FTSE 100 Live: Dow Jones joins City in red; Oil soars on Iran war fears April 2, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City PM liveblog. After a dose of optimism hit markets on Wednesday, that looks to all be eradicated come this morning. In a 19-minute long address to the nation, Donald Trump vowed to “finish the job” in Iran and warned the country would be hit “extremely hard” in [...]
Bank of England: UK economy risks ‘large and overlapping’ shocks April 1, 2026 The Bank of England has issued a major warning that the financial system is facing increasing risks of “large, frequent and potentially overlapping shocks” amid the volatility from the Middle East war‘ and ongoing market risks’s impact on energy and global markets. In the latest meeting of the central bank’s Financial Policy Committee top officials [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks boom as Trump signals end to Iran war; Starmer eyes closer ties to EU April 1, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City PM liveblog. President Trump has made his clearest indication yet that the war in Iran might soon come to a close, saying the US will “leave” Iran in “two to three weeks” when they are certain the regime will not be able to build a nuclear weapon [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks inch up; Fuel shortage fears hit airlines; Unilever nears food deal March 31, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City PM liveblog. Oil prices are on track for its biggest monthly gain on record for March following the outbreak of war in Iran. It comes as the war in Iran continues to cause ripples through the market, with Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks slip; Justeat caught in CMA crackdown on reviews March 27, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City PM liveblog. Another pause has been slapped on Donald Trump’s pledge to “obliterate” Iranian power plants, should the nation not re-open the Strait of Hormuz. The President took to social media last night and said talks between the US and Iran were “ongoing” and “going very well,” [...]
Iran mocks Trump’s peace talks as oil price takes sharp drop March 25, 2026 The Iranian regime has mocked claims from Donald Trump that talks to end the war were progressing as markets struggle to digest a mixed bag of messages. Tehran downplayed expectations of any immediate ceasefire, following emerging reports that the US had offered a 15-point ceasefire plan. The President said the US was in “productive” talks [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks soar as Trump claims ‘victory’ in Iran; Economists clash on inflation March 25, 2026 Welcome back to the City PM liveblog. Fresh figures this morning revealed inflation rose three per cent in the year to February 2026, unchanged from the 12 months to January 2026. Grant Fitzner said: “The largest upwards driver was the price of clothing, which rose this month but fell a year ago. “This was offset [...]
‘Crossroads’: Oil prices hold firm as markets sour on Trump’s peace talks March 24, 2026 The price of oil held firm on Tuesday morning as markets faced a “crossroads” following the latest bait-and-switch from President Trump amid the crisis in the Middle East. Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, broke $100 again in early trading in Asia after a four per cent gain. Prices have dipped a touch but [...]
Trump’s call to pause strikes in Iran boosts markets March 23, 2026 Global markets leaped on news that President Trump paused strikes on Iranian infrastructure as he hinted that negotiations had been “very good and productive”. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – plunged back to below $100 per barrle after having jumped to $112 earlier in the day. The FTSE 100 also rose [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks jittery after Trump’s latest TACO; Oil price slips March 23, 2026 Welcome back to the City PM liveblog. Markets are in recovery mode after a dramatic intervention from President Donald Trump slapped a delay on his bombastic ultimatum. Trump issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the Iranian regime on Saturday night, where he called for the full re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz. The strait is a [...]