BAE Systems rides defence wave to dividend boost and record results February 18, 2026 BAE Systems shareholders are set for a pay bump as the London-listed group has benefited from the wave of increased global defence spending. Sales at Europe’s largest defence contractor rose 10 per cent to a record £30.7bn, while underlying profit grew 12 per cent to £3.3bn. The group saw its total order backlog reach a [...]
Regulator mulls audit changes to attract Chinese listings February 16, 2026 The audit regulator is considering a temporary change in its accounting rules which would make it easier for Chinese firms to list in London. The proposal is the latest regulatory reform designed to make the UK a more attractive place for international companies to list. In a statement, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said it [...]
Inflation tipped to fall to year-low in boost to interest rate cuts February 16, 2026 Inflation is tipped to fall back to its lowest level for nearly a year in a busy week for UK economic data, with hopes the drop will help accelerate the Bank of England’s rate-cutting cycle. Economists are expecting the Office for National Statistics to show a sharp reprieve in the Consumer Price Index – the [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Zurich and Beazley £8bn deal gets time; Defence and bank stocks rally February 16, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City PM liveblog. The first round of 2026 tech wobbles kicked into action last week and revived fears of an AI bubble. When Anthropic released a new AI tool designed to help in-house legal teams triage agreements and draft routine responses, the reaction trickled down through law firms straight into [...]
Natwest hikes dividend after profit hits post-financial crisis high February 13, 2026 Natwest laid out plans to splash the cash to shareholders in its full-year earnings report on Friday as the bank’s profit reached its highest since the 2008 financial crisis. The FTSE 100 banking giant – which returned to private ownership in the last year – recorded pre-tax profit of £7.7bn in 2025 financial year, up [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Natwest bumper dividend, stocks tick up February 13, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City PM liveblog. The City was left stunned yesterday after Schroders entered into a surprise £10bn deal with Nuveen, which holds $1.4tn in assets, after speculation of a sale was rebuffed in July. Schroders Group chief Richard Oldfield had previously squashed rumours that the Schroder family, who control [...]
City stunned by Nuveen’s £10bn swoop on Schroders February 12, 2026 City analysts were stunned by Thursday morning’s announcement that Schroders has entered into a surprise £9.9bn deal with Nuveen, which holds $1.4 trillion in assets, after speculation of a sale was rebuffed in July. Schroders Group CEO Richard Oldfield squashed rumours that the Schroder family, who control almost half of the company’s shares, were eyeing [...]
SFO drops former AIM London Mining bribery case after decade-long probe February 12, 2026 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) officially dropped all charges against the former executives of London Mining, a decade after launching its probe into alleged bribery and corruption. The SFO launched an investigation in 2016 into London Mining Plc regarding alleged bribery to secure favourable treatment in Sierra Leone between 2009 and 2014. Former CEO Graeme Hossie, CFO Rachel [...]
Investors shun short-term gains amid market volatility February 12, 2026 UK retail investors are turning away from short term trading in favour of increased portfolio diversification, in a bid to weather ongoing market volatility. Over the past two years investors have become significantly diversified, increasing allocations across all major asset classes, according to the latest retail investor survey from Etoro. In particular, overseas-listed equities saw [...]
M&S is now worth more than Snapchat February 12, 2026 Here’s an interesting stock chart comparison that caught my eye this week. For the first time, the market cap of Snapchat owner Snap is now less than supermarket M&S, in a sharp reversal of the tech firm’s fortunes. If you’d spent £1,000 on shares in the social media platform five years ago, you’d be left [...]
