‘No more Mr Nice Guy’: Oil prices spike as Trump renews Iran power plant threats April 20, 2026 The price of oil has been driven higher by the latest round of escalations in the Middle East renewing fears of a drastic global energy shock. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – jumped over six per cent on Monday morning to over $96. It follows a weekend of tensions where shipping [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks slump on renewed Iran threats; UK to be ‘pushed to brink’ of recession April 20, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City PM liveblog. Markets are returning from the weekend to a fresh round of volatility. The mood ended last week on a high following the re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz but that sentiment was quickly squashed over the weekend as tensions renewed. Shipping in the Strait of [...]
Iran warns Strait of Hormuz will stay restricted as ceasefire deadline looms April 19, 2026 Iran has warned it will keep restricting ships in the Strait of Hormuz, raising the risk of renewed disruption to global oil supplies just days before its ceasefire with the US is due to expire. The warning came after Donald Trump said the blockade on Iranian ports would “remain in full force”, until a wider [...]
FTSE 100 jumps as Strait of Hormuz fully open following ceasefire April 17, 2026 The Iranian regime has reopened the Strait of Hormuz following a ceasefire in the Middle East between numerous warring nations. Tehran’s foreign minister said on Friday afternoon: “In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire”. Traffic [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks jittery as Starmer makes play to reopen Strait of Hormuz April 17, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City PM liveblog. The UK and France are set to co-chair a meeting with allies later today in a bid to strum up ways to re-open the Strait of Hormuz. The vital waterway, which sits off Iran’s coast, sees around a fifth of the world’s oil supply flow [...]
Trump-hating Fifa World Cup fans should have costs paid if denied visa April 16, 2026 Any fan who is denied entry to the Fifa World Cup by the US over their social media accounts should have their visa costs covered, UK politicians have said. US entry rules allow authorities to comb through five years of social media posts, denying entry to applicants should they criticise the government and President Donald [...]
Easyjet shares grounded after revealing £560m hit from Iran war April 16, 2026 Easyjet expects to make a whopping loss in the first half of the financial year after the war in the Middle East led to major disruptions across operations. The budget airline said on Thursday it is forecasting a loss before tax of between £540m and £560m as the industry battles against rising costs. Shares in [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Entain leads modest stock jump; Surprise growth ‘pushed to rear view’ April 16, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City PM liveblog. Markets are betting the latest round of peace talks will bring some resolution to the conflict in the Middle East. US markets managed to clinch a record high close on the latest news of peace talks but in London the FTSE 100 splintered and finished [...]
‘I will not yield’: Starmer dismisses Trump’s trade threat as ‘pressure’ April 15, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has dismissed President Donald Trump’s threat to change a trade deal struck between the US and the UK as “pressure”. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey used a question in parliament to say Trump had treated the UK “like a mafia boss running a protection racket” after he threatened to change a [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks jittery as Trump eyes Iran ‘grand bargain’; Reeves to meet Bessent April 15, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City PM liveblog. Hopes of peace talks in the Middle East were back on the table this morning, though markets weren’t holding there breathe after weeks of bait-and-switches. Donald Trump described the war with Iran as “close to over” during an interview with Fox news. “I think it’s [...]
