7 h. ago SoftBank shares dive after Nvidia sale puts AI valuations in spotlight – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as investors ponder AI valuations and SoftBank’s growing funding demands for OpenAIJapan’s government is growing anxious about its weakening currency.The yen, which has been generally weakening since the start of October, is approaching the significant level of ¥155 to the dollar, a point where Toyko has intervened in the markets before“We’re seeing one-sided, rapid currency moves of late.The government is watching for any excessive and disorderly moves with a high sense of urgency.”The reopening of the U.S. government has been a bittersweet elixir for the greenback.On one hand, risk is back on — stocks have caught a second wind, buybacks are flowing, and high-beta FX like AUD are catching the same tailwinds that power stocks. On the other hand, the same optimism that revives equity appetite also reawakens the yen’s old nemesis: carry.“We have delivered a resilient performance thanks to the hard work of our teams on the gro...

Economics

52 h. ago Business news live: Brits expected to spend £9.5bn across Black Friday to Cyber Monday sales

Stock market news plus latest business and personal finance updates from Monday

Economics

55 h. ago Business news live: Troubled Guinness maker appoints new CEO and the job type AI threatens most in 2026

Stock market news plus latest business and personal finance updates from Monday

Events

9 d. ago Oil price rises after Opec+ pauses oil output hikes amid glut fears – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as Opec+ pauses oil output hikes beyond December amid fears of a crude glutGood morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.The oil price is rising after the world’s biggest oil producers agreed to pause their planned oil production hikes in the first months of next year, to assuage fears that the global market may become oversupplied with crude.“Sanctions on Russian producers have injected a new layer of uncertainty into supply forecasts, and the group knows that overproducing now could backfire later.”9am GMT: Eurozone manufacturing PMI for October9.30am GMT: UK manufacturing PMI for October9.30am GMT: UK public sector productivity statistics2.45pm GMT: US manufacturing PMI for October Continue reading...

Economics

1 week ago Amazon shares surge as AI boom fuels cloud growth; Nvidia boss says selling chips in China is Trump’s call – as it happened

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsSouthern Water has ended its three month hosepipe ban that covered most of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.The water company, which told its customers that the River Test and River Itchen were at “critically low levels” in July, said it was able to lift the ban after wet weather in September and October.We’re incredibly grateful to our customers for their support and understanding during this challenging time.By working together, we’ve not only saved millions of litres of water each day, but also helped protect our precious chalk streams. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Amazon shares surge as AI boom fuels cloud growth; Nvidia boss says selling chips in China is Trump’s call – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsSouthern Water has ended its three month hosepipe ban that covered most of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.The water company, which told its customers that the River Test and River Itchen were at “critically low levels” in July, said it was able to lift the ban after wet weather in September and October.We’re incredibly grateful to our customers for their support and understanding during this challenging time.By working together, we’ve not only saved millions of litres of water each day, but also helped protect our precious chalk streams. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago FTSE 100 winning streak ends as WPP shares hit lowest level since 2008

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsOver in Germany, Puma has told investors this morning that it plans to cut more than 900 jobs in a turnaround plan under the new boss Arthur Hoeld.The sportswear brand said it will cut 900 roles by the end of next year as part of a plan to get back to growth by 2027.At the end of July, we stated that 2025 would be a year of reset. Since then, we have taken important steps to clean up Puma’s distribution, improve our cash management and reset our operational expenses. By expanding our cost efficiency programme, we are moving quickly to address challenges and make the business more efficient and resilient.I strongly believe the Puma brand has incredible potential with more than 77 years of history, one of the best product archives in the industry and huge credibility in many major sports. We have identified the areas in which we need to take decisive action and outlined our strategic priorities to become one global sports brand...

Events

2 w. ago Wall Street hits record highs after US inflation report fuels interest rate cut hopes – business live

US consumer prices rose by less than expected last month, as markets digest breakdown of trade talks with CanadaUS prices rose at a 3% annual rate in September, slightly beating forecastsNewsflash: Conditions appear to be improving in the UK economy this month.The latest poll of purchasing managers at British firms has found that growth is picking up after the lull in September, partly helped by the resumption of manufacturing at Jaguar Land Rover after its recent cyber attack.“October’s flash UK PMI survey brings hope that September was a low point for the economy from which business conditions are starting to improve.Output has picked up, with a particularly welcome return to growth for manufacturing for the first time in over a year accompanied by an upturn in demand for services, notably among consumers. Business confidence has also brightened slightly, job losses have moderated, and inflationary pressures are coming back to levels consistent with the Bank of England’s 2% target...

Economics

2 w. ago Business conditions ‘starting to improve’ in UK economy as activity picks up – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsNewsflash: Conditions appear to be improving in the UK economy this month.The latest poll of purchasing managers at British firms has found that growth is picking up after the lull in September, partly helped by the resumption of manufacturing at Jaguar Land Rover after its recent cyber attack.“October’s flash UK PMI survey brings hope that September was a low point for the economy from which business conditions are starting to improve.Output has picked up, with a particularly welcome return to growth for manufacturing for the first time in over a year accompanied by an upturn in demand for services, notably among consumers. Business confidence has also brightened slightly, job losses have moderated, and inflationary pressures are coming back to levels consistent with the Bank of England’s 2% target. Continue reading...

Economics

2 w. ago Business condition ‘starting to improve’ in UK economy as activity picks up – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsNewsflash: Conditions appear to be improving in the UK economy this month.The latest poll of purchasing managers at British firms has found that growth is picking up after the lull in September, partly helped by the resumption of manufacturing at Jaguar Land Rover after its recent cyber attack.“October’s flash UK PMI survey brings hope that September was a low point for the economy from which business conditions are starting to improve.Output has picked up, with a particularly welcome return to growth for manufacturing for the first time in over a year accompanied by an upturn in demand for services, notably among consumers. Business confidence has also brightened slightly, job losses have moderated, and inflationary pressures are coming back to levels consistent with the Bank of England’s 2% target. Continue reading...

Economics

3 w. ago Amazon says Web Services are recovering after outage hits millions of users – business live

Fortnite, Roblox, SnapChat, Lloyds Bank, Ring doorbells and Amazon’s own shopping site among services hit by online outageFull story: Amazon Web Services outage hits dozens of websites and appsHeads-up: UBS have upgraded their view on global equities to ‘attractive’, a sign that they think investors should be putting more money into shares.Despite the angst in parts of the market that valuations have risen too high, UBS reckon share prices have further to climb.“We think investors should review current allocations to equities and ensure they are at least consistent with, or modestly higher than, their long-term strategic asset allocation targets. If investors are currently under allocated to equities, we believe they should reallocate excess cash, bond, or high yield credit holdings toward stocks.”“We prefer areas that are exposed to secu­lar growth, like the US, China, (particularly China’s tech sector, which we rate among the Most Attractive sectors globally), as well as global te...

Economics

3 w. ago Amazon battles to fix Web Services outage after millions of users report disruption to websites and apps – business live

Fortnite, Roblox, SnapChat, Lloyds Bank and Ring doorbells among services hit by online outageFull story: Amazon Web Services outage hits dozens of websites and appsHeads-up: UBS have upgraded their view on global equities to ‘attractive’, a sign that they think investors should be putting more money into shares.Despite the angst in parts of the market that valuations have risen too high, UBS reckon share prices have further to climb.“We think investors should review current allocations to equities and ensure they are at least consistent with, or modestly higher than, their long-term strategic asset allocation targets. If investors are currently under allocated to equities, we believe they should reallocate excess cash, bond, or high yield credit holdings toward stocks.”“We prefer areas that are exposed to secu­lar growth, like the US, China, (particularly China’s tech sector, which we rate among the Most Attractive sectors globally), as well as global technology, transformational i...

Economics

3 w. ago Amazon Web Services outage: 6.5m reports of disruption as many websites and apps hit – business live

Fortnite, Roblox, SnapChat, Lloyds Bank and Ring doorbells among services hit by online outageFull story: Amazon Web Services outage hits dozens of websites and appsHeads-up: UBS have upgraded their view on global equities to ‘attractive’, a sign that they think investors should be putting more money into shares.Despite the angst in parts of the market that valuations have risen too high, UBS reckon share prices have further to climb.“We think investors should review current allocations to equities and ensure they are at least consistent with, or modestly higher than, their long-term strategic asset allocation targets. If investors are currently under allocated to equities, we believe they should reallocate excess cash, bond, or high yield credit holdings toward stocks.”“We prefer areas that are exposed to secu­lar growth, like the US, China, (particularly China’s tech sector, which we rate among the Most Attractive sectors globally), as well as global technology, transformational i...

Events

3 w. ago ‘Signs of recovery’ claims Amazon Web Services after internet outage hits many websites and apps – business live

Fortnite, Roblox, SnapChat, Lloyds Bank and Ring doorbells among services hit by online outage Heads-up: UBS have upgraded their view on global equities to ‘attractive’, a sign that they think investors should be putting more money into shares.Despite the angst in parts of the market that valuations have risen too high, UBS reckon share prices have further to climb.“We think investors should review current allocations to equities and ensure they are at least consistent with, or modestly higher than, their long-term strategic asset allocation targets. If investors are currently under allocated to equities, we believe they should reallocate excess cash, bond, or high yield credit holdings toward stocks.”“We prefer areas that are exposed to secu­lar growth, like the US, China, (particularly China’s tech sector, which we rate among the Most Attractive sectors globally), as well as global technology, transformational inno­vations (AI, Power and resources, and Longevity), and pockets with...

Events

3 w. ago Major internet outage hits websites, apps and Lloyds Bank after issue at Amazon Web Services – business live

Fortnite, Roblox, SnapChat, Lloyds Bank and Ring doorbells among services hit by online outage Heads-up: UBS have upgraded their view on global equities to ‘attractive’, a sign that they think investors should be putting more money into shares.Despite the angst in parts of the market that valuations have risen too high, UBS reckon share prices have further to climb.“We think investors should review current allocations to equities and ensure they are at least consistent with, or modestly higher than, their long-term strategic asset allocation targets. If investors are currently under allocated to equities, we believe they should reallocate excess cash, bond, or high yield credit holdings toward stocks.”“We prefer areas that are exposed to secu­lar growth, like the US, China, (particularly China’s tech sector, which we rate among the Most Attractive sectors globally), as well as global technology, transformational inno­vations (AI, Power and resources, and Longevity), and pockets with...

Economics

3 w. ago Nearly £11bn wiped off UK banks after US regional banking fears spooked markets – business live

European stock markets have fallen after two US regional lenders disclosed on Thursday that they were exposed to alleged fraud by borrowersGlobal markets fall and gold hits record high amid jitters over US banksUS regional bank stocks fall amid Wall Street concern over credit marketsStorm clouds are gathering over the financial markets, warns Richard Hunter, head of markets at interactive investor:There are increasing signs of storm clouds gathering over markets, with little relief from the building wall of worry.Already grappling with stretched stock valuations in the AI space, an unresolved government shutdown and a deteriorating relationship between Beijing and Washington, investors were exposed to a new source of concern in the form of lending practices and bad loans for US regional banks. Continue reading...

Economics

3 w. ago FTSE 100 slides as US regional bank worries rock markets – business live

Fear index jumps, and European markets follow Asia lower, as bad loan fears hit valuationsGlobal markets fall and gold hits record high amid jitters over US banksUS regional bank stocks fall amid Wall Street concern over credit marketsStorm clouds are gathering over the financial markets, warns Richard Hunter, head of markets at interactive investor:There are increasing signs of storm clouds gathering over markets, with little relief from the building wall of worry.Already grappling with stretched stock valuations in the AI space, an unresolved government shutdown and a deteriorating relationship between Beijing and Washington, investors were exposed to a new source of concern in the form of lending practices and bad loans for US regional banks. Continue reading...

Economics

3 w. ago FTSE 100 heading for worst day since April as US regional bank worries rock markets – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as FTSE 100 share index sheds 150 points in early tradingUS regional bank stocks fall amid Wall Street concern over credit marketsStorm clouds are gathering over the financial markets, warns Richard Hunter, head of markets at interactive investor:There are increasing signs of storm clouds gathering over markets, with little relief from the building wall of worry.Already grappling with stretched stock valuations in the AI space, an unresolved government shutdown and a deteriorating relationship between Beijing and Washington, investors were exposed to a new source of concern in the form of lending practices and bad loans for US regional banks. Continue reading...

Economics

3 w. ago Stock markets hit by US regional bank worries and trade tensions – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsFears are swirling today that we could be facing a repeat of the US regional banking crisis of 2023.That episode led to the demise of US bank SVB and then Europe’s Credit Suisse.An initially positive risk mood turned during the US session yesterday after news that Zions Bancorp (-13.14%) made a $50m charge-off while Western Alliance (-10.81%) alleged it also suffered from fraud on loans to the same borrowers linked to distressed commercial mortgages.While this was an ostensibly isolated story at two banks each less than $10bn market cap, the event drew inevitable comparisons to the regional bank stress that followed the collapse of SVB in March 2023 and raised broader questions over potential credit quality issues after a lengthy period of elevated rates and expansion in private credit, following also the bankruptcy of subprime auto lender Tricolor last month. Continue reading...

Economics

4 w. ago US treasury secretary accuses Beijing of trying to damage global economy; silver hits record high – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsWhy has US-China trade war restarted and how have markets reacted?A flurry of takeover talk speculation has pushed up shares in budget airline EasyJet this morning.EasyJet’s shares are up over 7%, leading the risers on the FTSE 100 share index.“[The group] does not believe the redress methodology proposed by the FCA appropriately reflects actual customer loss or achieves a proportionate outcome.“...the FCA’s proposed approach to assessing unfairness does not align with the legal clarity provided by the supreme court judgement in respect of the “Johnson” case, which confirmed that the test for unfairness is highly fact specific and must take into account a broad range of factors. The group will continue to engage with the FCA in respect of these points.“Many motor finance lenders did not comply with the law or the rules. It’s time their customers get fair compensation. Recent court judgments show that liabilities exist no matt...

Events