Finance news

Suspect arrested in ‘sickening’ Belfast stabbing as attack videos spread online

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office called for calm on Tuesday after police said they arrested a Sudanese suspect over a stabbing in residential Belfast in Northern Ireland that drew national attention because of graphic videos of the attack online. Police said the victim was taken to the hospital with serious wounds to his face, neck and back late on Monday. They said the suspect, who is in his 30s, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and remained in police custody. A kitchen...

Nuvalent shares surge 39% after UK's GSK agrees to buy the cancer drugmaker for $10.6 billion

The deal comes at a time of biotech dealmaking frenzy, driven by looming patent cliffs, newly buoyant public markets and drugmakers' race to bolster pipelines.

UK’s Starmer gives Apple, Google 3 months to stop children sending nude images

Apple and Google have been given a three-month ultimatum to make it impossible for children to take, share or view nude images on their smartphones, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday. The government wants firms to activate built-in features on their devices or come up with technological solutions on phones and tablets to detect and block such content. It means all adults will need to verify their age if they want to take or view nude images. Firms must implement changes or face.

UK defends China engagement, seeks to unblock India trade deal

UK, France, Germany back direct Ukraine-Russia talks: joint statement

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky received the backing of the leaders of the UK, France and Germany in calling for direct ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine, according to a joint statement issued following defence talks in London on Sunday. Zelensky met British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at 10 Downing Street for talks as Russia’s war has stretched into its fifth year. The leaders “supported the proposal for a...

France and Cyprus to sign defense pact for French deployment to island

SS: France and Cyprus have concluded an agreement under which French forces can be stationed, train and operate in Cyprus while respecting national sovereignty. This is undoubtedly intended to reinforce Cyprus' defence position after efforts by the UK (which has a far great defensive presence on the island) were particularly slow in their Deployment of HMS Dragon following iranian Missiles being fired in the eastern Mediterrenean. The agreement has not been well received by Ankara which 'express

Trump considers buying Chagos Islands from Mauritius, Telegraph reports

⁠The White House ⁠is considering a plan to buy the Chagos Islands from Mauritius, the Telegraph reported on Sunday. US officials have drawn up ‌a proposal to bypass the UK and make their own deal to take control of Diego Garcia, the report said. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. The White House ⁠and the UK Foreign Office did not immediately ‌respond to a request for comment. The plan is among several options being ‌drafted by the White House, in a paper ⁠aimed ⁠at providing...

Britain's Net Zero Policy Is Killing Its Chemical Industry

From ammonia to plastics, there can be no modern economy without a functioning chemicals industry, and Britain's is in peril, writes Sharon Todd The recent announcement of a £350m Critical Chemicals Resilience Fund from Chancellor Rachel Reeves is welcome but it is also an acknowledgement of an uncomfortable truth: the UK's chemicals sector is in trouble. Up and down the country energy intensive manufacturing is faltering. The Chancellor has also announced £120m for the ceramics sector, providin

Patrick Boyle on the New Zealand housing Bubble and Burst

[edit: patrick boyle is currently a professor at a university in the UK. He used to be a trader, his youtube channel is quite entertaining] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qROG2uXPChY Patrick Boyle uses New Zealand’s housing bust as the warning example here. At the peak, an Auckland “dunger” sold for NZ$1.81m, and average Auckland homes were around 35x median income. Since then, prices have dropped hard, recent buyers are stuck in negative equity, and a bunch of construction firms have gone unde

UK Sees Risk of $100 Oil Until 2028

The UK government has revised its internal oil price forecasts upwards.

First AI-designed ‘universal vaccine’ tested in humans

A vaccine targeting a broad range of viruses that was designed using artificial intelligence had a “modest” effect on immune systems in a small, early trial, according to a new study. The trial marks the first time a vaccine whose active ingredient was entirely designed by AI has been tested in humans, researchers at the University of Cambridge in the UK said on Friday. The experimental jab is intended to be a “universal vaccine” which protects people against a range of viruses that have...

UK’s Keir Starmer says Russia could attack Nato within 4 years

Russia could attack a Nato country within four years according to western intelligence assessments, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned on Friday. He made the comments as he pledged his government would publish a long-delayed defence investment plan before next month’s Nato summit. “It is our intelligence assessment and the assessment of other countries in Nato that there could be an attack by Russia on Nato as soon as 2030,” Starmer said. “So you can see the urgency and the priority that...

Lockheed Martin UK-led consortium unveils GBAD concept for NATO

While company representatives were tight-lipped about the exact technical details of their offering, they explained that a flexible, software-based system would allow individual member-nations to connect their sensors to another nation’s command nodes.

UK Conservatives Blast Labour North Sea Ban as 'Utter Madness'

The current UK government's policy of not allowing new drilling in the UK North Sea is “utter madness” as billions of barrels of untapped oil could benefit the UK industry and reduce Britain’s reliance on imports, Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the opposition Conservative Party, has said. The ruling Labour government of Sir Keir Starmer has recently moved to permanently ban new oil and gas licenses in the UK section of the North Sea, drawing criticism from the UK offshore industry associations and

UK running out of time to boost defense as investment plan stalls, military chief warns

Defence Minister John Healey said on Monday that Prime Minister Keir Starmer was determined to publish it before a July 7 NATO summit.

Auditors shine light on UK royal housing, disgraced Andrew’s ‘peppercorn rent’

King Charles’ disgraced younger brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor held leases for 10 properties, three of which he sublet, while the monarch ⁠pays rent for the former prince’s daughters’ palace ⁠homes, a report by the UK’s spending watchdog said. In the most ⁠detailed review ever of royal property arrangements, the National Audit Office (NAO) report on Friday showed some leases were based on commercial valuations, while for others, senior figures paid no rent or negligible amounts for their...

Rival confirms he will challenge Starmer to be UK prime minister

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has confirmed for the first time his intention to challenge Keir Starmer to be Britain’s prime minister, drawing immediate criticism from the premier who vowed not to walk away from the job. “If I get your support, I would seek to represent you at the highest possible level and give this constituency maximum power and influence,” Burnham said in an episode of the BBC’s Question Time. He cited the ambitions of his top rival, former health secretary Wes...

A UK in decline needs to rediscover supply-side economics

I just spent two weeks in a broken Britain, which is an unfortunately apt description for a country that has fallen from its former glory. Its people are funny, witty, creative, intelligent, sports-mad and educated, part of a society that has constantly evolved over the last millennium, its imperial heritage bringing in cultures from around the globe. It is a green and pleasant land, beautiful in spring and summer, and not too bad in the autumn. Yet the once great nation is now dealing with a...

Request for comments on my investment portfolio

Hello everyone, I am 29M based in UK. I am looking to get feedback and suggestions for building my portfolio which requires least supervision and that compounds over time. VUAG - 51K VUSA - 34K EQQQ - 19K Individual stocks - 600 pounds Cash - 70K (bank account) About me - I have historically invested in S&P500 in ISA each year and never thought about investment further than that. Everytime I tried buying stock - I get overstimulated and sell at panic (with slight loss; in turn those stocks do go

UK assets face underestimated risk event, analysts warn as PM hopeful swerves call to calm investor nerves

One analyst said markets would reprice U.K. fiscal risk "accordingly and quickly" if Burnham's political ambitions come to light.

UK Sikhs defend right to carry sacred dagger after student murder backlash

Britain’s Sikh community has rejected calls to strip them of the rights to carry a ceremonial knife – known as the kirpan – as outrage snowballs over the murder of an 18-year-old student by a Sikh man. Vickrum Singh Digwa, 23, was handed a life sentence by a judge on Tuesday for stabbing to death Henry Nowak, an accountancy student, in Southampton in December 2025. The murder case has reopened a debate over race, religion and identity in the UK. Far-right figureheads, populist political leaders.

UK Exchange newsletter: English football — in a league of its own?

English football appears to be riding high following Arsenal's Premier League win. But scratch beneath the surface and all is not as good as it looks.

Clashes erupt in UK city over racially charged case of police handcuffing dying student

Video of a dying student who was handcuffed by British police after being stabbed by a Sikh man and falsely accused of racially abusing his murderer sparked outrage on Tuesday, with protesters throwing bricks at police. Eighteen-year-old Henry Nowak was heard repeatedly telling officers: “I can’t breathe” in police bodycam footage captured as he lay mortally wounded in December after a night out with his football team members. Far-right figures have seized on the case, including firebrand Tommy.

Consumer Disgust and Modelez International

In cyberspace the brands of Modelez, such as Cadbury, in particular are taking a right hammering. TDLR: Consumers from UK to Australia now seem to viscerally despise the Cadbury brand (since Modelez takeover) with some commentators now saying that their some of their products taste of "vomit". Could this be the vocal minority or maybe the vocal majority? Do sentiments like this filter down to the actual share price? Mondelez International, Inc. (MDLZ) Stock Price, News, Quote & History - Yahoo F

HSBC Flags a Super-Squeeze In the Oil Market

The Middle East crisis and the still closed Strait of Hormuz have created a “super-squeeze” in oil markets, which could lead to sharp price spikes, analysts at HSBC say. Prices have rallied in recent months not because of some “super-cycle” but because of the massive supply disruption and an actual squeeze in physical supply, the UK-based bank said in a note carried by Bloomberg. “The longer the strait is closed, the more inventories are run down, the more likely it is that we reach ‘tipping poi

China-UK ties thaw: Wang Yi urges that they ‘further communicate and align our positions’

China and Britain have pledged to enhance high-level exchanges and deepen cooperation amid a turbulent global landscape, following a meeting of their top diplomats in Beijing. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told visiting British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper on Tuesday that their countries needed to further communicate and align their positions. “We need to … anchor ourselves to the positioning of a long-term and stable China-UK comprehensive strategic partnership, strengthen high-level...

British Sikh man jailed for life for student killing in Southampton

A UK court on Monday jailed a British Sikh man for life for killing a university student in a case that sparked anger after police handcuffed the dying victim following a false claim of racial abuse. A judge at Southampton Crown Court sentenced Vickrum Digwa, a 23-year-old local resident, to life in prison with an obligation to spend at least 21 years in jail for the killing of 18-year-old student Henry Nowak on December 3. A jury on Friday found Digwa guilty of murdering the accountancy and...

UK publishes new Mandelson files, raising heat on PM Starmer

The UK government released a vast trove of documents relating to Peter Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador, in a move that threatens to cause fresh damage to Keir Starmer’s faltering premiership. More than 1,500 pages of documentation were published on the British government’s website just after 2pm. They include emails, text messages and other exchanges between government ministers, aides and Mandelson in the run-up to his appointment as US envoy, a post he held from February to September.

BP Sells 5% Stake in Australia's Newest $35 Billion LNG Project

BP will sell 5% in the $35-billion Browse LNG project in Australia, which Australian energy giant Woodside is looking to progress, the UK-based supermajor told Reuters on Monday. BP is selling the 5% stake, out of its total of its 44% interest, to South Korea's GS Energy. “The dilution reflects BP’s disciplined approach to portfolio management by bringing in a committed partner,” BP said in a statement emailed to Reuters. The Browse LNG project in Australia, proposed by Woodside Energy, entails

French Navy Seizes Russia-Linked Tanker in the Atlantic

The French Navy has boarded and seized a Russia-linked oil tanker in the Atlantic. The vessel is under international sanctions, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday. On Sunday morning, the French Navy seized the Tagor, an oil tanker that departed from Russia, Macron wrote on in a post on X today. The operation of the boarding and seizure was carried out on the high seas in the Atlantic with the support of France’s allies, including the UK, the French President said. France is constant