Investment Week (July 2)
While Nasdaq IPOs have drawn the most attention, “European initial public offering (IPO) proceeds increased by 76% year-on-year during the first half of 2026, according to data from PwC, as improving market conditions helped revive activity despite geopolitical uncertainty.” During the first half of 2026, proceeds from European IPOs increased 76% over a year earlier. In contrast, Brexit has weighed on the UK where IPO volumes “remained relatively modest.”
Tags: 2026, Brexit, Europe, Geopolitical uncertainty, Improving, IPOs, Market conditions, Nasdaq, Proceeds, PwC, Revive, UK
The Times (June 11)
“Since the historic Nato summit in The Hague one year ago this month, European leaders have pledged massive increases in defence spending in the face of increasingly acute threats of Russian aggression. Yet the reality is that key west European governments – especially the UK, France and Italy – are not putting their money where their mouth is for fear of undermining lenders’ confidence in their national debt.”
Tags: Confidence, Defense spending, Europe, France, Governments, Historic, Italy, Leaders, Lenders, National debt, Nato summit, Pledged, Russian aggression, Threats, UK
The Guardian (June 3)
“Although western Europe is now mostly free from last week’s heat dome – which shattered temperature records for May in the UK and Ireland – it is already bracing for yet another sweltering summer. Oppressive days, restless nights and furious fires are brewing.” Though there are some “exceptions to the collective denial,” Europe is “still not ready for extreme heat.” It must get fully prepared. “Heat kills more people in Europe than almost any other issue you worry about – from crime to terror attacks – with many tens of thousands of early deaths each year.”
Tags: Crime, Deaths, Extreme heat, Fires, Heat dome, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/03/why-is-europe-still-not-ready-for-extreme-heat Europe, Ireland, May, Oppressive, Restless, Shattered, Summer, Sweltering, Temperature records, Terror attacks, UK
The Economist (May 18)
“Since Donald Trump took office in January last year, America’s economy has continued to be the envy of the rich world. In 2025, while Britain, France and Japan eked out annual GDP growth of 1%, give or take, and Germany all but stood still, American output grew by 2.1%.” That growth could have been far more impressive. The Economist calculates that without the drag created by “fitful presidential policymaking,” the U.S. “might be rocketing ahead at nearly 5% annualised growth.”
Tags: 2025, 5%, Drag, Economy, Envy, Fitful, France, GDP growth, Germany, Japan, Policymaking, Rich world, Trump, U.S., UK
South China Morning Post (April 20)
A “Hormuz moment” might signal the “decline of US dominance.” Citic Securities analysts are comparing the unfolding situation in Iran to the “Suez moment,” when Great Britain “lost control of the Suez Canal along with its global superpower status.” On Saturday, the analysts wrote “that a similarly consequential ‘Hormuz moment’ could be a watershed for America’s global supremacy.” In fact, Citic posits “the global order may have already undergone subtle but significant changes.”
Tags: Analysts, Citic Securities, Consequential, Control, Decline, Dominance, Hormuz moment, Iran, Suez Canal, Superpower status, Supremacy, U.S., UK, Unfolding, Watershed
Financial Times (April 16)
“Iran is America’s Suez crisis — and just as ridiculous. The parallels with Britain’s disastrous Middle East adventure in the 1950s are impossible to resist.”
Tags: 1950s, Adventure, Disastrous, Iran, Middle East, Parallels, Ridiculous, Suez crisis, U.S., UK
Barron’s (April 5)
The global economy is in for a “crude awakening.” Even under the best (or least worst) scenario, the Iran “war will shave about a percentage point off global economic growth, taking it down to 2% this year. Growth forecasts for large, developed economies—Japan, France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom—were modest before the war at around 1%. If the conflict extends past June, GDP growth for these countries could evaporate, while inflation keeps rising.”
Tags: 2%, Conflict, Crude awakening, Developed economies, Economic growth, Forecasts, France, GDP, Germany, Global economy, Inflation, Iran war, Italy, Japan, Scenario, UK
The Guardian (March 17)
“Britons taking out a new home loan face paying almost £800 a year more on average than before the Iran war as “Trumpflation” pushes up UK mortgage rates.” Higher rates come at a bad time, as “1.8m fixed-rate deals are due to end in 2026, and most of these borrowers will need to get a new mortgage. The change of direction comes amid the global shock waves caused by the war.”
Tags: £800, Borrowers, Britons, Fixed-rate deals, Global, Home loan, Iran war, Mortgage rates, Shock waves, Trumpflation, UK, War
Investment Week (October 28)
“Both the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development have recommended regulators pay more attention to ESG ratings and data.” This is happening in the UK where the “government has passed legislation requiring providers of ESG ratings to be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority.” The authorization will apply to firms “whose ratings are likely to influence a decision to make a specified investment.” ESG rating firms “that both ‘produce’ and ‘make available’ their ratings will be under scope of the legislation.”
Tags: Authorization, Data, ESG ratings, Financial Conduct Authority, Government, Influence, Investment decision, IOSCO, Legislation, OECD, Recommended, Regulators, UK
New York Times (October 6)
“For companies and governments worldwide, defending their digital operations is a constant challenge.” Recent cyberattacks at big British brands demonstrate how they can “upend company operations.” Marks & Spencer, Co-op, and Jaguar Land Rover have all been “severely disrupted by cyberattacks this year, bringing pain to the lives of customers, workers, suppliers and government officials.” In fact, “Jaguar Land Rover hasn’t built a single car” since shutting its systems down on September 1. This has halted “production at its factories in England, as well as sites in Brazil, China, India and Slovakia.”
Tags: Brazil, Challenge, China, Co-op, Companies, Customers, Cyberattacks, Defending, Digital, Governments, Jaguar Land Rover, Marks & Spencer, Officials, Operations, Suppliers, UK, Upend, Workers
