A warning over unpaid government contracts sent shares in British biotech company Abingdon Health down by as much as a third today, propelling it to the bottom of London’s junior market, Aim.
Abingdon Health, which has developed Covid-19 antibody tests that tell if someone has previously had Covid-19, warned that it had not yet received a £5m payment for 1m tests supplied to the Department for Health and Social Care, and which it said were currently in use.
The company said it was not aware there was a “contractual basis for the DHSC to withhold payment on products they have accepted and are using”, and so was seeking “resolution to this matter”.
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It comes after reports claimed that the Government had decided against taking up options for millions more orders of the tests in January – something Abingdon argued was because the Department for Health was switching to a new purchasing system, and not that orders were cancelled.
The decision was taken not to strike any new supply deal, however, amid a legal case brought by the Good Law Project over how contracts were awarded by the Government during the pandemic and after the MHRA failed to give its tests home-use approval by the end of December.
Abingdon on Tuesday said uptake of its tests was taking “longer than the board originally anticipated” and, as such, was expecting results to come in “substantially below” market expectations. Shares in the company, which floated last December, slumped by 33pc to 54p.
At the other end of Aim, High Wycombe audio company Focusrite jumped 8.5pc to £12.10 as investors cheered the news that it had bolstered its operations once again with the £18m purchase of synthesizer business Sequential.
California-based Sequential, which was set up by Grammy award winner Dave Smith, will continue to have the same management team after the takeover completes.
More broadly, in London, it was a “lacklustre day” for trading, CMC Markets chief analyst Michael Hewson said, as the FTSE 100 “drifted back on the back of a weaker Asia session, as concerns over events in India act as a drag on global recovery prospects”.
There were, however, some bright spots in the City, as Britain’s reopening improved investor appetite for hospitality companies and alcohol firms.
Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group was among the biggest risers on the FTSE 250, up by 2.7pc at 127.4p.
Meanwhile, drinks giant Diageo continued to tick higher, with shares up by 0.4pc at £32.30, after the company reopened two distilleries in the Highlands earlier this week.
04:04 PM
FTSE closes in the red
The FTSE 100 index at the close was down 18.15 or 0.26pc at 6944.97, while the FTSE 250 ended down 144.26 or 0.64pc at 22433.08.
Which brings our business blog to an end for the day. Thanks for reading! More tomorrow.
03:48 PM
'Bottom of the trough'
Office landlord IWG has declared the worst of the pandemic has passed for property firms, Ben Gartside writes.
IWG said today the office market had hit "the bottom of the trough". Revenues were down 21pc in the three months to March compared to the same time period in 2020, with occupancy levels dropping to 66pc.
But the company is considering price rices as occupancy and retention numbers slowly improve.
"Occupancy is improving, enquiries reached pre-Covid-19 levels, an increasing pipeline of corporate customers [are] on network-wide deals and, most importantly, service revenues starting to improve,” IWG said.
03:39 PM
JP Morgan eyes office return
JPMorgan, the largest US bank, is planning to bring all of its American staff back to the office on a rotational basis from July, according to a memo from the bank's operating committee that was viewed by Reuters on Tuesday.
The bank said that it would continue to maintain a 50pc occupancy cap during the return-to-office phase, as per the current social distancing guidelines issued by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"With this timeframe in mind you should start making any needed arrangements to help with your successful return. Each line of business will work with their managers and location leaders to determine an appropriate schedule," JPMorgan said in the memo sent to employees.
03:21 PM
Bank bolsters defences
The Bank of England has taken steps to bolster the defences against a new financial crisis by offering to provide sterling to other central banks if markets dive, Louis Ashworth writes.
Threadneedle Street has entered into a facility with the Bank for International Settlements to ensure sterling liquidity is available “during any periods of market stress”.
It said the arrangement would complement its existing network of bilateral swap lines, through which it can give up sterling and receive currencies from international peers.
Under the terms of the agreement, the BoE will provide loan sterling liquidity to the BIS on a short-term basis, which can be passed on to eligible central bank customers.
It said: “This new facility will provide a further liquidity backstop in sterling to help ease any potential future strains in funding markets.”
The new facility could make BoE sterling liquidity available to a wider range of central banks, including some it does not already have swap line agreements with.
It is understood the move is not in response to any current concerns about the market.
03:02 PM
FTSE drop deepens
The FTSE 100 has fallen over 60 points from the 7,000 milestone mark it hit earlier this month - Richard Baker
The FTSE 100 has sunk further, dropping 0.35pc for the day with half an hour of trading to go as the US remains slightly off yesterday's record highs.
London's top index fell to 6,938 points just 11 days after passing the 7,000 milestone for the first time since the pandemic crash. The drop came despite a 3.95pc surge in HSBC's share price as it revealed bumper profits in a Covid recovery as Bunzl, Rolls-Royce and Whitbread led the fallers: they dropped 4.4pc, 3.9pc and 3.4pc respectively.
Across the pond, Wall Street remained in the red. The Nasdaq was stuck 0.3pc lower as traders prepare for a big week of tech earnings, while the Dow and the S&P 500 were mostly flat - investors are awaiting a monetary policy update from the Fed due tomorrow evening.
Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, suggested an alarming rise in Covid cases in India may be acting "as a drag on global recovery prospects". He added: "There may also be some anxiety over recent sharp rises in commodity prices, which are now starting to bleed into the agriculture sector, as both corn and wheat prices surge to multi-year highs, largely over supply concerns due to unseasonably dry weather in North and South Dakota."
02:37 PM
Crocs brand posts record sales
Oscars musical director Questlove donned a gold pair of Crocs for the event's red carpet this year - CHRIS PIZZELLO /AFP
Crocs, considered by many to be a crime against fashion, clearly still have their fans. The polarising footwear brand has raised its sales outlook for the year after recording record sales for the first three months of 2021.
Sales spiked by a whopping 64pc year on year over the first quarter to $460m (£331m), leading chief executive Andrew Rees to predict a jump in full-year sales of between 40pc and 50pc.
In fact, "demand for the Crocs brand is stronger than ever", he said, as lockdowns around the globe have prompted people to opt for more comfortable footwear.
02:19 PM
UK court dismisses £1.5bn Cum-Ex case against hedge fund trader
A hedge fund trader has won a court ruling throwing out a £1.5bn lawsuit filed by Danish tax officials over Cum-Ex trades, Bloomberg reports.
Judge Andrew Baker said in a ruling on Tuesday that the UK was not the proper place to bring a foreign tax claim.
The ruling is a setback for Denmark and its tax agency Skattestyrelsen, which said it was “very surprised by the verdict and fundamentally disagrees”. In a statement published after the ruling, it said it was not a tax claim, but rather a civil claim where it seeks to have the amount returned. It added that it would appeal.
The civil case is just one avenue that Denmark is pursuing in a bid to claw back massive tax rebates it says it unwittingly handed to hedge fund trader Sanjay Shah and others.
Skattestyrelsen accuses Mr Shah of being the “mastermind” of an alleged fraud that saw traders use a loophole on dividend payouts to reap duplicate tax refunds – so-called Cum-Ex trades. It says Mr Shah earned millions of pounds in profits using the technique. Mr Shah has repeatedly denied the allegations.
The case was brought in 2018 against Mr Shah and 70 other defendants, and was set for a second six-week trial in October. The main trial on the merits of the allegations was due to begin in 2023 and was expected to be the longest trial in High Court history, lasting a year.
02:00 PM
US markets slip into red
Wall Street markets dropped shortly after opening today as traders await tech results this week and an update from the Federal Reserve tomorrow - CARLO ALLEGRI /Reuters
US markets have fallen into the red after opening slightly higher a day before the Fed issues an update on its monetary policy.
The S&P 500 opened higher by 0.63 points, or 0.02pc, at 4,188.25, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 32.14 points, or 0.23pc, to 14,170.91 at the opening bell.
But both have joined the Dow - and the wider world trend today - by slipping back: the S&P 500 lost 0.10pc while the Dow fell 0.16pc. The Nasdaq, home to the FAANG tech stocks, fell 0.3pc as traders await earnings reports from Microsoft and Google owner Alphabet.
IG analyst Chris Beauchamp earlier indicated markets are in a holding pattern ahead of tech giants' results and the Fed's update. "It is another day of tech earnings, but until these arrive late this evening there is relatively little to go on, aside from further speculation about any tinkering with tomorrow's (Federal Reserve) statement," he said.
01:51 PM
No vacancies: Premier Inn sells out for Cheltenham 2022
Demand for public events such as Cheltenham Festival post-pandemic has helped Whitbread remain optimistic after Covid downturn - GLYN KIRK /AFP
The owner of Premier Inn expects to enjoy a sharp recovery in its leisure division after rooms sold out within just two days for next year's Cheltenham Festival.
My colleague Laura Onita has more:
Whitbread said it expected hotels in coastal and historic towns and in areas such as the Lake District and the Scottish Highlands to be fully booked this summer as more Britons opt for staycations.
Bookings have been strong for “anything with a view, anything with the sea” in the UK, a trend not dissimilar to last summer, chief executive Alison Brittain said. “People want to be away and have a break, but there is a lot of uncertainty about international travel.”
She warned, however, that the rapid bounce back in leisure travel may not be enough to offset the impact of the pandemic straight away. Hotels that cater to tourists account for only 15pc of the total estate.
“Although it is wonderful to see and great for our recovery, it’s not the only thing that we have to get right to get the business back on track,” she added.
Whitbread posted a record £1bn loss for 2020 as the pandemic forced the closure of venues across the group. It also owns the Beefeater and Brewers Fayre pub and restaurant chains.
The company posted a statutory pre-tax loss of £1bn, down from a £280m profit the year before, and plunged further into the red because of a charge related to more stringent Covid restrictions in Germany, where it owns 30 hotels.
01:35 PM
China's population set to shrink for first time since 1949
China's population may have fallen for the first time since records began - WU HONG/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
China's population is dwindling, according to the Financial Times.
The much-delayed release of a census completed in December is expected to show the country now counts fewer than 1.4bn people, having exceeded that figure in 2019 according to official data.
Originally due for release in early April, the census figures are considered incredibly sensitive and will require multiple government departments' approval before it can be released, the FT reported.
Analysts told the publication the decline could mean China's population may peak earlier than official projections, and that India's 1.38bn population could soon overtake the size of the superpower's.
“The pace and scale of China’s demographic crisis are faster and bigger than we imagined,” said Huang Wenzheng, a fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, a Beijing-based think-tank. “That could have a disastrous impact on the country.”
It comes after China relaxed its family planning policy in 2015 in order to allow couples to have two children rather than just one.
01:01 PM
Retail sales enjoy sharpest jump since 2018
Furniture sales jumped in early 2021 with locked down Brits focused on home improvement - D. Callcut / Alamy Stock Photo
Whatever the FTSE's doing, Britain's economic indicators appear to be looking up.
Retailers have enjoyed their sharpest jump in two-and-a-half years, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).
The CBI's monthly retail sales volume balance jumped to +20 in April from -45 in March, its highest level since September 2018. The monthly figures are compared to data from the same month the previous year, and the UK was deep into its first lockdown this time last year, of course, explaining some of the increase.
But a separate survey of 124 businesses conducted by the body found sale volumes this month were the first this year to be seen as 'good', and the first month sales are expected to stay above seasonal norms for the year to May as shops reopen.
Hardware, DIY, and furniture stores were chiefly responsible for the boost, as Ben Jones, principal economist at the CBI, warned others are yet to recover:
“The improvement in retail sales this month was driven by sectors that have performed relatively well during the pandemic, with little immediate rebound expected for more embattled sectors such as clothing, footwear and department stores.”
12:44 PM
Markets stuck in 'holding pattern'
The FTSE 100 is down for the day as traders await a Fed Reserve update on Wednesday - Luciana Guerra /PA
The FTSE 100 is still stuck 0.2pc down for the day at 6,950 points, as European markets fell back after a subdued performance in Asia overnight.
Germany's DAX was 0.24pc down and France's CAC largely flat for the day, while the UK's drop came despite a jump in profits posted by HSBC for first quarter trading.
But UK traders are keeping their powder dry despite Britain's improved economic outlook thanks to a speedy vaccination rollout. Economists predict a sharp recovery in the second half of the year as the UK reopens, but investors are waiting for the US Federal Reserve to issue a monetary policy update tomorrow.
The Fed is expected to seek to stress it will stick by its ultra-loose policy until unemployment and inflation return to more normal levels. Accordingly, Wall Street is expected to open in the green this afternoon. The S&P 500 is set to push 0.13pc higher while the tech-heavy Nasdaq is due to climb almost 0.2pc in anticipation of this week's round of earnings from Amazon, Apple, Google-parent Alphabet and Microsoft.
"What looks like a holding pattern across most major stock markets seems set to continue," noted IG analyst Chris Beauchamp.
"It is another day of tech earnings, but until these arrive late this evening there is relatively little to go on, aside from further speculation about any tinkering with tomorrow's (Federal Reserve) statement."
11:59 AM
Heathrow passengers hit by £300m airport charge hike
Heathrow
Heathrow will be allowed to recoup £300m from passengers for losses suffered as a result of flights being grounded during the pandemic.
My colleague Oliver Gill reports:
The Civil Aviation Authority conceded there was a danger Heathrow may not be able to restart operations quickly enough as travel restrictions are lifted unless it permitted the airport to raise charges.
However, the increase was considerably lower than the £2.6bn that Heathrow had sought - which would have led to charges rising by 10pc.
Paul Smith, the CAA director, said Heathrow’s demands were “disproportionate and not in the interests of consumers”.
“We do, however, recognise that these are exceptional circumstances for the airport and there are potential risks to consumers if we take no action in the short term," he said.
"The decision we have announced today will incentivise and allow Heathrow to maintain investment, service quality and be proactive in supporting any potential surge in consumer demand later this year.”
11:44 AM
FTSE continues to slide
After a positive start to the day, London's blue-chip index has tumbled into the red. With corporate optimism already factored into stocks trading near record highs, investors may be waiting for stronger outperformance before moving indexes higher.
European market data - Bloomberg
11:19 AM
Oil spill in Yellow Sea following tanker collision
A tanker has collided with a dry bulk carrier near China's Qingdao port, damaging its hull and resulting in an oil spill in the Yellow Sea, S&P Global is reporting.
A suezmax tanker A Symphony has collided with a bulk carrier outside Qinngdao in China, resulting in an oil spill. Looks terrible based on some photos. #OOTTpic.twitter.com/kI9yRipuFo
BT has spent a further £23m on 5G airwaves, capping off an auction process that netted far less for the Treasury than expected.
My colleague Ben Woods reports:
EE, the UK's biggest mobile operator owned by BT, was the only network to increase its spend in the final stages despite rival operators bidding for more 5G access.
The four operators bidding on 5G spectrum that allows for faster smartphone data spent a total of £1.38bn, with analysts predicting nearly double that amount at £2.5bn.
Vodafone, O2, EE and Three were vying for specific frequency positions in the closing stages. Some operators were also trading bands to improve efficiency.
However, EE was the only operator to part with more money in the so-called "assignment stage", more than doubling its 5G position and taking its total bill to £475m.
Vodafone and O2 - which already share mobile masts across the UK - struck a new deal to trade spectrum that will create larger, adjoining, blocks to help improve their 5G coverage.
Across the whole process, Three invested £280m, O2-owner Telefonica spent £448m and Vodafone secured £176m worth of 5G spectrum.
10:44 AM
France threatens to block City access to EU over fishing fight
Clement Beaune
France has threatened to block UK financial firms from operating in Europe if Britain does not give French fisherman access to British waters.
We report:
In the latest flare up of tensions, Clement Beaune, the French minister for European Affairs, warned that the EU would retaliate if the UK does not "deliver licenses [and] authorisation to access their waters for fishing. That’s the deal".
The outspoken Europhile said "retaliation measures” would be adopted in other sectors including "financial services" if commitments on fishing were not met: "We will give none - it is quid pro quo."
The comments represent the latest threat made by an EU member state against the City, and come less than a week after Mairead McGuinness, the commissioner for financial services, said the EU was not under any pressure to help provide UK firms with access.
The remarks also highlight the City's precarious position after the financial services sector was largely excluded from the Brexit trade deal and stripped of its vital EU passporting rights.
Copper’s stunning rally toward all-time highs above $10,000 is accelerating, with bulls swarming in to profit as stimulus measures, vaccine rollouts and climate pledges fuel a global recovery from the pandemic.
Bloomberg has the details:
Copper on Tuesday extended gains to the highest in a decade as global growth underpinned a rally in metals markets ranging from aluminum to iron ore. Palladium climbed toward $3,000 an ounce.
Commodities are advancing toward the highs of the last supercycle, when prices spiked in the early 2000s with a jump in Chinese orders.
With copper demand set to soar once more, there are mounting concerns that producers will struggle to plug the gap as they battle a host of technical and regulatory pressures.
In top producer Chile, a group of port workers this week began protests against the government’s pandemic relief policies, threatening near-term supplies.
In the longer term, producers worry that plans to boost mining royalties could stifle investment and make the country less competitive.
10:04 AM
Telegraph hits record 603,000 subscribers as profits surge
Newsroom
Hurrah! Telegraph Media Group has reached a record 603,000 paying subscribers and enjoyed a 76pc jump in operating profits before exceptional costs, the company said on Tuesday.
We have a report on the numbers here:
Digital subscription growth is continuing to perform strongly, driven by strong interest in politics, coronavirus coverage, the Royal family, lifestyle and financial news, according to a trading update from the company that publishes The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph and Telegraph.co.uk.
The milestone of 600,000 paying subscribers was passed in March 2021, with the latest audited figure reaching 603,000 across print and digital as of the end of that month, as certified by PwC.
Total subscribers increased by 139,000 (33pc) from 423,000 in December 2019 to 562,000 in December 2020, a large acceleration on the previous year. Subscriber totals had risen by 60,000 (16.4pc) from 363,000 in December 2018 to 423,000 by December 2019. The company recorded 6.6m registered users as of December 2020, up substantially from 5.6m in December 2019 and 3.6m in December 2018.
In charts: Supermarkets boosted by vaccinated shoppers
08:44 AM
France and Germany support US corporate tax plan
Bruno Le Maire
France and Germany have thrown their support behind the US proposal of a 21pc minimum tax on multinational companies.
French finance minister Bruno Le Maire and his German counterpart Olaf Scholz outlined their support in a joint interview with Le Figaro and Die Zeit.
“If the Biden administration proposes a 21pc rate and there is consensus, it would be acceptable for us,” Mr Le Maire said.
“It is important that we agree on a percentage – where exactly that will lie, the talks in the next few weeks will determine,” Mr Scholz added. “Personally I would have nothing against the US proposal.”
Joe Biden’s administration has proposed combating corporate tax-reduction strategies with a global minimum rate of 21pc, and a system for ensuring that the world’s 100 or so biggest companies pay more in places they actually do business. [via Bloomberg]
08:20 AM
Shoppers returning to supermarkets as online sales weaken
Supermarket
Shoppers are making more trips to supermarkets and buying less online as lockdown restrictions lift.
Online supermarket sales growth has halved since the height of the pandemic, to 46pc, while the number of trips to grocery stores rose by 4pc month on month in the four weeks to April 18, according to new data from Kantar.
The research found that older shoppers accounted for nearly half of the rise in so-called footfall to stores, with much of the over-65 community now vaccinated.
Overall supermarket sales rose by 5.7pc to £31.6bn in the 12 weeks to April 18, in a further slowdown in the rate of growth seen a year earlier when shoppers panic-bought at the start of the pandemic.
07:56 AM
BP jumps and leads blue-chips
Shares in BP have jumped more than 2pc in early trading, making it the biggest riser on the FTSE 100, after its first quarter results beat expectations.
Analysts at Jefferies said the results were "better than already heightened expectations" that were indicated in an April 6 trading update, adding that the strong outcome was largely attributable to "an exceptional gas marketing and trading performance".
07:27 AM
Whitbread slides after sinking to £1bn loss
Shares in Whitbread have fallen 2pc in early trading after the Premier Inn owner sank to a mammoth £1bn loss.
The company said the loss was due to the vast majority of its estate being forced to shut for much of the first six months of the financial year ending February 25.
Recent lockdowns have also hit the business, with occupancy levels at just 23pc in January and 29pc in February.
But bosses are hopeful that a boom in "staycation" bookings will help the company recover this summer, with business travel and event-led stays coming back to the sector later in the year.
They added that structural advantages – from rivals and smaller independents going bust – could also help future growth.
07:13 AM
FTSE opens higher
The FTSE 100 has opened slightly higher after some robust first-quarter corporate results offset concerns about the risks to growth from spiking Covid-19 cases in parts of the globe.
European market data - Bloomberg
06:48 AM
Oil price recovery powers BP
Oil giant BP has swung to a mammoth $3.3bn (£2.4bn) profit in the first three months of the year from losses a year ago thanks to "significantly" higher oil prices.
The turnaround compares with losses of £452m a year earlier when the coronavirus struck and sent the price of crude plummeting.
On an underlying basis, BP's replacement cost profits - the group's preferred measure - surged to £1.9bn in the three months to March 31 from £569m a year earlier.
BP said: "This result was driven by an exceptional gas marketing and trading performance, significantly higher oil prices and higher refining margins."
06:31 AM
HSBC beats expectations
HSBC has beaten analyst expectations to post a pre-tax profit of £4.18bn in the first quarter - up 79pc on the same period last year.
The London-headquartered HSBC surpassed a forecast of a profit of £2.41bn from independent analysis the bank had compiled.
Revenue fell 5pc to £9.37bn, with the bank adding this was due to the impact of 2020 interest rate reductions in global businesses.
Europe's largest lender said all regions were profitable in the first quarter, with its UK arm reporting a pre-tax profit of £720m. Read more here.
06:21 AM
Market rally falters
Good morning. Markets have stumbled a little this morning after Wall Street closed on another fresh high. Asian markets were mixed while the FTSE 100 was tipped to open fractionally lower ahead of a US Federal Reserve meeting later.
Asian shares fell and US stock futures were steady on Tuesday as caution ahead of a US Federal Reserve meeting and a slew of corporate earnings offset growing optimism about the global economic recovery from the Covid blow.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.14pc. Australian stocks dropped 0.51pc, but shares in China were little changed. Stocks in Tokyo edged 0.11pc lower.
S&P 500 e-mini stock futures rose 0.07pc.
Oil rebounded in Asian trading after major oil producers stood by their demand forecasts, but there are still downside risks due to surging Covid cases in India, the world's third-biggest oil importer.
Analysts said some investors may be taking profits on equities, but sentiment remains positive due to rising coronavirus vaccination rates in many countries.
Despite the hopeful signs, a bullish session on Wall Street failed to inspire Asian markets. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at record highs on Monday, fuelled by heavyweight growth stocks ahead of a deluge of earnings reports this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.18pc lower.
Coming up today
Corporate: Whitbread, Aveva (Full-year); HSBC, IWG, BP (Interims)
Economics: Consumer confidence, GDP, housing price index (US)
Fitness star Lisa Marie Zbozen announced the end of her marriage to The Repair Shop presenter Jay Blades, who she wed in November 2022, in an emotional post
A 36-year-old man charged with the murder of a teenage schoolboy during a sword attack also broke into a nearby home where a four-year-old girl was asleep and attacked her father, a court has heard.
Prince Harry is set to return to the UK next week for the first time in years, but will reportedly be forced to stay in a hotel as he has been denied a request to stay at Windsor Castle
Katie Price has taken to social media to share some family news, weeks after her ex-husband Peter Andre welcomed his new daughter - who has now been named Arabella Rose
Death in Paradise fans are not happy with the latest prediction of who will take over the role from Ralf Little and declare they will turn off if the actor joins the show
Missiles from North Korea, drones from Iran, and a massive amount of technical assistance from China. Russian President Vladimir Putin may complain about the backing Ukraine is receiving from its Nato allies, but it is doubtful that Russia would be able to maintain its military offensive without the help it is getting from its motley collection of autocratic friends.
Yahoo Finance 
