Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis with the Oil Price Information Service, said:
[The] limited nature of Israeli strikes against Iran should diminish fears of wider war and shave some of the geopolitical premium on crude oil.
Europe’s main stock index closed higher today as gains across most sectors outweighed the weakness in energy stocks caused by a slide in oil prices.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 finished 0.4pc higher after logging its first weekly decline in three.
The energy sector dropped 1.3pc to a near two-week low as oil prices slid after Iran downplayed Israel’s retaliatory strike over the weekend.
On the flip side, construction and materials, and media, led the charge among sectoral gainers.
Travel and leisure sector, which houses airline stocks such as Lufthansa and easyJet, also gained as lower oil prices translate to increased profit margins for airlines.
France’s Cac 40, which hit a one-week high, and Spain’s Ibex 35 index were the top gainers among national stock indexes.
In the face of an improving inflation trend and economic concerns that prompted a European Central Bank interest-rate cut earlier this month, the bloc’s third-quarter GDP and October inflation data this week will be at the top of investors’ radar.
Capital Economics’ Europe team said:
We are making major downward revisions to our ECB interest-rate forecast… the bank will implement back-to-back [half a percentage point] cuts in December and January.
The team highlighted their expectations of meagre economic growth at the start of the fourth quarter, concerns over a loosening labour market and slowing wage growth, and significant inflation risks over the next two years.
The yield on UK government bonds rose today, continuing the rise that has occurred over the past month.
Markets are trying to gauge the scale of tax and spending rise that the Government has planned for its Budget this Wednesday.
Adam Dent, a strategist at Santander CIB, told Bloomberg:
The gilt market is nervous about the potential sharp increase [of gilts being issued]. We are going to have high gilt issuance for many years to come.
Last month, The Telegraph reported on market worries that the the Government may need to tap the markets for hundreds of billions of pounds this year alone, including debt it needs to roll over.
George Buckley, the chief UK economist at Nomura, said:
Depending on the upcoming monthly budget deficit out-turns and how much policy loosening the Government is willing to allow, gilt issuance could be north of £300bn for this fiscal year. The previous budget estimated it would be £277.7bn.
Philips said today that demand in China slumped significantly in recent months, forcing the Dutch medical devices maker to lower its sales outlook for the year and sending its shares down 17pc.
The company said it had been hit by a deterioration of consumer confidence in China and lower orders from Chinese hospitals.
Roy Jakobs, chief executive, said:
The consumer market is really subdued and we expect that to continue for the near term.
Philips is the latest in a string of global companies to warn about the health of the Chinese economy, which continues to flag despite Beijing’s efforts to turn things around.
Mr Jakobs said orders in China had shown a “very material” decline in the third quarter, without giving an exact number.
The company is best known as for consumer electronics but has been reinventing itself as a medical technology business.
Facebook owner Meta is working on an artificial intelligence-based search engine as it looks to reduce dependence on Google and Microsoft’s Bing, the Information reported today.
Meta’s web crawler will provide conversational answers to users about current events on Meta AI, the company’s chatbot on WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook, according to the report.
The Telegraph has approached Meta for comment.
The UK’s benchmark FTSE 100 rose on Monday in a broader rally led by travel and leisure shares, as well as aerospace and defence stocks. However, losses in commodity-linked companies restricted overall gains.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 gained 0.5pc, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 rose 0.1pc
The largest riser on the FTSE 100 was aerospace manufacturer Melrose, up 9.8pc, followed by education business Pearson, up 2.7pc. The biggest faller was Lloyds, down 2.7pc, followed by Premier Inn owner Whitbread, down 1.6pc.
Both BP and Shell were down around 1.4pc each.
Meanwhile, British business confidence sank to a four-month low in October ahead of the first budget plan from the country’s new government, a survey showed on Monday, echoing other signs of corporate nervousness about possible tax increases.
Oil prices tumbled and global stocks rose today on relief that Israel’s strikes on Iran avoided the country’s energy infrastructure.
Israel spared oil and nuclear facilities in its air strikes on Iranian military targets Saturday, easing investor concerns about the extent of Israel’s retaliation to Tehran’s Oct 1 missile barrage.
Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, said:
Investors breathed a sigh of relief as the attack was more restrained than expected.
Oil prices have swung wildly in recent weeks, with investors concerned that an attack on Iran’s oil facilities would not only take Iranian crude off the market but spur a wider conflict involving other regional oil producers.
Brent North Sea crude, the international benchmark oil contract, fell as much as six percent on Monday with prices hovering just above $71 per barrel.
Stephen Innes, analyst at SPI Asset Management, said:
Israel’s strike, carefully avoiding energy sites, has softened fears of a full-scale conflict with Iran .
Concerns in the oil market have now shifted back to focus on potential oversupply in 2025 and a slowdown in demand from China, the world’s largest oil importer, according to analysts.
Germany’s biggest trade union, IG Metall, announced today it was calling on some 3.9m metalworkers to briefly walk out to back its demand for a seven-percent pay rise.
The warning strike will begin at midnight on Tuesday, the trade union said, and is expected to last several hours.
“The employers’ salary offer is insufficient,” said Knut Giesler, head of IG Metall’s negotiating team in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, adding that “the first pay rise should come before July 2025”, the date suggested by employers in stalled talks on a new collective bargaining agreement.
Bosses in the metalworking sector had offered a rise of 3.6pc over 27 months, with a first rise of 1.7pc coming in July 2025.
They said that low orders and production levels meant that higher salaries were not possible.
Demonstrations were expected to accompany the strikes at Volkswagen’s factory in the northwestern city of Osnabrueck, which is covered by collective pay agreement for the metalwork sector.
On Monday VW staff representatives told workers that the ailing car giant was planning to close at least three factories in Germany and cull tens of thousands of jobs.
Giesler said that the warning strikes were aimed at putting “pressure” on employers and getting “a quick result”.
Stefan Wolf, head of the metalwork employers’ association, told the T-Online website that the warning strikes “do not make an agreement easier” but that he nonetheless “can see a good basis for fair talks to continue”.
“Given that the economic situation is deteriorating almost every week, the union also has an interest in striking a deal quickly,” Wolf said.
Lidl has said it will be opening 10 more shops in the UK before Christmas as the discount retailer targets new shoppers ahead of the festive season.
The German supermarket chain also announced it has agreed to sell 12 new stores as part of a leaseback deal worth £70m.
Lidl currently has about 960 stores but has previously said it is targeting more than 1,100 across England, Wales and Scotland.
The new openings this year will create around 400 jobs and reach thousands more households, according to the retailer.
The expansion includes shops in Berwick Green in Bristol, Bovey Tracey in Devon, Caterham in Surrey and Stirchley in Birmingham, as well as branches in London’s Hoxton and Forest Gate.
It also includes the reopening of relocated or refurbished shops in Chessington and Dagenham in London, and Connah’s Quay in Wales.
Lidl is now the sixth biggest UK supermarket with a 7.6pc share of the grocery market, according to the latest figures from Kantar.
That puts it just behind Morrisons, which has an 8.6pc share, and German rival Aldi, which has grown its share to just under a 10th.
The John Lewis Partnership is to hire 12,500 temporary staff in its biggest ever recruitment drive for the festive period.
The retail group said it will hire staff across its John Lewis department store business and Waitrose grocery arm.
The group said the firm will hire 4,100 more temporary workers than in the same period last year.
The roles will be in Waitrose and John Lewis shops and across the group’s distribution network to support it around its busiest period, in the run-up to Black Friday, Christmas and John Lewis’s sale period in January.
Waitrose is to start recruiting 7,700 seasonal roles across more than 300 shops in the coming weeks, including supermarket assistants, night shift workers and customer delivery drivers.
Recruitment for 2,000 temporary roles at the 34 John Lewis stores is already under way.
The partnership is also recruiting around 2,800 workers in its supply chain through agencies for roles such as warehouse workers and drivers to deal with increased online demand.
Axel Rudolph, senior technical analyst at online trading platform IG, said:
Stock markets around the globe benefit from risk on sentiment amid a muted Israeli response to Iran’s early October attack.
A lawsuit has been filed seeking to stop billionaire Elon Musk from awarding $1m (£770,000) a day to registered US voters in battleground states.
The complaint, brought by the top prosecutor in Philadelphia, called the giveaway by Mr Musk’s America PAC, which backs Donald Trump, an “illegal lottery” that enticed Pennsylvania residents to share personal data. CNBC first reported the lawsuit.
Lawrence Krasner, the top prosecutor in Pennsylvania’s largest city, which is a Democratic stronghold, alleged the giveaways violated state consumer protection laws.
“If not enjoined, their lottery scheme will irreparably harm Philadelphians – and others in Pennsylvanians – and tarnish the public’s right to a free and fair election,” the complaint read.
In response to a request for comment by Reuters, an America PAC spokesperson sent a link to the group’s latest post on X, which was published after news of the lawsuit.
The post identified a Michigan resident who received the $1m prize, and said additional awards would be handed out every day until the election.
Pennsylvania is one of seven battleground states where the presidential election between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, is set to be decided. Whichever candidate wins the state will receive its 19 electoral votes out of a total of 270 needed to win.
The Justice Department has sent a letter to America PAC warning that the billionaire Tesla chief executive’s giveaways for registered voters who sign his free-speech and gun-rights petition may violate federal law.
The Telegraph has approached America PAC for comment.
US stocks are approaching records Monday ahead of a big week for profit reports from Big Tech stocks. Oil prices, meanwhile, are tumbling toward their worst loss in more than a year.
The S&P 500 rose 0.3pc. The main measure of the US stock market is coming off its first losing week in the last seven, but it’s still near its all-time high set earlier this month.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6pc, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.5pc and was flirting with its own record set in July.
Several Big Tech stocks helped lead the way, and five of the behemoths known as the “Magnificent Seven” are on this week’s schedule to report their latest profits. These high-flying stocks have been at the forefront of Wall Street for years and have grown so big that their movements can single-handedly shift the S&P 500.
After suffering a summertime swoon on worries that their stock prices had risen too quickly when compared with their profits, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Apple and Amazon are under pressure to deliver more big growth.
Another member of the Magnificent Seven, Tesla, soared to one of the best days in its history last week after reporting a better profit than analysts expected.
Monday’s gains for Big Tech helped offset drops for stocks in the oil-and-gas industry, which were hurt by the sinking price of oil. Exxon Mobil’s 1.2pc drop and ConocoPhillips’ slide of 1.9pc were two of the heaviest weights on the S&P 500.
Barclays is considering re-entering Saudi Arabia nearly a decade after leaving the Gulf nation.
The high street bank is looking to expand its operation across the Middle East, including Riyadh, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
C.S. Venkatakrishnan, chief executive of Barclays, told Bloomberg: “We’re looking at how best to re-enter the country.
“We will consider corporate banking work, but investment banking and trading will be the focus.”
It comes as banks seek to capitalise on Saudi Arabia’s trillion dollar economic transformation plan, known as Vision 2030.
Boeing’s $19bn (£14.6bn) fund raising plans will inevitably see shares offered at a discount, an analyst have said.
Industry editor Christopher Jasper reports:
Nick Cunningham, an aerospace analyst at Agency Partners, said that it could take months for Boeing to set a price after marketing them to institutions.
Rachel Reeves is to raise the minimum wage by more than triple the rate of inflation in a move that will heap an extra £6bn in costs on employers.
The Chancellor is expected to raise minimum wage by at least 5.8pc in her Budget on Wednesday, far higher than the current rate of inflation at 1.7pc, based on September figures from the Low Pay Commission (LPC).
This will increase the minimum wage from £11.44 to £12.10, adding £1,100 to the annual salary of a typical minimum wage worker, according to Capital Economics.
The expected rise comes despite falling inflation which stood at 1.7pc in September.
Economics reporter Melissa Lawford has the story…
Wall Street stocks climbed at the opening bell as investors geared up for a busy week in tech earnings and US economic data, while global oil prices tumbled.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.7pc to 42,408.72 soon after US markets opened.
The broad-based S&P 500 Index added 0.6pc to 5,840.12, while the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.6pc to 18,636.48.
Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities, said the strong opening was likely “due mostly to the collapse in oil prices”.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, is down by more than 5pc to about $72 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, has fallen 5pc to about $67 per barrel.
Workers face losing hundreds of pounds from their payslips if the Government increases employers’ National Insurance contributions, analysis has found.
Reports suggest that the Chancellor will increase National Insurance contributions for employers in Wednesday’s Budget. While Labour claims the Budget will not hit workers’ payslips, analysis shows that the employees could see their salaries reduced as companies try to avoid increased costs.
On a £30,000 salary, an employer currently pays National Insurance contributions of £2,884. This means they pay £32,884 per year to employ the worker, between salary and National Insurance contributions
However, research modelled by the PolicyEngine think tank found that if the Government raises the employer National Insurance contributions by one percentage point from 13.8pc to 14.8pc and the employer does not change the salary, then the contribution paid by the employer rises to £3,093.
To keep the total cost of employment fixed at £32,884 between the salary and National Insurance contributions, the employer would have to lower their salary to £29,818, PolicyEngine said.
Senior money writer Fran Ivens reports…
Rachel Reeves has been warned against raiding drivers’ pockets with an increase in fuel duty, even as a drop in global oil markets holds out the prospect of lower prices at the pumps.
Tim Wallace, The Telegraph’s deputy economics editor, reports:
Brent crude dropped more than 5pc in futures markets on Monday to below $72 per barrel. That is down from just over $76 late last week and more than $80 earlier in the month. Prices dropped sharply after Israel targeted military installations in Iran rather than the oil industry, as it retaliated against Tehran’s most recent assaults.
Local services will receive a £240m funding boost in the Budget, the Prime Minister has said.
The Treasury said the cash injection will be used to accelerate reforms to Britain’s work and welfare system.
The funding will be partly used to help roll out Labour’s Get Britain Working initiative in local areas, which includes providing more skills, work and health support for disabled people and the long term sick.
It comes as the Government prepares to move 800,000 people on the old Employment and Support Allowance scheme to Universal Credit from this autumn instead of 2028.
Sir Keir Starmer said: “Rebuilding Britain and delivering growth will take the skills and effort of all of us.
“That’s why this Budget will also get Britain working. It will pave the way for reforms that tackle the root causes for economic inactivity and make sure that those who can work do work.”
Boeing launched a $19bn share sale as the embattled planemaker seeks to bolster financial reserves depleted by more than six weeks of strikes.
Transport editor Christopher Jasper reports:
The US firm is offering 90m common shares worth almost $14bn at Friday’s closing price of $155, together with $5bn in mandatory convertible securities, it said Monday.
The fundraising is intended to shore up Boeing’s balance sheet after the walkouts by 33,000 assembly-line workers in a dispute over pay and conditions idled production.
It should also help preserve the company’s investment-level credit ratings, which had been facing a likely downgrade to junk status, pushing up the cost of capital.
The refinancing will boost the position of Boeing boss Kelly Ortberg, who took over on Aug. 8, as he faces down demands for a sweetened pay offer from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
Mr Ortberg previously tabled a 30pc raise after workers indicated they were seeking a 40pc hike and the restoration of a defined-benefits pension scheme. The union rejected the proposal out of hand and the CEO withdrew it, ending negotiations.
Boeing last week reported a $6bn loss for the third quarter as the strike compounded the crisis that has gripped the manufacturer since January, when a 737 Max jet narrowly escaped disaster following a mid-air blowout involving a fuselage panel.
The incident at 16,000 feet led federal regulators to cap production and order a wholesale shakeup of Boeing’s manufacturing, quality control and supply-chain processes.
First flagged by Boeing earlier this month, the fundraising includes an over-allotment option that could lift its value towards £22bn.
Taken alongside an earlier $10bn credit agreement with banks, that could take the financing involved beyond the amount raised by the firm to survive Covid.
Boeing said it intends to use the proceeds for “general corporate purpose” including the repayment of debt and additions to working capital.
McDonald’s is bringing back its Quarter Pounder hamburgers after dozens of people fell sick and one person died from an E.coli outbreak.
The US fast food chain said that the burgers will return to US restaurants this week, but without onions.
McDonald’s said that its beef burgers were tested by the Colorado Department of Agriculture, which found no traces of the E. coli bacteria in dozens of samples of its fresh and frozen beef patties.
The company on Sunday said: “The issue appears to be contained to a particular ingredient and geography, and we remain very confident that any contaminated product related to this outbreak has been removed from our supply chain and is out of all McDonald’s restaurants.”
Last week, McDonald’s stopped selling Quarter Pounders in about a fifth of its 13,000 US restaurants after several people hospitalised with E. coli reported eating the burgers before developing symptoms.
Its share price is down nearly 3pc in after hours trading since the announcement.
Sir Keir Starmer is delivering a speech in the West Midlands as he sets the tone ahead of the Budget on Wednesday.
The Prime Minister is expected to promise that the Budget will “ignore the populist chorus of easy answers”, with Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, due to announce a series of tax hikes.
Follow the speech with Jack Maidment, The Telegraph’s politics live blog editor, here.
Oil could fall to their lowest price since the pandemic as tensions in the Middle East ease, analysts have warned.
Oil prices have slumped after Israel’s air strike on Iran carefully avoided key energy infrastructure sites, reducing fears of a full-blow conflict with the country.
Israel carried out air strikes on military sites in Iran on Saturday in response to Tehran’s October 1 missile barrage, itself retaliation for the killing of Iran-backed militant leaders and a Revolutionary Guards commander.
Iran has since downplayed the attack, claiming it caused “limited damage” to a few radar systems, signalling its reluctance to further escalate the conflict.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, this morning has fallen by more than 6pc to about $71 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, has dropped by as much as 6pc to about $67 per barrel.
Stephen Innes, analyst at SPI Asset Management, said warned that oil prices could continue to fall if geopolitical tensions in the region continue to ease.
He said: “If tensions cool further or peace talks unexpectedly gain traction, we could see oil slide down to $60 per barrel as traders shift focus back to the looming 2025 supply glut – especially if China’s economic stimulus underwhelms.”
The last time that Brent oil traded at $60 per barrel was in February 2021.
Arne Lohmann Rasmussen, chief analyst at A/S Global Risk Management, said that although we could see “further short-term downward pressure” on oil prices, most of the geopolitical premium is “already priced out” and there’s strong support around $70 per barrel.
Ukrainian activists are calling on the Labour mayor of the West Midlands to condemn Cadbury’s US owner over its decision to keep selling products in Russia.
Campaigners at B4Ukraine have written to Richard Parker, who replaced former Tory mayor Andy Street in May, urging him to “publicly and forcefully” address executives at Mondelez.
Unlike most other Western firms, Mondelez has refused to sever ties with Russia after claiming investors do not “morally care” if it does so.
Senior business reporter Daniel Woolfson has the story…
Volkswagen is planning to permanently reduce monthly salaries by 10pc and cut thousands of jobs as part of cost-cutting measures.
VW’s workers council told employees that Europe’s largest carmaker is closing several German factories for the first time in its 87-year history.
Volkswagen will close at least three factories as part efforts to cut costs and become more competitive in the electric era. The company will also impose two pay freezing rounds, resulting in no wage increases in 2025 and 2026.
Daniela Cavallo, council chief who also sits on VW’s supervisory board, told workers that cost-cutting plans also include downsizing all remaining German sites.
“This means taking out even more products, quantities, shifts and entire assembly lines far beyond what we have already done so far,” she said. “This is starvation, a weakening in instalments.”
The group, which owns Audi and Skoda, will also divest entire departments and divisions, moving work abroad or outsourcing it to external service providers.
Volkswagen will meat with unions on Wednesday for a second round of negotiations.
VW’s workers council called for the German government to present a plan on how to kickstart the market for electric vehicles, amid concerns about their range, high prices and the lack of charging infrastructure across the EU.
Stefan Kaufmann, president and chief executive of Olympus, has stepped down over allegations that he bought illegal drugs.
Shares in the Japanese camera giant fell by more than 5pc after the Japanese camera giant confirmed the German national’s resignation.
Olympus said that it immediately investigated the facts with outside legal counsel after receiving the allegation in consultation and notified authorities, cooperating fully with their investigation.
The company said: “Based on the results of the investigation, the Board of Directors unanimously determined that Mr. Stefan Kaufmann likely engaged in behaviours that were inconsistent with our global code of conduct, our core values, and our corporate culture.”
Mr Kaufmann was asked to offer his resignation, which he did and was subsequently accepted by Olympus’s board.
Olympus chairman, Yasuo Takeuchi, will temporarily take over the chief executive duties while the company considers “all options” for a successor.
In an update shared on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the company added: “Olympus apologises deeply for the concern this has caused to our shareholders, customers and all stakeholders.”
Mr Kaufmann was contacted for comment.
As the Budget draws closer, the definition of “working people” is getting narrower. Sir Keir Starmer has made it clear that people who own shares and rental properties will be fair game for a tax raid, regardless of whether they work or not, but has insisted that those who go “out and earn their living” will be protected.
Yet even this is misleading. Rachel Reeves is expected to use this week’s Budget to increase employers’ National Insurance contributions, which are paid on wages. The measure is set to be the largest revenue-raising change in the Budget, netting £20bn.
The Chancellor has also considered raiding the retirement savings of workers by introducing National Insurance on the contributions employers make to pension pots.
Business leaders and politicians warn that both measures will hit working people by making it harder to get a job and dragging on wage rises.
Deputy economics editor Tim Wallace has more…
Trainline has increased its full-year guidance for the second time in two months after making more cash from ticket sales this year than it previously expected.
The bookings platform forecasted that net ticket sales could increase by as much as 14pc for the year ending February 28, higher than the previous top end of 12pc.
The London-listed company revised its guidance after increasing revenue 17pc to £229m during its first half of 2024 and recording a “strong start” to the second half.
Trainline makes most of its money by taking a commission on ticket sales for coach and rail journeys, and has benefitted from fewer train strikes this year than last.
The latest update comes after Trainline last month attributed the growing popularity of digital tickets stored on mobile phones versus paper tickets for its improving sales.
The FTSE 100 has opened flat after oil prices slump in response to easing tensions between Israel and Iran.
BP and Shell shares opened 2pc lower after Brent crude oil prices dropped by 4.5pc to $72.60 per barrel.
The blue-chip index opened flat at 8248.84, while the midcap FTSE 250 opened at 20,819.91.
It comes after Israel’s missile strike on Iran over the weekend avoided its energy sites, which has softened fears of full-scale conflict between the two countries.
British renewable electricity and energy services provider Good Energy is considering a takeover proposal from a Dubai-based smart grid technology specialist.
The London-listed energy company said that it received an unsolicited proposal from Esyasoft Holding last Friday, becoming the latest FTSE member to be targeted by foreign buyers.
In an update shared to the London Stock Exchange, Good Energy said that the possible offer is being evaluated by its board.
Esyasoft Holding has until November 25 to announce whether it intends to make an offer.
The chief executive of London-listed money transfer firm Wise has been fined £350,000 by the City financial watchdog for failing to notify it about “significant tax issues”.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said Kristo Kaarmann failed to initially notify the regulator about a previous tax issue and fine during an assessment of his fitness and propriety in 2021.
The fintech billionaire was previously fined £365,651 by HMRC relating to an outstanding capital gains tax bill for the 2017-18 tax year.
The FCA found that Mr Kaarmann, who co-founded Wise in 2011, failed to appropriately consider the significance of the tax issues and notify the regulator despite being aware of them for more than seven months.
Mr Kaarmann’s latest fine was reduced from a potential £500,000 after agreeing to resolve the matter.
Responding to the FCA’s decision, Mr Käärmann said: “After several years and full cooperation with the FCA, we have brought this process to a close. I remain focused on delivering the mission for Wise and achieving our long-term vision for being ‘the’ network for the world’s money. We continue to build a product and a company that will serve our customers and owners for the decades to come.”
Lloyds Bank is “assessing” a landmark court ruling about the historic “mis-selling” of motor finance loans which wiped off billions of the lender’s market value.
The lender’s share price declined by more than 7pc on Friday after the Court of Appeal ruled that motor finance brokers must fully inform customers about commission received from arranging car loans. The ruling could be appealed to the UK Supreme Court.
The outcome wiped more than £3bn off Lloyds market value amid concerns about that the UK banking industry could be on the hook for billions of pounds in customer compensation.
Lloyds and other lenders are currently embroiled in a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) investigation into whether customers were aware of discretionary fee arrangements, where dealerships would receive higher commission if they sold loans to customers at higher interest rates.
The City watchdog is concerned that this practice may have seen drivers mis-sold loans that were not in their best interests.
In an update shared to the London Stock Exchange on Monday, Lloyds Bank said:
“The Group is assessing the potential impact of the decisions, as well as any broader implications, pending the outcome of the appeal applications. The Group will update the market, if and as appropriate.”
Jeremy Hunt has accused the Budget watchdog of giving Rachel Reeves political cover for a record-breaking tax raid.
The former chancellor attacked the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) for bias as it prepares to release a report on Budget day reviewing an alleged £22 billion “black hole” left by the Tories.
In a letter to the OBR, Mr Hunt said a decision to publish its findings alongside Ms Reeves’s first Budget on Wednesday was not “consistent with political impartiality” and “would cross a line that would be impossible to defend as anything other than a political intervention”.
Charles Hymas, home affairs editor, and technology senior reporter Matthew Field, has the story:
Changes to tax relief on employer pension contributions “would appear in the pay slip as a higher level of tax”, economists have warned ahead of the Budget.
Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said that although workers won’t directly be paying more, it was “obvious” that costs would be passed onto them by their employers.
It comes amid rumours that the Chancellor will increase National Insurance for employers in her maiden Budget on Wednesday.
Employers currently pay 13.8pc in National Insurance on an employee’s salary, unless it goes into a pension. Changing this would raise £17bn a year, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
Speaking on the BBC Today programme, Mr Johnson said:
“If employer National Insurance contributions go up in the longer term or the medium term, that is passed through to people who are in work are either in lower pay than they would otherwise have or potentially in a smaller number of jobs. I mean, that is just kind of obvious. It would appear in the pay slip as a higher level of tax.”
Oil prices have tumbled after Israel’s missile strikes on Iran avoided the country’s oil infrastructure.
Israel carried out air strikes on military sites in Iran on Saturday in response to Tehran’s October 1 missile barrage, itself retaliation for the killing of Iran-backed militant leaders and a Revolutionary Guards commander.
Iran has downplayed the attack, saying it caused “limited damage” to a few radar systems, signalling what analysts say is the Islamic republic’s reluctance to escalate further.
Oil prices fell as much as 5pc in early trade before paring some of their losses.
Stephen Innes, analyst at SPI Asset Management, said: “Israel’s strike, carefully avoiding energy sites, has softened fears of a full-scale conflict with Iran
An exodus of landlords ahead of the Budget has driven a surge in home sales, according to new data.
New figures from online estate agents Zoopla showed there are currently 306,000 homes in the process of being sold, representing transactions worth a total of £113bn.
This is the highest total since Autumn 2020 when a stamp duty “holiday” triggered a wave of purchases during Covid.
The total value of the sales pipeline is up 30pc year-on-year, while the number of homes with a sale agreed is up by 62,2650 compared to last year.
It comes as an increasing number of buy-to-let landlords abandon the property market after being driven out by red tape and higher taxes.
This has allowed a flood of first-time buyers to swoop in and purchase former rental properties, encouraged by a recent drop in mortgage rates.
Industry experts said that first-time buyers are also racing to complete deals amid fears that Rachel Reeves will make changes to stamp duty relief in this week’s Budget.
Currently, first-time buyers do not pay any stamp duty on properties worth up to £425,000 and partial stamp duty on homes costing £625,000.
This means that as much as 80pc of new homeowners do not pay any stamp duty.
However, there are fears the Chancellor could remove support for first-time buyers as she attempts to plug what she claims is a £22bn black hole in the public finances.
Should Ms Reeves revert the stamp duty threshold to its previous level of £300,000, industry experts predict that an additional 20pc of homeowners will end up paying stamp duty.
Chris McLaughlin, director at Bristol-based Ocean Estate Agents said: “Buy-to-let activity has notably declined as smaller or accidental landlords exit the market, influenced by less favourable financial conditions and increasing regulation.
“Consequently, much of the new housing stock now comprises former rental properties. Additionally, transaction completions have risen in the last couple of months, particularly within the investment property sector, as sellers seek to conclude deals ahead of potential changes anticipated in the upcoming Budget.”
According to its latest monthly House Price Index, Zoopla said that first-time buyers are now expected to make up 36pc of all home sales in 2024, compared to 31pc for existing homeowners.
Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, said: “First-time buyer numbers have recovered as mortgage rates have fallen but a sizeable deposit is still required to buy. Possible changes to stamp duty relief will only create further barriers to ownership for this group who already face significant affordability constraints.”
1) Hundreds of entrepreneurs prepare to quit Britain ahead of Budget tax raid | Businesses worth £2.6bn to the UK economy are exploring moving abroad
2) Ukrainian activists pressure Labour mayor over Cadbury-owner’s links to Russia | Mayor for Birmingham, where the business has its Quaker roots, is being urged to intervene
3) French oil giant embroiled in legal battle over plan to shut North Sea terminal | TotalEnergies’ plan to close Gryphon terminal sparks judicial review
4) Britain’s households rake in record £31m from solar panels | Homes signed up to energy scheme triples as Ed Miliband plots ‘rooftop revolution’
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Asia has entered its busiest week for earnings, with investors likely to focus on the results of Chinese and Hong Kong-listed banks for clues on the potential impact of Beijing’s stimulus measures.
Of the 1,330 MSCI Asia Pacific Index constituents, 544 firms including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. will be announcing results this week, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Traders will be scrutinising commentary from lenders in China for any evidence of a pick up in credit demand that would signal a recovery in consumer confidence. Chinese banks have been plagued by slowing profit growth and shrinking interest margins.
Hong Kong-listed banks such as HSBC Holdings Plc. will also be on investors’ radar after it announced a revamp in corporate structure.
In currencies, the Japanese yen fell as much as 0.9pc to 153.69 per dollar Monday, the weakest level in about three months, after a gamble by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to call a snap election backfired.
The weaker yen, which benefits the nation’s export-oriented economy, helped push the Topix index up by as much as 1.6pc.
Meanwhile, oil prices tumbled in early Asian trading as dealers were relieved that Israeli strikes carried out on Saturday against military targets in Iran had spared the country’s oil installations.