As it happened: US jobs smash forecasts; Stocks in green amid cloudy US-Iran peace talks June 5, 2026 Welcome back to the City PM liveblog. Speculation around a peace deal between the US and Iran is continuing to leave markets struggling for direction as hopes of an official agreement face roadblocks. A current draft of a memorandum of understanding between Iran and the US has ambiguities that have to be clarified, an adviser [...]
King Charles’ cleaner ups dividend after revenue surge June 4, 2026 The official cleaner for King Charles III has upped its dividend as the facilities management business said it was able to get its customer base to dig deeper into their wallets. FTSE 250 member Mitie, which was recently awarded a Royal Warrant by appointment by Charles for services to the Royal Household, is to issue [...]
As it happened: Stocks mixed as Trump warns takes ‘two to tango’ on Iran peace June 4, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City PM liveblog. Donald Trump has hinted a peace deal in the Middle East could come as soon as “over the weekend” in the latest back-and-forth of negotiations between the US and Iran. The President yesterday doubled down once more on his claim that Iran is set to [...]
Computacenter joins FTSE 100 in reshuffle as index builds tech exposure June 4, 2026 The latest quarterly reshuffle of the FTSE 100 has seen Computacenter, Investec and Aberdeen promoted to the top-tier index of the City’s most valuable companies, bringing a constituent with some direct exposure to the artificial intelligence boom to the City’s most famous benchmark. Computacenter’s rise from the FTSE 250 to blue-chip status looks somewhat like [...]
For stock-picking success, think like a PE investor June 4, 2026 A certain City metric is taking off with investors as Easyjet is eyed by predators How do you pick shares for your investment portfolio? If you don’t understand the stock market, you could just chuck everything into a basic tracker fund and leave it be. If you’ve got a computer science PhD under your belt, [...]
London bucks trend as investors shun stocks in ‘near record’ demand for mixed-asset funds June 4, 2026 Gloom starts to lift in the City with first monthly net inflow into UK equities since November 2024 Investors cut their exposure to equities in favour of bonds and mixed-asset holdings in May, according to fresh data released on Thursday by global funds network Calastone. But London bucked the trend in what could be seen [...]
UK in line for fresh US tariff hit as Trump proposes ‘forced labour’ levy June 3, 2026 Donald Trump has proposed a fresh round of tariffs that would hit numerous nations including the UK as the President seeks to rebuild his sweeping wall of levies that were struck down by the Supreme Court. The US is exploring a tariff of at least ten per cent on imports from up to 60 trading [...]
‘Difficult year’ for discount retailer B&M as profits fall almost a half June 3, 2026 A series of updates from London-listed retailers has light on the battle for sales between online and traditional outlets, with household spending under pressure, writes Michael Hunter. FTSE 250 retailer B&M has revealed a drop of almost a half in annual profit in what it called a “difficult year”. It was the most eye-catching piece [...]
Ovo to cough up £10.4m for exposing vulnerable customers to harm June 3, 2026 Energy supplier Ovo is set to cough up a hefty sum after an investigation by the watchdog concluded that it had left vulnerable customers at risk of harm. The firm – which focuses on smart technology, green energy tariffs, and carbon-reduction goals – will pay £7m into Ofgem’s voluntary redress fund, which is used for [...]
As it happened: Stocks jitter on stalling US-Iran talks; OECD unemployment warning June 3, 2026 Welcome back to the City PM liveblog. Markets are being pulled in countless directions from the conflicting information emerging around the conflict in the Middle East. The FTSE 100 managed to shrug off some of these jitters yesterday and secure a finish 0.3 per cent higher as the price of oil slipped. But this morning [...]
