing company, including searches at homes in Altrincham, [...]
Coca-Cola abandons Costa Coffee sale plans as Asda owner bids low January 14, 2026 US beverage giant Coca-Cola has reportedly scrapped plans to sell the world’s second-largest coffee chain after offers from private equity firms came in below expectations. The company brought talks with remaining bidders for Costa Coffee to a halt in December, ending an auction process which had lasted several months, according to the Financial Times. Sources [...]
FTSE 100 Live: BP’s $5bn hit; Prudential taps ex-HSBC chair January 14, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City PM 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 [...]
FTSE 100 Live: UBS to get new boss; Premier Inn leaseback deal January 13, 2026 Good morning from the City PM liveblog team. What’s an easy way to tell apart a developed country from a less developed one? One straightforward yardstick is the behaviour of state institutions and their relationship to government. If they are well run, they are operated by professionals independently from the executive. Or – the executive [...]
London homeowners most likely to make a loss upon selling their home January 12, 2026 London homeowners are most likely to make a loss upon selling their house as prices in the capital continue to drop. In 2025, nearly 15 per cent of Londoners sold their home for less than they bought it, the highest proportion in England and Wales, according to analysis from real estate agent Hamptons, well above [...]
Venezuela is ‘uninvestable’ as Trump unnerves market analysts January 10, 2026 Venezuela is “uninvestable” and requires sweeping reforms before oil giants can support US ambitions, a top chief executive has warned Donald Trump, in a warning that comes amid growing concerns the president is set to rattle markets and hit global economies. ExxonMobil boss Darren Woods appeared to distance the company from the president’s ambitions to [...]
Lloyds shares to offer best cash-back rate in Europe, analysts say January 9, 2026 Lloyds shareholders are set for a bumper few years as analysts predict the bank will continue to splash cash on dividends and buybacks. The bank has been tipped to move to a half-year buyback, in a move that will majorly ramp up the money it hands back to investors. In 2025, Lloyds beat out its [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Sainsbury’s and Unite dish shareholders cash; Mining merger talks January 9, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City PM liveblog. It was Britain’s retail sector taking centre stage yesterday amid a fresh influx of corporate updates that gave a snapshot of the industry’s December performance. Tesco came out swinging, revealing its market share had climbed to the highest in 10 years after a Christmas sales [...]
Financial services suffer ‘rapid’ fall in business January 8, 2026 Financial services are suffering from a “rapid” fall in business activity, new survey data has shown, pointing to investors’ struggles to revive a spluttering UK economy. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI)‘s figures suggested financial services companies experienced a decline in business volumes and profitability at the end of last year, hitting confidence across the [...]
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 [...]
