Marcin Frąckiewicz

Marcin Frąckiewicz is the CEO of TS2 Space and a longtime technology entrepreneur focused on telecommunications, satellite communications and digital innovation. A graduate of the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH), he writes about space technology, artificial intelligence and publicly traded technology companies. His analysis covers major market trends, emerging technologies and the businesses shaping the future of the global economy.

Aviva Stock Alert: £350 Million Buyback Takes Focus Before Q1 Update
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Aviva Stock Alert: £350 Million Buyback Takes Focus Before Q1 Update

Aviva snapped up 900,000 of its ordinary shares for cancellation, pressing ahead with its £350 million buyback just ahead of its first-quarter trading update. According to a regulatory filing, the shares changed hands on May 12 at a volume-weighted average price of 620.38 pence. Timing is in focus here. Aviva brought buybacks back after snapping up Direct Line, which had pushed the share count higher. Thursday’s update puts capital returns under the microscope, set against integration bills, claims expenses and a more unpredictable UK rates scene.
May 13, 2026
Vodafone Stock’s Big Test: Germany Spoils the Turnaround Story After FY26 Results
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Vodafone Stock’s Big Test: Germany Spoils the Turnaround Story After FY26 Results

Vodafone Group Public Limited Company clawed back some ground in London on Wednesday, ticking up roughly 1% to 113.15 pence by midday. This follows Tuesday’s 7.02% slump, with investors eyeing a firmer profit forecast but still unsettled by new customer losses in Germany. This shift is significant. Chief Executive Margherita Della Valle has all but wrapped up the major overhaul: Vodafone is out of Spain and Italy, its Dutch joint-venture stake is being sold, and it now fully owns VodafoneThree in the UK. What’s left is a slimmer group. Not much space for alibis anymore—Germany, Britain, and Africa are now carrying heavier loads.
May 13, 2026
Standard Chartered PLC Gulf Push Grows With SGB Deal, Saudi License and $943 Million Buyback
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Standard Chartered PLC Gulf Push Grows With SGB Deal, Saudi License and $943 Million Buyback

Standard Chartered PLC just slipped two new pieces into its Gulf and Asia focus: a payments partnership with Singapore Gulf Bank, plus a regulatory nod for investment management in Saudi Arabia. The lender keeps sending capital back to shareholders. These steps are taking on new importance for Standard Chartered, which wants to prove its persistent bet on cross-border banking across Asia, Africa and the Middle East can still deliver growth—even as the Iran war, volatile rates, and tighter credit are putting banks exposed to the region under fresh pressure.
May 13, 2026
GSK’s China Hepatitis B Deal Puts £2 Billion Bepirovirsen Bet in Focus
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GSK’s China Hepatitis B Deal Puts £2 Billion Bepirovirsen Bet in Focus

GSK plc is pushing for wider access to bepirovirsen in China, locking in an exclusive deal with Chia Tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical, part of Sino Biopharmaceutical. With this move, the British pharma giant aims to turn its late-stage hepatitis B candidate into a serious growth engine. CTTQ is set to manage import, distribution, hospital access, and promotion across mainland China. GSK, for its part, keeps a grip on regulatory and medical strategy. Timing’s key here. Bepirovirsen is on the investor radar as GSK pushes to move past its traditional vaccine and HIV drug business, aiming to top £40 billion in yearly sales by 2031—a goal it stuck with after posting £7.6 billion for the first quarter. Last month, Chief Executive Luke
May 13, 2026
IAG Stock Slips Again: Why British Airways Owner’s Bond Buyback Isn’t the Whole Story
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IAG Stock Slips Again: Why British Airways Owner’s Bond Buyback Isn’t the Whole Story

Shares of International Consolidated Airlines Group SA slipped in London on Wednesday, with investors digesting the British Airways parent’s aggressive repurchase of a 2028 convertible bond while factoring in a fuel price hit to its 2026 forecast. The stock traded 1.46% lower at 391.70 pence in delayed midday action. Timing is everything here. IAG wants to keep its balance sheet looking sharp and keep those shareholder payouts coming, but a spike in jet fuel prices is pushing the group to cut back on profit targets, capacity, and free cash flow guidance.
May 13, 2026
BP PLC Deepens Oil Pivot With 40% Uzbekistan Stake as Shares Rise
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BP PLC Deepens Oil Pivot With 40% Uzbekistan Stake as Shares Rise

BP PLC has picked up a 40% stake in a production-sharing pact covering six exploration blocks in Uzbekistan’s North Ustyurt region, marking another step as the British oil major leans again into conventional energy. Under the PSA, investors like BP shoulder the exploration costs and split any resulting production with the government. Timing is key. BP is under pressure to show that Meg O’Neill—its chief executive—can boost returns and reassure investors after a stretch of shifting strategies. O’Neill has informed employees that a shake-up dividing BP into upstream and downstream arms kicks off in June, a nod to the company’s pre-2020 structure, before the renewables pivot.
May 13, 2026
SSE PLC Raises Profit Guidance Before Results—Here’s the Accounting Move Behind It
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SSE PLC Raises Profit Guidance Before Results—Here’s the Accounting Move Behind It

SSE PLC nudged its profit forecast higher just ahead of its full-year numbers, though the bump was driven by an accounting move linked to Neos Networks—not from fresh improvements in the business itself. Perth, Scotland-based power generator and network operator now expects adjusted earnings per share for 2025/26 to land between 149p and 154p—a notch up from April’s forecast of 147p to 152p for the same profit measure, which excludes certain items.
May 13, 2026
3i Group Shares Near £24: Why Action Could Decide Thursday’s Results Reaction
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3i Group Shares Near £24: Why Action Could Decide Thursday’s Results Reaction

3i Group shares steadied just under £24 on Wednesday, following a steep drop the day before. Investors are now eyeing the upcoming annual results, which may shift sentiment toward its major stake, Action. The London-listed investment firm’s shares slipped 0.04% to 2,399.07p on its investor site. Results covering the year through March 31, 2026, are scheduled for May 14, according to the same page.
May 13, 2026
RELX Falls as Anthropic’s Legal-AI Push Reopens the Moat Debate
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RELX Falls as Anthropic’s Legal-AI Push Reopens the Moat Debate

Investors offloaded RELX in a session where broader markets rallied. The stock dropped to 2,396p by 12:03 BST, off 59p, or 2.4%. It started the day at 2,412p and touched a low of 2,388.01p. Both the FTSE 100 and Germany’s DAX were in positive territory earlier, so RELX’s slide wasn’t a simple case of following the indices. Legal AI is the story here. On Tuesday, Anthropic rolled out an expanded Claude offering tailored for law firms and attorneys, bundling in new legal tools and integrations with the likes of Thomson Reuters, Harvey, Box, Everlaw, and DocuSign. “The legal industry is seeing an incredible uptick” in AI use, Anthropic associate general counsel Mark Pike told Reuters.
May 13, 2026
LSEG Stock Slips as Google AI Deal Meets UK Gilt Jitters
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LSEG Stock Slips as Google AI Deal Meets UK Gilt Jitters

London Stock Exchange Group shares lost ground in London, hovering close to 9,280p by midday—a 0.7% dip. This follows a sharp rally on Tuesday, when the stock jumped 3.64% to finish at 9,348p. Oddly enough, the decline hit just hours after LSEG said its financial data and analytics would feed into Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise platform via a new connector. The price move didn’t really fit a straightforward “bad news” narrative. Instead, shares appeared to retrace some earlier gains as investors reassessed UK-listed financials amid tougher rate expectations. UK government bond yields—gilts—have surged, with political and inflation fears pushing borrowing costs higher. Reuters noted the 10-year gilt yield hit 5.13%, a level not seen since 2008. That’s significant for an
May 13, 2026
NatWest Shares Fade as Fitch Upgrade Runs Into UK Bank-Tax and Gilt Fears
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NatWest Shares Fade as Fitch Upgrade Runs Into UK Bank-Tax and Gilt Fears

NatWest Group shares in London weren’t reacting to disappointing earnings—they slipped anyway, caught up in a stronger macro move that overshadowed a straightforward credit-positive. The delayed price feed had them hovering between 557p and 560p, down from a 572.8p open and Tuesday’s 562.8p finish. Fitch handed NatWest a win: the ratings agency bumped long-term issuer default ratings and senior unsecured debt for several subsidiaries—including National Westminster Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland—up to AA from AA-, keeping a stable outlook. Shares edged 1.0% higher to 564.8p in early Wednesday trading, according to Alliance News via AJ Bell. Still, that initial uptick didn’t put the debate to rest.
May 13, 2026
National Grid Stock Stalls Before Results as Rate Pressure Tests the £70 Billion Grid Story
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National Grid Stock Stalls Before Results as Rate Pressure Tests the £70 Billion Grid Story

National Grid plc hovered just below the flatline by midday, quoted at 1,275p/1,276p after kicking off at 1,280.5p. It reads as a quiet session, though the actual day’s spread—1,267.5p to 1,298.5p—suggests there’s still some price testing ahead of the full-year numbers. Around 2.5 million shares had changed hands, trailing the three-month average on Investing.com, while the group’s market cap was holding near £63.6 billion. Here’s the problem: National Grid’s now heavily focused on capital spending, right as borrowing costs are climbing. The FTSE 100 managed some gains this day, but UK 10-year gilts were stuck near 5.08%. Brent crude pushed past $107 a barrel—no relief for inflation or funding costs. That’s a headache for utilities. Rising bond yields squeeze in
May 13, 2026
HSBC Stock Edges Higher as Rate Bets Help Margins, but Credit Risk Still Caps the Move
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HSBC Stock Edges Higher as Rate Bets Help Margins, but Credit Risk Still Caps the Move

HSBC Holdings ticked up to around 1,324p by late Wednesday morning in London—just a 0.4% gain—after starting the session at 1,335p and touching 1,338.2p soon after the open. So, there was a brief jump, then a pullback. Investors aren’t piling in; they're watching to see if last week’s earnings stumble was just a blip, or if there’s a deeper credit issue in play. Rates are doing the heavy lifting here. HSBC bumped its full-year net interest income forecast to about $46 billion in its first-quarter update. That’s NII—the difference between what the bank pockets from loans and what it hands out on deposits. If rates remain elevated, the margin holds, particularly for deposit-heavy players such as HSBC.
May 13, 2026
Unilever Shares Slip as Strong Volumes Meet a Fresh McCormick Deal Test
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Unilever Shares Slip as Strong Volumes Meet a Fresh McCormick Deal Test

Unilever PLC shares in London edged lower late in the morning, hovering at GBX 4,247—£42.47—a 0.67% drop. The stock barely budged at the open, ticked up for a moment, and then slipped back. No rush for the exits here. Instead, the shares are drifting as investors debate what Unilever’s future actually looks like. The real squeeze isn’t about how much soap, shampoo, or deodorant Unilever sells right now. It’s about whether investors still trust leadership’s big-picture bets. On Tuesday, City AM reported that Terry Smith’s Fundsmith Equity Fund dumped its Unilever shares after the McCormick food deal. Smith accused the company of ditching its “promised operational focus” and chasing breakups instead. A prominent exit like that, especially after years in
May 13, 2026
Shell Stock Today: Buybacks Steady the Chart as Oil Risk Keeps the Trade Messy
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Shell Stock Today: Buybacks Steady the Chart as Oil Risk Keeps the Trade Messy

Shell shares barely budged in late morning London trade, holding at 3,156.25p, off just 0.04% according to Cboe Europe’s real-time read. The lack of movement isn’t apathy—investors are caught between two strong narratives tugging Shell in different directions. Oil edged lower. Brent lost 0.2%, settling at $107.58 a barrel, while WTI dropped 0.4% to $101.79. Traders tracked a shaky ceasefire in the Middle East and eyed the Trump-Xi talks slated for Beijing. For Shell, lower crude prices would typically hurt, but with oil holding above $100, cash flow remains steady.
May 13, 2026
Lloyds Stock Rebounds as Gilt Panic Eases, but the Bank-Tax Risk Hasn’t Gone
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Lloyds Stock Rebounds as Gilt Panic Eases, but the Bank-Tax Risk Hasn’t Gone

Lloyds Banking Group clawed back some ground Wednesday, though the rebound looked more like damage control than a real turnaround. Shares changed hands at 94.76p, up 0.74% by 11:02 BST. This followed a tough Tuesday for Lloyds, which slid 4.35% to 94.06p—while the FTSE 100 barely budged. It’s all about the cause this time. Lloyds didn’t tumble on earnings news — the stock got caught in the crosshairs as markets treated it like a stand-in for UK fiscal risk. Gilts slid, sterling softened, and banks wound up the target. Investors, wary of a Labour Party shift toward higher lender taxes, dumped shares.
May 13, 2026
Rolls-Royce Stock Tries to Stabilize as Investors Test the Limits of the Turnaround
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Rolls-Royce Stock Tries to Stabilize as Investors Test the Limits of the Turnaround

Rolls-Royce Holdings plc ticked up in London on Wednesday, hovering near 1,197.60p after ending Tuesday at 1,191p. The stock barely budged within its session, moving between 1,195.60p and 1,215.60p. That’s significant—1,190p remains the pivot to watch, with the chart more focused on defending that level than pushing higher. This move is really about the market taking a breather. Shares slid 2.98% on Tuesday, lagging a nearly unchanged FTSE 100, after some volatile action: up 6.42% on May 6, then three back-to-back down days later in the week. That pretty much sums it up—investors aren’t bailing on the turnaround, but they’ve stopped chasing unless there’s something new to go on.
May 13, 2026
Barclays Stock Rebounds as UK Bank-Tax Fears Collide With Strong Q1 Capital Story
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Barclays Stock Rebounds as UK Bank-Tax Fears Collide With Strong Q1 Capital Story

Barclays clawed back a bit early Wednesday, ticking up 1.34% to 420.45p. Still, the bounce lacked conviction—it wasn’t some decisive “risk-on” swing. More like a hesitant rebound from Tuesday, when UK political jitters dragged banks down and gilts took another hit. Barclays is moving in step with UK banks, gilts, and tax risk—simultaneously. On Tuesday, long-dated UK yields surged to highs not seen in nearly 30 years, sterling slid, and shares in Barclays, NatWest, and Lloyds all tumbled over 3%. JPMorgan, meanwhile, is now factoring in a jump in the UK bank surcharge to 5% from 3%, calling it a straight hit to sector profits.
May 13, 2026
Compass Group Stock Extends Rally as Profit Upgrade Reframes AI and Inflation Risks
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Compass Group Stock Extends Rally as Profit Upgrade Reframes AI and Inflation Risks

Shares in Compass Group extended their gains Wednesday, continuing a rally that started after the contract catering giant boosted its full-year profit outlook. The London-listed stock edged up 1.06% to about $32.27, building on Tuesday’s $31.93 close and Monday’s $30.19 finish. Investors had more than a revenue beat to chase here. Compass revised its forecast, now projecting underlying operating profit growth above 11%—a notch higher than the previous “about 10%” outlook. That’s profit before certain items get excluded, like select acquisition-related costs. Earnings got a fresh look after the update.
May 13, 2026
Anglo American Rallies as Copper’s Record Run Turns the Teck Deal Into the Main Trade
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Anglo American Rallies as Copper’s Record Run Turns the Teck Deal Into the Main Trade

Anglo American plc surged in London trading, with investors piling into copper plays again; this time, Anglo stands out as a clearer FTSE proxy for the theme. The most recent delayed quote had the stock up 156p, or 4.0%, while the FTSE 100 managed just a 0.52% gain. Notably, that's a big gap for a miner that's already in the crosshairs of merger-focused funds. There’s no mystery behind the move. Copper climbed 1.59% on May 13 to $6.59 per pound, data from Trading Economics show, up over 8% for the month and hitting a record high in May. The surge comes as data-center construction, electrification trends, ongoing demand from China, and supply bottlenecks—including sulphuric acid shortages linked to the US-Iran
May 13, 2026
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