Yahoo Finance French banks raided over tax fraud allegations
France's financial prosecutor raided some of the country's biggest banks as part of an investigation into tax fraud and money laundering related to dividend payments.
Societe Generale, BNP Paribas, HSBC, Natixis and BNP's Exane are being searched as part of the investigation, according to the prosecutors office in Paris.
Preliminary investigations related to the raids were opened in December 2021, the prosecutor said.
The raids relate to a so-called dividend arbitrage strategy known as the cum-ex scheme.
It involves shareholders transferring stock for a short period to investors based abroad to avoid a dividend tax.
Investors then hold the shares during the period when dividends are paid out and either are not taxed or taxes are refunded.
They then sell the securities back to the original owner and the amount saved was split between the parties.
BNP, HSBC, and Natixis representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for SocGen confirmed that the bank is part of the investigation.
07:45 PM
Good night!
That's all from me. We'll be back tomorrow morning with the latest.
07:42 PM
Federal Reserve considering new bank liquidity and capital requirements following SVB collapse
The Federal Reserve and other US regulators have come under fire for failing to prevent Silicon Valley Bank's failure.
The comments were made during a Senate banking committee hearing today, the first formal congressional inquiry into the bank's collapse last month.
“I hope to learn how the Federal Reserve could know about such risky practices for more than a year and failed to take definitive, corrective action," said Republican Tim Scott. “By all accounts, our regulators appear to have been asleep at the wheel.”
It comes after Michael Barr, second vice chair of the Federal Reserve, revealed that the central bank warned SVB's managers against the risks the bank faced as early as autumn 2021.
He said: “SVB's failure is a textbook case of mismanagement."
Mr Barr said that the Federal Reserve is now considering whether stronger rules are needed to prevent a similar failure in the future.
In particular, it will review whether bank supervisors have the tools needed to follow up on the Fed's warnings. The central bank will also consider whether tougher rules are needed on liquidity and capital requirements.
06:55 PM
Apple introduces buy now, pay later service
Apple has launched a buy now, pay later service allowing users to split purchases into four payments across six weeks with no interest or fees.
The service, Apple Pay Later, enables US customers to apply for loans between $50 to $1,000 for online and in-app purchases with zero interest and fees.
The move is expected to disrupt a fintech market currently dominated by the likes of Swedish payments company Klarna.
Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, said:
“There’s no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to how people manage their finances. Many people are looking for flexible payment options, which is why we’re excited to provide our users with Apple Pay Later."
06:22 PM
Michael Gove approves solar farm the size of 75 football pitches despite local objections
Michael Gove has approved a solar farm the size of 75 football pitches in Shropshire despite opposition from locals who claim the project will spoil the area’s natural beauty.
Business reporter Riya Makwana has the details...
05:55 PM
Great-grandson of Irn Bru founder steps down after 58 years as director
Robin Barr, one of the only three people who knows the Irn Bru recipe, is stepping down as director after 58 years.
Scottish beverage manufacturer A.G. Barr announced that Mr Barr, 85, will not seek board reelection at the company’s annual general meeting in May. He has been with the business for 62 years.
Mr Barr, the great-grandson of company founder Robert Barr, was previously chairman for over three decades before taking a non-executive role in 2009.
His daughter Julie, AG Barr’s company secretary who has been with the business for 19 years, will stand for election as a non-executive director in May.
It comes as AG Barr reported a 5.2pc increase in pre-tax profits to £44.4m for the year until January. Revenue climbed 18.2pc to £317.6m.
05:25 PM
Next buys Cath Kidston for £8.5m
British retailer Cath Kidston has been bought out of administration by high street rival Next.
Next told shareholders it will buy Cath Kidston’s brand, website and intellectual property for £8.5m.
Under the agreement, the website will be licensed back to administrators at PwC to clear stock over the next 12 weeks before the brand is relaunched.
“The company has over recent years navigated through incredibly challenging market conditions including the pandemic restrictions, and most recently the decline in consumer spending driven by cost of living pressures and rising costs,” said Zelf Hussain, joint administrator at PwC.
The rescue deal comes after the chain-store, which sells British handicraft and vintage-style items, collapsed into administration in 2020.
Cath Kidston’s stores in London, Ashford, Cheshire Oaks, and York will permanently close once leftover stock is sold. The group has 125 employees.
04:56 PM
BP lifts FTSE 100 into the green
The FTSE 100 has ended higher after a choppy day of trading. It climbed 0.17pc to close at 7,484.25.
The blue-chip index was lifted by BP (share price up 2.44pc) after the oil and gas giant teamed up with Abu Dhabi National Oil Co to jointly purchase 50pc of Israeli offshore natural gas producer NewMed Energy for around $4bn.
Share prices for oil and gas companies across the FTSE 350 gained 1.73pc.
Meanwhile, Ocado fell to the bottom of the FTSE 100 after the retailer delivered its first quarter results for its joint venture with high street giant Marks & Spencer. Its share price tumbled 3.35pc.
The FTSE 250 fell by 0.72pc to 18,396.69.
04:41 PM
ECB staff complain of burnout after being forced back to the office
Staff at the European Central Bank (ECB) have complained about suffering from burnout as bosses forced them back to the office for just half the week.
Banking correspondent Simon Foy reports:
Officials at the ECB claim that they are struggling with an increased workload, with one in three saying that their jobs are causing harm to their mental health, according to a staff survey.
The survey, which was conducted in November, shows a rapid deterioration in the mental health of staff at the central bank. In a similar survey last March, only 16pc of its employees rated the mental health impact of their work as harmful.
The decline in staff mental health comes amid the introduction of a new hybrid working policy at the ECB that requires staff to attend the office 110 days a year, around half of their annual working time.
Here's what the ECB had to say...
03:59 PM
Sam Bankman-Fried accused of $40m crypto bribe
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has been accused of paying a $40m (£32.5m) bribe to unlock frozen crypto in China.
The new charge against him was added by a federal grand jury in Manhattan on Monday.
Mr Bankman-Fried was accused of authorising the transfer of $40m in cryptocurrency intended for the benefit of one or more Chinese government officials in order to get them to unfreeze accounts at Alameda Research holding more than $1bn (£810m) in crypto.
Prosecutors allege Mr Bankman-Fried and others sought to regain access to the assets held in Alameda accounts in 2021 to fund additional trading activity, according to the indictment.
With the charge of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Mr Bankman-Fried now faces 13 criminal counts.
He is already facing several fraud charges for allegedly funneling money from now-bankrupt FTX to Alameda.
Mr Bankman-Fried has acknowledged inadequate risk management at FTX, but has denied stealing money.
03:33 PM
Handing over
OK, that's all from me today. Adam Mawardi will take things from here.
I leave you with this reflection on the US dollar's status as the world's reserve currency:
Just in time for April Fools' Day, there's stories that US Dollar is losing its reserve currency status. Nonsense! USD is near record strength vs the G10 (black) & EM (blue). If an autocratic rogue state like Russia doesn't like USD, that says something about Russia. Not USD... pic.twitter.com/oHgaUzYMsR
— Robin Brooks (@RobinBrooksIIF) March 28, 2023
03:15 PM
PM: UK 'cannot be complacent' in the fight against inflation
Rishi Sunak is facing a grilling by the powerful Liaison Committee of senior MPs this afternoon and has been asked about his pledges to halve inflation and reduce debt.
Politics live blog editor Jack Maidment has the latest:
The Prime Minister told the Liaison Committee that the Government is "on track with all of those".
Mr Sunak said "we are making progress" but we "cannot be complacent" when it comes to tackling inflation.
He said a recent and unexpected spike in inflation "reminded us that we should not be complacent" on bringing down prices.
Follow the Prime Minister's appearance in our politics live blog.
03:12 PM
Adidas 'ends tie-up with Beyoncé'
Adidas has reportedly ended its fashion partnership with Beyoncé in what would be a second high profile split with a celebrity after cutting ties with Kanye West over his anti-Semitic comments.
The German sportswear giant , which had signed a deal with Beyoncé in April 2019 to relaunch her brand Ivy Park, declined to comment on the report in the Wall Street Journal.
The Hollywood Reporter was the first to report the sportswear giant and the American pop star cut ties, saying last Thursday the decision was mutual and citing "major creative differences".
The Wall Street Journal said sales of Ivy Park have been underperforming expectations for years.
03:02 PM
US house prices down 3pc from last year's record high
The US housing slump stretched into a seventh month in January.
Home prices nationally fell 0.2pc from December, according to seasonally adjusted data from S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller.
The index is now down 3pc from its record high, reached in June.
Prices have continued to soften as seller discounts become more common in a market where buyer demand has been sagging for months.
While prices in January were still higher than they were a year earlier, the pace of gains has cooled.
The national index was up 3.8pc annually, down from the 5.6pc gain in December, non-seasonally adjusted data show.
Not all cities had year-over-year increases. Prices declined 7.6pc in San Francisco and 5.1pc in Seattle.
02:45 PM
Wall Street inches lower at the open
Wall Street's main indexes were subdued at the open following a three-day rally in the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average
The Dow was flat at the open at 32,434.85, halting a rally fuelled by support measures for the banking sector and a deal for Silicon Valley Bank assets..
The S&P 500 opened lower by 3.40 points, or 0.1pc, at 3,974.13, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 16.07 points, or 0.1pc, to 11,752.76 at the opening bell.
02:39 PM
Bellway sees signs of recovery in housing market
Housebuilder Bellway has said homebuyer demand has started to improve after seeing reservations plunge by nearly 50pc due to soaring mortgage rates.
The group, whose headquarters are in Newcastle, reported underlying pre-tax profits falling 4.6pc to £312.1m for the six months to January 31.
It delivered record revenues, up 1.6pc at £1.8bn, but saw its private homes reservations rate tumble by 43.8pc to 91 a week over the first half in the aftermath of last autumn's mini-Budget market turmoil, as well as the end of the Help to Buy scheme.
Bellway said it was seeing signs of a recovery in demand, helped by a seasonal spring uplift in the property market and as mortgage rates have eased off from the highs seen after last September's mini-budget chaos.
The group said its private reservation rate lifted to 135 a week - an improvement on the levels seen at the end of last year, but still far below a year earlier, when it stood at 239 a week.
But its order book remains lower, at 5,842 homes valued at £1.6bn against £2.2bn a year ago, and the group confirmed it expects property prices to fall to around £300,000 on average over the full year, down from £314,399 last July.
02:26 PM
Lagarde arrives for speech in neck brace
Christine Lagarde, the President of the European Central Bank, has arrived for an event wearing a neck brace after being involved in a car crash.
She was involved in an accident last week after she left the Euro Summit in Brussels, according to a spokesman, who added:
She was not driving. No one was seriously hurt.
The president suffered a very minor injury and - after a medical examination - is wearing a neck brace while fulfilling all her duties as normal.
Ms Lagarde is participating in a Bank for International Settlements event.
02:07 PM
Bank shares fall following French raids
Shares in banks have slumped after facing raids in France as part of an investigation into tax fraud and money laundering related to dividend payments.
Societe Generale, BNP Paribas, HSBC, Natixis and BNP's Exane are being searched as part of the investigation, according to the prosecutors office in Paris.
SocGen declined as much as 2.4pc before paring gains to trade down 1.8pc in Paris. BNP was 1.4pc lower and HSBC fell about 0.6pc in London.
The French banks face collective fines of more than €1bn (£880m) as part of the probe, which began preliminary investigations in December 2021, the prosecutor said.
The raids relate to a so-called dividend arbitrage strategy known as the cum-ex scheme.
The raids add to further negative sentiment around the banking industry in both the US and Europe, where investors have been hit by the emergency rescue of Credit Suisse and seizure by regulators of Silicon Valley Bank.
01:53 PM
Bank of England warns of tighter rules after SVB collapse
Banks face greater regulation on the amount of money they must hold to cover potential bank runs in the wake of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, a Bank of England chief has warned.
Sam Woods, the chief executive of the Prudential Regulation Authority, the Bank's financial services regulatory body, said the speed of the withdrawals from the Californian lender had concerned policy makers.
He told MPs on the Treasury select committee that it created a "question for all of us" about whether current ratios of deposits banks are required to hold are high enough.
During the same evidence session, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said the collapse was the fastest since Barings Bank in 1995.
Mr Woods, who is also deputy governor at the Bank of England, said regulators would look again at the liquidity coverage ratio, which requires banks to hold enough liquid assets to fund cash withdrawals for 30 days.
Mr Woods told MPs: "Where I think there might be more of a policy question - it's an international question in which we'll take a close interest - is around the calibration of the liquidity coverage ratio.
"That's the one-month liquidity that the banks have to hold.
"A very striking feature of this Silicon Valley Bank run - not so much of the Credit Suisse run - was the speed with which it took place.
"You can see $2.9bn of deposits going out in a day on Friday 9th March.
"The sort of outflow rates that we have - the percentage of deposits that are assumed to run out - in that liquidity coverage ratio.
"Some actually are 100pc. So deposits from financial institutions are assumed all to go but operational deposits are less than that and retail deposits less still.
"So I think there’s going to be a question for all of us as to whether those outflow rates are quite high enough."
01:42 PM
US trade goods trade deficit widens
The US trade deficit in goods widened modestly in February as exports declined, potentially setting up trade to be a drag on economic growth in the first quarter.
The trade deficit increased 0.6pc to $91.6bn (£74.3bn), the Commerce Department said.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the goods trade deficit little changed at $91bn.
01:21 PM
Oil loses ground as optimism fades
Oil has turned lower after its biggest rally of the year, even as a clash between Iraq and its Kurdish region curtailed exports.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, and US-produced West Texas Intermediate have both fallen 0.2pc to below $78 a and $73 a barrel respectively.
A legal dispute between Iraq, its semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan and Turkey have halted around 400,000 barrels a day of flows from Ceyhan port.
However, optimism that the worst of the banking turmoil may be over appears to have stalled, with gains being erased on across the FTSE 350.
Oil remains on track for a fifth monthly decline following concerns over a potential US recession and resilient Russian energy flows.
01:01 PM
Wall Street poised for tentative open
US futures struggled for direction as investors awaited data for clues on monetary policy and assessed developments in the banking sector.
Contracts on the S&P 500 were little changed, while those on the Nasdaq 100 dropped. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were also little changed.
It mirrors the mixed picture in the UK and European markets, with the FTSE 100 flat after earlier gains and the FTSE 250 down 0.9pc.
First Republic Bank climbed in premarket trading and is poised to extend Monday's advance.
Alibaba rallied more than 7pc as the e-commerce firm plans to split into six units that will individually raise funds and explore initial public offerings.
12:31 PM
Pound climbs despite Bailey's comments
The pound has climbed against the dollar as traders increase bets on an interest rate rise despite comments about the banking sector from the Governor of the Bank of England.
Andrew Bailey told MPs today that he had seen "tightening credit conditions" in the UK economy and warned that global markets are testing "quite a lot" of the banking sector for any signs of trouble after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and the rescue of Credit Suisse.
While the UK banking system remains in a "very strong position," Mr Bailey said the past weeks brought "moves in markets to, if you like, test out firms".
During a speech at the London School of Economics last night, he said the underlying state of the British economy suggests that "interest rates will not necessarily have to return fully to, and remain around, the higher levels they once had".
In spite of this, traders are still pricing in a 53pc chance of a 0.25 percentage point interest rate increase at the Bank of England's next meeting in May. Traders had bet a 24pc chance on Friday.
The pound has increased 0.3pc against the dollar to $1.23, while against the euro it is flat at just below 88p.
12:04 PM
UK experiencing 'tightening credit conditions,' warns Bailey
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey has finished giving evidence to MPs.
As the session in front of the Treasury select committee drew to a close, he indicated that the recent turmoil in financial markets may become a headwind for the UK economy.
He suggested it could have an impact on the next interest rate decision. He said:
We see some evidence of some tightening credit conditions, but we do not see a critical development in that respect.
We always take into account credit conditions when setting monetary policy.
The remarks add to doubts that policy makers will keep raising rates after the quickest tightening spree in three decades.
Investors are pricing in just one more quarter-point increase in the bank rate, which at 4.25pc is the highest since the global financial crisis in 2008.
11:47 AM
Tesla faces fresh investigation amid complaints seatbelts come loose
US highway safety regulators have opened yet another investigation into problems with Tesla, this time tied to complaints that the seat belts may not hold people in a crash.
The investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration covers an estimated 50,000 Model X SUVs from the 2022 and 2023 model years.
The agency said it has two complaints from Tesla owners that the front belts were not sufficiently connected at the factory.
Documents posted by the agency today say the belt linkage and pretensioners, which tighten the belts before a crash, are anchored to the seat frames.
Both complaints allege that the linkage and pretensioner separated from the frames when the vehicles were driving and force was exerted. Neither incident involved a crash.
NHTSA also is investigating complaints about problems with Teslas that date to 2020. The probes include Teslas with partially automated driving systems that can brake for no reason or can run into emergency vehicles parked on highways.
There also are investigations into complaints that some steering wheels can suddenly disconnect and that suspension parts can fail.
11:39 AM
Asda's deal for Co-op may get go-ahead from regulators
Competition authorities have said Asda's £600m takeover of more than 100 Co-op petrol stations "might be accepted" after receiving an offer that may allay its concerns.
Britain's third largest supermarket said it would be prepared to divest 13 of the 132 forecourts included under the deal, which regulators had highlighted as having the potential to limit competition within their local areas if the deal went through.
The Competitions and Markets Authority has said it "has reasonable grounds for believing" the revised takeover plan from Asda would comply with its regulations.
11:27 AM
Bank of England in talks over Credit Suisse since October
Sam Woods has told MPs that the Bank of England had been talking with other authorities over instability at Credit Suisse since October, prior to its emergency sale earlier this month.
Deputy governor at the Bank of England and chief executive of the Prudential Regulation Authority told MPs:
From October there were discussions involving the Fed, the Swiss Authorities and us, thinking about the live situation.
We had discussed what are we going to do if it came to the crunch. It was very useful when it came to that weekend.
In the end, a bit like Silicon Valley, none of the options were that appealing but you still had options.
11:05 AM
Gas prices fall as French strikes end
European natural gas prices declined as market participants await updates on continued strikes in France, which have been disrupting the nation's energy infrastructure.
Benchmark contracts dropped as much as 4.2pc — reversing Monday's gains — with traders waiting for possible news from Elengy on walkouts at three of its liquefied natural gas terminals.
The most recent extension to strikes there was set to end Tuesday. The country's fourth terminal, Dunkerque LNG, said it will cut deliveries of the fuel again on Tuesday.
Europe's official heating season will draw to a close this month after a mostly mild winter helped the region ride out an energy crunch that previously posed a risk of blackouts and squeezed supplies.
Much of the continent will get hit by another cold spell next week, according to forecaster Maxar Technologies, though concerns about supplies have ebbed as storage levels remain well above historical averages.
10:33 AM
HSBC faced 'high pressure situation' to make SVB deal, MPs told
Sam Woods, the chief executive of the Prudential Regulation Authority, has described the "high pressure situation" as HSBC carried out its last minute due diligence on Silicon Valley Bank before agreeing to buy it for £1.
He told MPs that representatives from the banking giant "went into the data room in an extraordinarily high pressure situation".
He said: "There were further yards of that which had to be done late into Sunday night."
He acknowledged "there was a risk judgement HSBC had to make" regarding the speed with which they had to agree to the deal and on balance they decided it was worth it.
10:29 AM
HSBC was sole 'realistic offer' for SVB by night before takeover, says Bailey
The Bank of England's team working on the potential insolvency of Silicon Valley Bank were working until 4am on the Monday morning when its sale was announced, MPs have been told.
Andrew Bailey said there "were a number of possible offers" for the UK arm of the Californian bank after it was taken over by US regulators following a run on deposits.
Mr Bailey said his experience showed most of them "don't turn into anything real and occasionally you get ones that set conditions and you say 'we can't do this'."
He said that by 7 to 8pm on Sunday evening there was only one realistic offer left, which ended in HSBC's takeover of the bank announced at 7am on the Monday morning.
10:15 AM
Speed of withdrawals will be focus after SVB collapse, says head of PRA
Sam Woods, the chief executive of the Prudential Regulation Authority, said that the percentage of cash held by banks to fund deposits will be an issue that arises from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.
He told MPs: "There is going to be a question for all of us whether those outflow rates are high enough."
He said that the striking rate at which the Silicon Valley Bank unfolded had been "exacerbated" by "the speed at which news can travel," which was not an issue on the same scale when regulations were brought in after the global financial crisis.
He added: "All of us can move money from our accounts in a short amount of time. That is a relatively new feature of the market."
10:06 AM
Silicon Valley Bank's UK arm experienced 30pc run on deposits in one day
Andrew Bailey has insisted that the world's financial system is "not in the position we were in in 2008".
He added that the issues that brought down Silicon Valley Bank would not "cause stress in the UK banking system".
He pointed to the fact that the UK subsidiary of the Californian lender experienced a 30pc run on its deposits in one day but was able to meet those requests, which made its sale process to HSBC much more achievable.
09:54 AM
Silicon Valley Bank collapse 'fastest since Barings'
Andrew Bailey has begun by saying how surprised he was by the speed of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in the US. He said:
In my experience, which goes back 30 years, it is probably the fastest passage from health to death since Barings.
Barings was a Friday to Sunday thing and this was pretty similar.
He drew a distinction with Credit Suisse, which he said had been experiencing longer running problems.
He added: "The US authorities are still dealing with some of the consequences of the issues and the issues with regional banks which we saw with SVB.
"Credit Suisse is a rather institutional-specific story about long-running issues in that institution.
"My very strong view about the UK banking system is that it is in a strong position both capital and liquidity wise, it is not showing signs of problems in that respect and we have tested very extensively."
09:52 AM
Andrew Bailey appears before MPs over Silicon Valley Bank takeover
The Governor of the Bank of England has begun giving evidence to MPs on the swift takeover of the UK arm of Silicon Valley Bank by HSBC earlier this month.
Andrew Bailey is appearing before the Treasury select committee alongside Sam Woods, the chief executive of the Prudential Regulation Authority, and Sir Dave Ramsden, the Bank's Deputy Governor for Markets.
You'll remember that the FTSE 100-listed bank bought up the UK division of the troubled Californian lender for £1 days after US regulators stepped in to avoid a wider crisis in the financial sector.
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey answers Treasury Committee questions - watch live 💷 https://t.co/7gisDZn7uG
— Yahoo Finance UK (@YahooFinanceUK) March 28, 2023
09:40 AM
Bond yields rise as markets increase interest rate bets
Bond prices have extended their falls as expectations return that interest rates will rise after all, despite the banking turmoil this month.
The yield on 10-year Government gilts rising 11 basis points to 3.47pc while the yield on 10-year US Treasuries has risen three basis points to 3.56pc.
There is a lot of action in two-year gilts, with US bond yields rising nearly nine basis points to 4.04pc and UK gilts up 10 basis points to 3.38pc.
Markets are pricing in an 85pc chance of a 0.25 percentage point interest rate rise by the Bank of England in May, while in the US the same move is rated as having a 55pc chance.
A week ago those bets stood at 49pc in the UK. On Friday, markets bet there was a 24pc chance of rates rising in the US.
Bond market repricing continues w/German 2y yields up 9bps as banking jitters ease further. ECB terminal rate (ECB deposit rate) now seen at 3.4%. pic.twitter.com/FuFnIcQ2VO
— Holger Zschaepitz (@Schuldensuehner) March 28, 2023
09:28 AM
Royal Mail bosses threaten administration amid strike chaos
Royal Mail bosses have threatened to put the loss-making postal service into administration as talks with striking union chiefs become more fraught.
Special correspondent Matt Oliver has the latest:
The company has warned that it could place the regulated part of the business – which has a legal duty to deliver post to every address in the country – into a special form of insolvency if a compromise deal cannot be reached.
Bosses have previously claimed the business is losing £1m a day, with strikes so far by the Communication Workers Union (CWU) blamed for pushing it into a £295m operating loss in the first nine months of its financial year.
The threat to put the postal service into administration, which was first reported by the Guardian, is understood to have come as the CWU is poised to announce further industrial action.
Read what a Royal Mail spokesman told The Telegraph.
09:14 AM
Adani stocks drop amid reports it is renegotiating loans
Adani Group stocks slumped to erase over 523bn rupees (£5.2bn) in market value overnight, the biggest decline since early February, amid renewed concerns over its ability to repay its debt.
The company Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone fell more than 9pc, dipping below the price GQG Partners paid to buy a stake earlier this month.
It comes as the group is seeking to renegotiate the terms of $4bn worth of loans, according to the Economic Times. Some Adani group dollar bonds also declined.
The report revives concerns about the indebted group's access to funds, which were brought to the fore following allegations of fraud by US short seller Hindenburg Research in January.
Gautam Adani had sought to reassure investors with roadshows, selling stock in four companies to GQG partners, loan repayments and plans to cut spending.
08:53 AM
BP's joint offer for gas producer boosts FTSE 100
UK shares extended gains as they were supported by an upbeat performance in energy heavyweight BP after it announced acquisition plans.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 rose as much as 0.6pc, while FTSE 250 has climbed 0.2pc.
Shares of BP added 1.9pc after the British oil giant and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) made an offer to jointly acquire 50pc of Israeli offshore natural gas producer NewMed Energy for around $4bn.
Energy stocks rose 1.6pc.
Meanwhile, lenders were given a boost following reassuring comments by Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey on the stability of the banking sector.
Mr Bailey said in a speech that UK banks were resilient in the face of strains in the global banking system, but noted that interest rate-setters would continue to focus on fighting inflation.
Banks added as much as 1.3pc across the FTSE 350.
The pound strengthened 0.3pc as traders weighed the prospects of higher interest rates.
Ocado Group and Marks & Spencer advanced 2.4pc and 2.2pc, respectively, after Ocado Retail, a joint venture between the firms, retained its annual forecast and reported a rise in first-quarter sales.
08:37 AM
Lidl becomes fastest-growing supermarket as food prices soar
Waitrose delivered its fastest rate of growth since September 2021 but Lidl was the fastest-growing supermarket, analysts Kantar found.
Its sales rose by 25.8pc to achieve 7.4pc market share, while Aldi achieved a record market share of 9.9pc.
Morrisons saw a return to growth with sales rising by 0.1pc.
Retailers are using loyalty card schemes to attract and retain shoppers, and more than nine in 10 consumers use at least one of the schemes.
Shoppers are also trying to offset rising prices by choosing more own-label lines, with sales up again by 15.8pc during the latest four weeks compared with last year.
However, branded goods still make up 52pc of the market and sales grew by 7.2pc over the past month, the fastest rate seen since February 2021.
Again, consumers seem unwilling to let the cost-of-living crisis interrupt celebrations, with sales of chocolate Easter eggs up 6pc on last year and sales of hot cross buns up by 5pc.
08:27 AM
Waitrose records fastest sales growth since 2021 in push to win back middle class
Waitrose boosted its sales at its fastest rate in 18 months, new data show, as its owner John Lewis considers diluting its historic partnership in an attempt to raise money.
The high-end supermarket pushed up sales by 2.1pc in the four weeks to 19 March, its best performance since September 2021, according to market research business Kantar.
It comes as Dame Sharon White, chairman of Waitrose's owner the John Lewis Partnership, is considering selling a chunk of the debt-laden company that would allow it to raise between £1bn and £2bn to reinvest in the business.
The plans have been criticised by its former boss Andy Street, the mayor of the West Midlands, and retail guru Mary Portas.
Waitrose announced in February it wanted to cut prices across hundreds of grocery staples as it battles to win back cash-strapped middle class shoppers.
The supermarket chain said it had invested a record £100m in cheaper items with nearly a quarter of price cuts being lowered by 20pc.
It comes as the latest data showed grocery price inflation has climbed again to reach 17.5pc over the four weeks to 19 March 2023, a new record based on Kantar's market data.
Households are now facing an £837 increase in their annual shopping bills if they do not change their shopping behaviours.
Separate figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and NielsenIQ said food prices were up 15pc in March, mainly driven by the rising cost of sugar, pushing up the cost of Easter eggs this year.
08:12 AM
Markets open higher as banking fears ease
Stock markets have continued their rally after the turmoil of the past few weeks caused by the banking industry.
The FTSE 100 has begun the day 0.6pc higher at 7,517.97 while the FTSE 250 has risen 0.4pc to 18,600.36.
07:49 AM
Johnnie Walker maker Diageo hires first female boss
Spirits giant Diageo has appointed its first female chief executive after announcing the retirement of Sir Ivan Menezes after a decade in the top job.
Debra Crew will step up from her current position as chief operating officer and lead the FTSE 100-listed business from July 1.
Mr Menezes joined Diageo, which owns brands including Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff and Guinness, when it formed in 1997 and has spent more than 25 years in senior positions.
Javier Ferran, Diageo's chairman, said:
The board is enormously grateful for Ivan's contribution over the past decade. Under his stewardship, Diageo has consistently delivered a truly impressive performance to become one of the most respected businesses in the world.
The board has diligently planned for Ivan's successor, and we are delighted to have appointed a leader of Debra's calibre to the role.
I have no doubt that Diageo is in the right hands for the next phase of its growth.
07:46 AM
Ocado sales volumes fall as customers buy less
Online grocer Ocado has said its retail business remains on track to return to full-year profit as it posted a rise in first quarter sales despite ongoing "challenging" trading.
The group said its retail arm, which is run as a joint venture with high street giant Marks & Spencer, delivered a 3.4pc rise in revenues to £583.7m over the 13 weeks to February 26.
But with price inflation stripped out, sales by volume are still falling as customers buy less per shop.
It said average basket sizes fell 7.5pc to 45 items, offset by an 8.3pc surge in average selling prices amid surging food inflation.
Ocado stuck to its full-year guidance, reiterating it expects the retail business to remain loss making in its first half, but hopes to swing out of the red by the year end as sales growth recovers, leaving it with marginal underlying earnings growth for the full year.
07:40 AM
William Hill will pay record fines as gambler spends £23k in 20 minutes
Three gambling businesses owned by William Hill will pay a total of £19.2m for "widespread and alarming" social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures, the Gambling Commission has announced.
The failures of social responsibility at William Hill businesses included allowing one customer to open a new account and spend £23,000 in 20 minutes.
Another was allowed to open an account and spend £18,000 in 24 hours and a third able to spend £32,500 over two days - all without any checks.
The "settlement" is the largest in the Gambling Commission's history. Gambling Commission chief executive Andrew Rhodes said:
When we launched this investigation the failings we uncovered were so widespread and alarming serious consideration was given to licence suspension.
However, because the operator immediately recognised their failings and worked with us to swiftly implement improvements, we instead opted for the largest enforcement payment in our history.
WHG (International) Limited, which runs williamhill.com, will pay £12.5m.
Mr Green Limited, which runs mrgreen.com, will pay £3.7m and William Hill Organisation Limited, which operates 1,344 gambling premises across Britain, will pay £3m.
07:18 AM
Shoppers pay more for Easter eggs amid rising sugar prices
Shoppers are paying more for Easter eggs and treats like hot-crossed buns as soaring sugar prices have pushed food inflation to a fresh record high.
Food prices were up 15pc in March on where they were last year, compared to a 14.5pc year-on-year increase in February, according to figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and NielsenIQ. This marks the highest level of food inflation on record.
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson OBE said the rising cost of sugar, which pushed prices for chocolate, sweets and fizzy drinks higher, was partly to blame for the increase.
She added: "As Easter approaches, the rising cost of sugar coupled with high manufacturing costs left some customers with a sour taste."
Sugar prices have doubled in the past two years amid a global supply squeeze, and look set to go higher.
Last summer the National Farmers Union agreed a 48pc price increase for the 2023/2024 sugar beet to be used by British Sugar to offset some of the rising costs for farmers.
Meanwhile, there are fears more sugar will have to be imported into Britain, adding to growing costs, after January's cold snap helped drive a 28pc drop in production at British Sugar, the UK's biggest manufacturer.
The BRC said fruit and vegetable prices also spiked in March as supermarkets were hit with supply issues, which resulted in them rationing how many packs of certain items that customers were able to buy.
Poor weather in Spain and Morocco meant many stores were struggling to source items such as tomatoes and peppers, restrictions were eventually lifted as supplies improved.
07:15 AM
Good morning
Shop price inflation reached a new high in March amid warnings that soaring food costs are yet to peak.
Shop prices are now 8.9pc higher than they were a year ago, up from February's 8.4pc increase, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)-NielsenIQ index.
Overall food inflation accelerated to 15pc, up from 14.5pc last month, while the price of fresh food is now 17pc higher than last March - the highest rate on record.
5 things to start your day
1) Early retirement has forced up inflation, says Andrew Bailey | Bank of England Governor warns that the shrinking workforce has pushed prices and interest rates higher
2) Binance threatened with US trading ban after alleged terror payments | Legal action against world's biggest crypto trading company sparks 4pc drop in Bitcoin
3) Treasury abandons plans for NFT | Proposal to create a state-backed token will be kept 'under review'
4) Unlock £50bn pension investments using post-Brexit freedoms, Treasury urged | Scrapping red tape could help plug a funding gap backing British business, Lord Mayor of London says
5) Wind power boom faces supply crunch amid parts shortage | Supply chain bottlenecks could stall developments in Europe and the US
What happened overnight
Asian shares were mostly higher as investors got some relief from worries over troubled US banks with a planned takeover of failed Silicon Valley Bank.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.1pc to 7,036.20. South Korea's Kospi added 0.4pc to 2,419.43.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose nearly 0.4pc to 19,644.68, while the Shanghai Composite inched up less than 0.1pc to 3,249.39.
However, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.1pc to 27,456.98.
Wall Street was boosted by bank stocks which rose on renewed hopes that the turmoil in the sector will be contained following the buyout of Silicon Valley Bank.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6pc to 32,432.08, the S&P 500 gained 0.2pc to 3,977.53 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.5pc to 11,768.84.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury climbed to around 3.54pc, while the interest rate-sensitive two-year jumped to 4.02pc. The inverted yield curve - where the short-term rate is higher than the long-term - continues to signal a downturn ahead.
