Yahoo Finance Summer holidays at risk as Heathrow security officers to strike
Holidaymakers face travel chaos at Heathrow as security guards prepare to strike for 33 days over summer.
Unite announced on Friday that union members at the UK’s biggest airport are planning industrial action in their long-running dispute over pay.
The trade union is understood to be aiming for industrial action to take place between June and August, although has yet to confirm the official strike dates.
It comes after last month’s half-term travel chaos when a system outage across all UK airports meant passports had to be checked manually, resulting in long queues and several hours of delay.
The latest strikes threaten another bleak summer for UK travellers after struggles to recruit to fill vacancies left airports with severe staff shortages last year.
Unite officials were left scrambling on Friday night after a failure to file paperwork in time forced the union to retract its official announcement.
In a now-deleted tweet, Unite initially said 33 days of strikes would take place “for almost every weekend from mid-June to the end of August”.
However, Unite is understood to have missed the end-of-day deadline to legally notify Heathrow of the planned strikes.
Notices of industrial action must be given to employers at least 13 days before strikes are due to begin and cannot be served over the weekend.
A Unite spokesman said, “Due to a last minute glitch, the industrial action notice has not been served and will be served next week.”
It is unclear whether the delay will change the official strike dates, which Unite plans to confirm next week.
In a now-deleted tweet, general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite is putting Heathrow on notice that strike action at the airport will continue until it makes a fair pay offer to its workers. Make no mistake, our members will receive the union’s unflinching support in this dispute.
“HAL [Heathrow Airport Limited] has got its priorities all wrong. This is an incredibly wealthy company, which this summer is anticipating bumper profits and an executive pay bonanza.
“It’s also expected to pay out huge dividends to shareholders, yet its workers can barely make ends meet and are paid far less than workers at other airports.”
The planned strikes will involve Heathrow’s campus security, as well as officers spread across the airport’s terminal three and terminal five, which is used exclusively by British Airways.
It comes after security guard strike action over the Easter holidays wreaked havoc for holidaymakers, as staff shortages forced the airport to delay and cancel hundreds of flights.
A spokesman for Heathrow said: “Passengers can rest assured that we will do everything we can to minimise strike disruption so they can enjoy their hard-earned summer holidays. Unite has already tried and failed to disrupt the airport with unnecessary strikes on some of our busiest days and we continue to build our plans to protect journeys during any future action.
“The simple fact remains that the majority of colleagues do not support Unite’s strikes. There is a two-year inflation-beating pay rise ready for colleagues, if only Unite would allow them to have a say. We will continue talks with Unite about resolving this issue.”
07:23 PM
Signing off
Okay, that’s all from me this week. If over the weekend you notice empty shelves at Waitrose, here’s why...
06:17 PM
The Bank of England has made Britain the sick man of Europe again,
It seems increasingly clear that the Bank of England is doing a far worse job than comparable central banks in the rest of the world, writes Matthew Lynn.
Until there is wholescale reform of this failing institution, we have little chance of getting our economy back on track again.
We are right back to where we were in the 1970s; the sick man of Europe, with inflation that has become deeply embedded in the economy, and far harder to control than in rival countries.
It should not be like that. Here’s why.
05:33 PM
Heathrow security guards announce 33 days of strikes over pay
The summer holidays face further disruption as Heathrow security guards prepare to strike again.
Security guards at the UK’s biggest airport are preparing to take part in 33 days of strikes, according to Unite the union.
The Unite initially announced plans for members to strike almost every weekend from mid-June until the end of August.
However, the trade union was forced to backtrack after a paperwork error meant that it missed the deadline to officially serve notice on Heathrow Airport before the weekend.
A Unite spokesman said, “Due to a last minute glitch, the industrial action notice has not been served and will be served next week.”
In a now-deleted tweet, general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite is putting Heathrow on notice that strike action at the airport will continue until it makes a fair pay offer to its workers. Make no mistake, our members will receive the union’s unflinching support in this dispute.
“HAL [Heathrow Airport Limited] has got its priorities all wrong. This is an incredibly wealthy company, which this summer is anticipating bumper profits and an executive pay bonanza.
“It’s also expected to pay out huge dividends to shareholders, yet its workers can barely make ends and are paid far less than workers at other airports.”
🚨Breaking: Heathrow set for summer strife as Unite announces 33 days of strike action over poverty pay
Industrial action set for almost every weekend from mid-June to the end of August.
More to follow…— Unite the union: join a union (@unitetheunion) June 2, 2023
05:02 PM
FTSE 100 ends week in the green
The FTSE has closed 1.56pc higher at 7,607.28, joining a global rally in stock markets today amid renewed hopes for the US economy.
The surge means the blue-chip index has grown by 0.48pc in the past five days, marking a positive start to June after last month’s lackluster performance.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 index grew 1.71pc to finish at 19,149.31.
04:20 PM
Hollywood director promises to triple Just Stop Oil donations
Hollywood film director Adam McKay has promised to triple donations made to Just Stop Oil over the weekend, according to the climate activist said.
McKay, who made Netflix’s climate change satire ‘Don’t Look Up’, praised the protest group for waking up “sleeping governments”.
The director, also known for movies ‘Step Brothers’ and ‘The Big Short’ said:
The scientific reality is we will hit 1.5°C of global heating in the next 18-24 months, which should greatly alarm each and every person on this planet.
I stand with those taking action to defend the climate, to wake up the world’s sleeping governments to the terrifying scale of the catastrophe we are now living through.
🎥 UPDATE: Adam McKay to *Triple* Donations
⏳ ‘Don't Look Up’ director Adam McKay stands in solidarity with Dale Vince and Just Stop Oil and — for the next 48 hours — will be tripling all donations made to our campaign.
💸 Donate before 10am on Sunday 4 June and help us put an… pic.twitter.com/F1PxIXnDd5— Just Stop Oil (@JustStop_Oil) June 2, 2023
03:45 PM
Handing over
That’s all from me for another week. Adam Mawardi will make sure you’re kept informed as you head into the weekend.
I leave you with this image of a two-armed robot called “ADAM” preparing a cup of coffee for a customer at Botbar coffee shop in Brooklyn, New York.
The robot barista is expected to make up to 50 espresso drinks an hour when the shop fully opens.
03:29 PM
Barclays and Lloyds reveal 63 branch closures
Two of the country’s biggest banking giants have announced they are slashing another 63 branches, taking away services from local communities around the UK.
Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group between them announced a series of closures which are due to take place later this year or early next year.
Barclays said today it was shuttering 10 branches, while Lloyds is closing 21 Lloyds Bank sites, 15 Halifax and 17 Bank of Scotland between September and next May.
The rapid closure of the UK’s banking network comes as more and more people choose to almost exclusively use online banking, rather than visiting a branch.
Lloyds said that across its brands more than 20m customers regularly use online banking, and that visits to the 53 branches it is shutting have dropped by an average of 55% in the last half-decade.
The worst hit branch slated for closure has seen footfall drop by 73pc.
03:14 PM
French journalists go on strike at newspaper owned by one of the world’s richest men
Journalists at a French newspaper have staged their first strike in 16 years amid an escalating row with its billionaire owner over editorial independence.
Our media reporter James Warrington has the latest:
Reporters at Les Echos, which is owned by Bernard Arnault, the world’s second richest man, have walked out over concerns the tycoon is riding roughshod over long-standing editorial guarantees.
The strike means no print edition of Les Echos was published today, while the newspaper’s website is under a 24-hour blackout.
Journalists have accused bosses of eroding their right to veto the appointment of the paper’s next editor by stacking the vote with hundreds of freelancers and non-journalists.
An abstention would count in favour of Mr Arnault’s candidate, leaving newsroom staff effectively outnumbered, they argue.
Read how it follows a so-called byline strike.
02:55 PM
The Fed 'can still afford to skip a rate hike in June'
After the latest US jobs report, Capital Economics’ chief North America economist Paul Ashworth said:
The bigger-than-expected 339,000 increase in non-farm payroll employment in May will dominate the headlines, but the employment report was not all positive – with a big drop in the household survey measure of employment driving the unemployment rate up to a seven-month high of 3.7pc and average weekly hours worked edging down to a three-year low.
As labour market conditions come into slightly better balance, the upward pressure on wage growth is easing. Despite a 0.3pc month-on-month increase in May, the annual rate of average hourly earnings growth dropped back to 4.3pc, from 4.4pc.
As a result, the Fed can still afford to skip a rate hike in June.
02:36 PM
US markets surge at the opening bell
Wall Street made huge rises at the opening bell amid renewed hopes for the US economy.
The S&P 500 skipped up 0.9pc to 4,257.85 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.8pc to 33,324.21.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 1.1pc to 13,239.50.
02:24 PM
Markets expect pause in interest rate rises
Markets are still pricing in a pause in the US Federal Reserve’s rising interest rate cycle at its next meeting from June 13 to 14.
Traders now predict a slightly higher chance that the Fed will raise rates after the US economy added 339,000 jobs in May, nearly twice as many as analysts had predicted.
However, the chances of a hike are only around 35pc, compared to about 24pc on Thursday, as the Labor Department data showed a slowdown in annual wage growth to 4.3pc from 4.4pc.
01:57 PM
US economy adds nearly twice as many jobs than expected
So to recap, the US economy unexpectedly added 339,000 jobs in May, nearly twice as many as analysts had predicted.
Senior economics reporter Eir Nolsøe has the latest:
The surprise uptick instantly prompted traders to revise up the chance of the Federal Reserve opting for another rise in interest rates in June.
Markets had predicted the economy would add another 190,000 jobs in May.
However, the much higher figure suggests the US labour market remains red-hot despite the most aggressive round of monetary tightening in decades.
The figures for March and April were also revised up, meaning employment numbers were 93,000 higher than expected.
The Federal Reserve has already raised interest rates 10 times, lifting the upper limit of its target range by five percentage points to 5.25pc.
Mixed figures on unemployment and wage growth muddied the waters for the Fed’s rate-setters, however.
Unemployment rose by more than predicted to 3.7pc in May from 3.4pc the previous month.
Meanwhile, annual wage growth slowed slightly to 4.3pc from 4.4pc.
01:54 PM
Pound drops after US jobs report
The pound has lost 0.2pc following the release of the latest jobs report in the US, holding just above $1.25.
01:50 PM
Wall Street expects higher open as wage growth slows
US stock index futures extended gains after data showed a slight cooling in average hourly wages and a small rise in unemployment in May, reinforcing bets that the Federal Reserve will skip raising interest rates again in June.
The Labor Department’s closely watched employment report, showed unemployment rate at 3.7pc in May against a forecast of 3.5pc, while hourly average wages rose by 0.3pc, down from a 0.4pc increase in April, highlighting a cooling in wage inflation.
Non-farm payrolls increased by 339,000 jobs - way ahead of expectations of 190,000 additions.
Traders still foresee more than 70pc probability that the Fed will hold interest rates steady at its June 13-14 policy meeting.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 are on track to open up 0.6pc, with the Nasdaq 100 headed for an increase of 0.4pc at the opening bell.
01:42 PM
US economy adds huge number of new jobs
The US jobs market has continued to heat up, with 339,000 jobs added in May.
The number is way ahead of economists’ estimates of 190,000.
The latest data from the Labor Department also showed the US jobless rate up more than expected in May at 3.7pc.
About those jobs day predictions: In 13 of the past 14 months, the jobs number has exceeded forecasts. https://t.co/HqtuC6JmgH
— David Wessel (@davidmwessel) June 2, 2023
01:13 PM
Purplebricks sale completed for £1 after shareholder approval
Purplebricks has been sold for £1 to online estate agency Strike after shareholders approved the offer from the only remaining bidder.
It will see the troubled firm come under the ownership of its rival, backed by Carphone Warehouse founder Sir Charles Dunstone.
The online agency agreed to sell its business and assets to Strike for a nominal £1 after another bidder pulled out, claiming its financial condition was “significantly worse than expected”.
Shareholders approved the sale with 91pc voting in favour today.
It said its name would be changed to Bricks Newco before its shares stop trading on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) stock exchange on June 15, after which the two brands are expected to be combined.
Chief executive Helena Marston has resigned from her role and as a director immediately, the firm said.
Purplebricks has seen its share price collapse after slumping to a loss and warning over its cash position.
12:51 PM
CBI plans to cut jobs
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has confirmed plans to cut jobs after allegations of sexual harassment and rape triggered an exodus of members.
Britain’s biggest business lobby group has been mired in a scandal since the claims were made public this year, with reports earlier this week claiming the group could fold without major streamlining.
The CBI employs about 300 staff and is reportedly expected to offer voluntary redundancy in a bid to cut jobs. It said in a statement:
In light of the recent loss of some of our revenue, the CBI has to take some difficult decisions.
We need to reduce our salary cost base by a third among other likely cost saving measures going forward.
12:36 PM
Government appoints interim BBC chairman
Dame Elan Closs Stephens has been appointed as the acting chairman of the BBC after Richard Sharp resigned earlier this year following a report which found he had breached the governance code for public appointments.
In April, Mr Sharp stepped down as chairman of the corporation after being found to have broken the rules by failing to disclose he played a role in getting then-prime minister Boris Johnson an £800,000 loan guarantee.
Today, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport announced Dame Elan will lead the BBC board from June 27 for 12 months, or until a new permanent chair has been appointed, whichever is sooner.
Dame Elan has been a member of the BBC’s governing body since 2010, first serving as member for Wales on the BBC Trust and then as the Welsh member of the BBC board.
Following her appointment, Dame Elan said:
It’s a huge honour to be appointed by the Secretary of State as acting chair and I am grateful to my fellow board members for putting their trust in me.
As a board, we will champion the licence fee-payer across all of the UK; ensure the BBC is a vital partner for the UK creative industries; maintain trust and drive change to make the BBC fit for a fast changing media landscape.
There is much work to be done.
12:06 PM
US markets on track to rise
Wall Street is on course to open higher after the US narrowly averted a debt default, with focus now shifting to payrolls data that will determine whether the Federal Reserve sticks with its interest rate-hiking regime.
The Senate passed a bill late on Thursday to lift the government’s $31.4trn debt ceiling, avoiding a catastrophic, first-ever default.
Attention now turns to data which will likely show job growth slowed in May, with wages coming off the boil that could allow the Fed to skip an interest rate increase this month for the first time since starting its aggressive policy tightening more than a year ago.
The Labor Department’s closely watched employment report is expected to still show a tight jobs market.
The unemployment rate is forecast climbing to 3.5pc from 3.4pc in April, while nonfarm payrolls is seen increasing by 190,000 jobs last month after rising 253,000 in April.
In pre-market trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.5pc, the S&P 500 had risen 0.5pc, and Nasdaq 100 had gained 0.4pc.
11:46 AM
Market rally picks up pace after US debt deal
The FTSE 100 has gained 1pc today as traders move back toward riskier assets after the US Senate approved a deal to avert a government debt default.
The FTSE 250 has jumped 1.2pc, while benchmark indexes in Paris and Germany also gained 1.2pc.
Investors are also positive ahead of a US jobs market update today after Federal Reserve officials reignited hopes that another interest rate increase might be postponed.
11:26 AM
Budget airlines increase passenger numbers
Budget airlines Wizz Air and Ryanair both saw passenger numbers grow in May.
Ireland’s Ryanair said it carried 17m passengers during the month, an increase of 10pc from the 15.4m in the same period last year.
It had a load factor of 94pc, up from 92pc a year earlier.
Meanwhile, Wizz Air carried 22.1pc more passengers in May, compared with the same month a year earlier. A little over five million people flew on its planes, at a load factor of 90.2pc.
Both airlines are bouncing back from the low levels they experienced during the pandemic, when most of their planes were grounded because closed international borders meant airlines could not carry passengers across Europe.
Wizz Air announced that during the month it had added an 11th plane to its Warsaw base and plans new flights between Gdansk and Copenhagen, Tenerife and Alicante, Katowice to Copenhagen and Alicante; and Wroclaw, Malaga and Krakow to Valencia.
It also announced more expansion from Albania and is launching two new routes from Gatwick to Prague and Hurghada in Egypt.
11:11 AM
Global food costs hit two-year low
Global food costs resumed their decline in May, falling to the lowest level in two years, reviving hopes that the relentless inflation on supermarket shelves will start to ease.
A United Nations’ index of food-commodity prices fell 2.6pc in May, as declines in grains, vegetable oil and dairy offset gains in sugar and meat costs.
The gauge of prices for internationally-traded agricultural commodities has fallen 22pc from the peak it reached in March last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Wheat prices are trading near the lowest in more than two years as bumper supplies from Russia are weighing on the market, and European crops are in good condition. Still, the plunge in commodities is taking time to feed through to consumers amid a time lag and elevated costs of transportation, labour and energy.
10:45 AM
Twitter safety chief resigns after misgendering row
Twitter’s head of safety has resigned hours after Elon Musk criticised staff at the social network for cracking down on a video that “misgendered” trans people.
Technology editor James Titcomb has the details:
Ella Irwin, who has led Twitter’s trust and safety efforts for most of Mr Musk’s time there, confirmed to Reuters that she had resigned from the company.
She did not elaborate on her departure, but it came after Mr Musk said staff at the company had mistakenly limited the reach of a video by the conservative news organisation The Daily Wire.
Jeremy Boreing, co-founder of The Daily Wire, said Twitter had backtracked on a deal to let the news site promote a feature-length documentary about gender issues called What Is a Woman?.
He said that Twitter had refused to let the publication pay to advertise the film, would limit its reach and labelled it as “hateful conduct”. The measures meant the film would not show up in algorithmic recommendations, even to people who follow the account, while the hateful conduct label means users must click through to watch it.
10:21 AM
Pictured: World's largest container ship departs after first UK visit
The world’s joint-largest cargo ship has set sail from the UK after its first visit.
The 1,300ft (400-metre) MSC Loreto vessel is capable of holding 24,346 standard containers, which is currently the record number.
It shares this title with its sister vessel, the MSC Irina.
MSC Loreto arrived at the Port of Felixstowe in Suffolk, the biggest and busiest container port in Britain, in the early hours of Tuesday.
It began to move from the dock just after 5am today after thousands of containers were exchanged.
The vessel, which is operated by the Swiss-headquartered Mediterranean Shipping Company, arrived in the UK from Rotterdam.
It started its maiden voyage from Ningbo in China in April.
10:04 AM
Pound heads for strongest rally against dollar in six months
The pound is headed for its biggest one-week rally against the dollar in six months as US interest rates looked increasingly likely to plateau sooner than UK rates.
With the all-important monthly US employment report due later in the day, activity in the currency market was subdued.
The pound has gained 1.5pc against the dollar this week, the most since early December, and nearly 1.1pc against the euro - which would be its largest weekly increase in nearly four months.
The main driver has been a redirection of investor capital out of the safe-haven dollar, now that Congress has passed a bill that will suspend the US government’s borrowing limit.
Today, sterling has climbed 0.1pc against the dollar to more than $1.25. The pound is flat today against the euro, which is worth just less than 86p.
09:41 AM
RMT rhetoric 'a diversion,' insist train companies
In response to some of RMT boss Mick Lynch’s claims this morning that the strikes have been “a success,” a spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators, said:
There have been three pay deals offered which the RMT executive have reneged despite their negotiators in the room agreeing the terms. We’ve said all along we just want railway workers to have their say on the fair and affordable offer of up to a 13pc rise over two years, plus guarantees on job security.
While their rhetoric continues, this is merely a diversion to the very real financial challenge the industry is facing with taxpayers still shelling out up to an extra £175m a month to keep the trains running by making up the 20pc shortfall in revenue post-Covid.
The only way to afford it is by bringing in long overdue, common-sense reforms that would improve services and punctuality for our passengers. In most cases, these simply extend best practice already in place in parts of the network.
The RMT leadership must recognise the way our passengers use the railway has changed for good, and work with us to adapt so we can secure the long-term future of an industry.
The only thing they have achieved is continuing to take money out of their members pockets, inflicting misery on thousands of people and damaging an industry which is vital to Britain’s economy and their own members’ livelihoods.
We urge the RMT leadership to engage seriously with the financial challenges the industry faces, agree between them what they want from the negotiation and come back to the table, so we can resolve this dispute for the sake of everyone who relies on the railway.
09:25 AM
Revolution Beauty losses widen in heavily delayed results
Problem-hit Revolution Beauty, whose shares have been suspended since September, said it has seen a drop in digital sales but has been helped by customers returning to normal shops.
In a set of heavily delayed interim results, the business said digital wholesale revenue fell 22pc in the six months to the end of August 2022, while its own web sales dropped 8pc.
It came as customers chose bricks-and-mortar shops in larger quantities as pandemic restrictions and fears lifted.
In the UK, revenue from stores grew 21pc compared with the same period a year earlier, the company said, as it signed a new deal with Boots and saw strong sales in Superdrug.
Loss before tax - at £28.8m a year earlier - was stemmed to just £13.3m. Revenue dipped 4.2pc to £75.3m.
Last week Revolution Beauty reduced its earnings by £23m for the year ending last February compared with the figures it had previously reported.
Significant problems in its accounts and concerns from auditors delayed its audited final results for several months. Shares had been suspended in the meantime.
09:06 AM
Passengers 'frustrated' by rail strike
Passenger Adam Hole said he is “very frustrated” with the rail strikes today.
The 36-year-old jeweller, from London, said at Euston station that he travels to Manchester a few times a year. He said:
We’ve had to get an earlier train and we’re not sure if it’s even going to be going there, to be honest.
I’m very frustrated, I don’t know the ins and outs of it but it’s frustrating for everyone else.
Surely if they’ve signed up to get a certain wage and that’s what they get then fair enough.
Cleaning supervisor Josue Arcadona, who was also travelling from Euston to Manchester, supported the industrial action.
The 36-year-old said: “At some point they have to fight for what they want, even though it can affect all of us. It’s OK, I support them.”
08:46 AM
FTSE 250 boosted by Dechra takeover
The FTSE 100 has gained ground as investors adopted a risk-on mood following the US Senate’s decision to pass a deal to avert a debt default.
Shares of Dechra Pharmaceuticals hit a two-week high after the vet drugmaker agreed to be taken private.
The domestically-focused FTSE 250 rose 0.8pc, boosted by an 8.2pc surge in Dechra after it agreed to be bought by investment firm EQT for an equity value of £4.5bn.
The internationally-focused FTSE 100 climbed 0.5pc, tracking global investor mood higher, after the US passed legislation lifting the government’s $31.4trn debt ceiling, while hopes that the Federal Reserve might stand pat on rates also aided sentiment.
Export-focussed energy firms and industrial metals miners added 1.3pc and 2.2pc, respectively, chiming with a recovery in commodity prices.
Still, the blue-chip FTSE 100 is poised for its second straight weekly drop, if losses hold. The mid-cap FTSE 250 is set for a marginal gain.
08:26 AM
Oil rises as US debt plan passes Senate
Oil has advanced following the US debt agreement passing the Senate, although it remains on track for a weekly decline.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, has risen 1.1pc to more than $75 a barrel.
US-produced West Texas Intermediate futures has jumped 1pc toward $71, trimming the weekly loss to almost 3pc.
The Opec+ coalition gathers over the weekend to discuss the group’s production policy against the backdrop of a sluggish economic recovery from China, despite the end of the nation’s zero-Covid regime.
08:06 AM
Markets rise after US debt deal approved
Markets have started the day positively following the passing of legislation in the Senate that removes the federal limit on the US debt for nearly two years.
The FTSE 100 has risen 0.5pc to 7,523.89 after markets opened while the FTSE 250 has gained 0.6pc to 18,944.35.
07:55 AM
Rail strikes have been a success, claims RMT boss Lynch
Strike action over the last year has been a success despite the lack of a pay deal, RMT boss Mick Lynch has said.
Speaking from the picket line at Euston station, he said that the action had pushed back plans that would have negatively impacted RMT members. He said:
We’ve pushed them back on all the stuff they wanted to do, they wanted to make thousands of our people redundant, they wanted to shut every booking office in Britain, restructure our engineering workers, cut the catering service.
So we’ve pushed them back on that, they haven’t been able to implement any of their plans.
What we haven’t got is a pay deal, we haven’t got any guarantees on our members’ futures but we have stopped them doing the worst aspects of their proposals and their ideas.
It has been a success, our members are still with us, they’ve had three ballots to continue with the strike action under the law. Other people seem to have been inspired to fight back and take action in their own industries, so it has been a success and it’s put trade unions back on the map in Britain.
07:42 AM
Government 'subsidising' rail dispute, claims Lynch
The Government is “subsidising” disruption on the railways, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch has said.
Asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme about the disruption caused by strikes, he said:
So do the Government need to think about that as well?
They are subsidising this disruption: £900m has been delivered to the train operating companies to deliver this dispute. They are enforcing the disruption.
All we want is a pay rise and the protection of our terms and conditions.
They are extracting profit while taking subsidy. You would have thought that all of these private operators wouldn’t be allowed to withdraw any profit at all because they have no capital at risk.
It’s a gravy train, a one-way ticket to profit.
07:31 AM
Rail strikes hit commuters... again
Strikes by railway workers will leave millions unable to get to work or travel to important events today and tomorrow.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) employed by train operators across England will walk out in a long-running dispute over jobs, pay and conditions.
Train companies are warning that services will be affected by the action, which comes almost a year after the RMT held its first strike in the same dispute.
Members of the drivers’ union Aslef walked out on Wednesday and will strike again on Saturday - the day of the FA Cup final - in their dispute over pay.
07:19 AM
AI will 'create more losers than winners,' says major investor in chipmaker Nvidia
Rapid advances in artificial intelligence will “create more losers than winners” despite a recent rally on stock markets, according to one of the largest backers of chip giant Nvidia.
Rajiv Jain, founder and chief investment officer of GQG Partners, said Silicon Valley-based technology manufacturer, whose products power AI applications including ChatGPT, will be one of only a few US stocks that remain in positive territory after the markets’ recent rebound.
Nvidia became the first chipmaker to hit a $1tn valuation this week as investors stampeded into companies that are seen as the biggest beneficiaries from developments in AI.
Its shares have soared 170pc this year, adding $575bn to the group’s market capitalisation, with GQG buying $2.3bn of shares in the first quarter and since adding to its stake.
Mr Jain told the Financial Times: “In Nvidia’s context, it [AI] is going to create some winners and losers . . . more losers than winners.
“The most obvious winners at this point, besides Nvidia, will be the larger tech names, whether it’s Alphabet or Meta or these kinds of names.”
Retail traders are riding the wave of AI mania that has swamped Wall Street, looking beyond Nvidia and C3.ai for the next stocks to pop, according to analysts.
“FOMO looks to be kicking in,” according to Vanda’s Marco Iachini, who said individual investors are now looking beyond the large-cap stocks which were initial targets.
The day-trading crowd has piled into the likes of Palantir Technologies, Marvell Technology and UiPath, pushing in millions over the past week, data from Vanda Research show.
That comes as the trio rallies in the wake of Nvidia’s blowout results.
However, retail traders are still snapping up shares of Nvidia, having plowed $285m into the company over a five-day span.
07:12 AM
Good morning
Nvidia may have seen its shares surge by 170pc this year, briefly making it the first $1trn chipmaker, but one of its major backers have issued a warning about the boom on the stock market triggered by excitement about artificial intelligence.
Rajiv Jain, founder and chief investment officer of GQG Partners, said AI would “create more losers than winners”.
He predicted Nvidia will be one of only a few US stocks that remain in positive territory after the markets recent rebound.
5 things to start your day
1) House prices fall at fastest pace since financial crisis | Rapid decline comes as mortgage approvals dipped unexpectedly in April
2) Inside P Diddy’s attack on Diageo over its ‘racist kneecapping’ of his tequila brand |Lawsuit claims other celebrity-backed brands receive preferential treatment
3) Putin no longer has the money or the kit to sustain a high-tech modern war | The West is degrading Russia’s war machine sufficiently to give Ukraine a fighting chance
4) Apple denies hacking thousands of iPhones in Russian spy plot | US authorities accused of using iPhones to secretly collect data
5) CBI plans job cuts as it fights to survive in wake of scandals | Lobby group aims to reduce wage bill by a third after members exodus hit finances
What happened overnight
Asian stocks advanced, led by gains in Hong Kong-listed technology companies amid a buoyant tone in markets after the US passed legislation to avoid a debt default and as traders look to the Federal Reserve to pause interest rate increases in June.
Shares also climbed in Japan, Australia and mainland China. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose more than 3pc, pulling the benchmark back from the brink of a bear market following concerns about Chinese growth.
US indexes ticked up in after-hours trading, following rallies for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. News that Congress had passed legislation to avert a US default added to the buoyant mood.
Wall Street stocks had closed higher before the vote was passed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.5pc to 33,062.36, while the broad-based S&P 500 closed 1pc higher at 4,221.09.
The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index surged 1.3pc to 13,100.98.
Treasury yields retreated as fresh inflation data signalled that the US central bank could pause its interest rate increases, after prices paid in the manufacturing sector declined last month.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 3.60pc from 3.65pc late Wednesday. The two-year Treasury yield, which is more sensitive to expectations for the Federal Reserve, fell to 4.33pc from 4.40pc.
