Author: WTX Business Team

Business Live: US & UK markets monitoring. Market data: FTSE 100, NASDAQ, FTSE 250, Pound/Dollar, Pound/Euro, US markets, Oil price and so much more

The U.S. holiday and a sparse economic calendar will cause the London Stock Market to begin negatively today. And the knock on impact of the US closure has already sent shockwaves across Asia. Significantly, the markets with the most movement are the ones that don’t rely on the US economy or aren’t propped up regimes. With all the Stock markets in Africa seeing positive growth today. Asian markets started slowly amid fading hopes for early global rate cuts. Oil prices edged down in thin trade.  UK property market sees growth after 6 months Home prices in Britain rose annually for…

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Shopping rebounds on supermarkets and January sales Retail sales experienced a resurgence in January as consumers rushed to stockpile food items at supermarkets and capitalise on New Year discounts. Official data unveiled a notable 3.4% surge in sales, rebounding from a record decline in December. Supermarkets witnessed a robust uptick in food sales, while department stores benefited from January sale events. Nevertheless, inflation persisted at elevated levels, resulting in consumers paying more for fewer goods. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) indicated a 3.9% increase in the value of goods purchased in January compared to a 3.4% rise in the…

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Japan unexpectedly slips into a recession Japan has unexpectedly slipped into a recession as its economy contracted for two consecutive quarters. In the final three months of 2023, Japan’s gross domestic product (GDP) unexpectedly shrank by 0.4% compared to the same period a year ago, following a 3.3% contraction in the previous quarter. These figures, released by Japan’s Cabinet Office, also reveal that Japan has yielded its position as the world’s third-largest economy to Germany. Economists had anticipated a growth of over 1% in Japan’s GDP for the fourth quarter of the preceding year. These initial figures mark the first…

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Tesco delivery drivers ‘staged accidents’ in huge ‘cash for crash’ scam Supermarket giant Tesco has been targeted in a ‘cash for crash’ fraud that saw delivery drivers staging accidents so scammers could claim millions from the franchise. Drivers working in Greenford, West London, are believed to have conspired with external people to conduct ‘stage managed’ accidents, reports The Times. It is alleged that around a dozen Tesco drivers were involved in the scam. The ‘victims’ of the crashes would then send Tesco a hefty bill to cover the loss of value to vehicles, personal injuries, and to pay for a…

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Jeff Bezos, the multi-billionaire and founder of Amazon, has continued to divest his shares in the company, bringing the total value of recent sales to over $4 billion (£3.2 billion). The tech giant, established by Bezos in 1994, confirmed that he has sold 24 million Amazon shares this month alone. Serving as the firm’s executive chair, Bezos had last offloaded Amazon shares in 2021.

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The front page of the London business newspaper City AM reports on the Barratt-Redrow merger. The paper says the £2.5bn merger of two of the UK’s largest housebuilders sent shockwaves through the market. 

The paper says shares in major FTSE 100 and 250 housebuilders suffered a mixed day on the London market, as the surprise merger highlighted investors’ skewed opinions on the state of UK housing.

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Russian oil getting into UK via refinery loophole, reports claim Research suggests that the UK is still importing millions of barrels of fuel produced from Russian oil, despite sanctions related to the conflict in Ukraine. A reported “loophole” allows Russian crude to be processed in countries like India, and the resulting products are then sold to the UK. While this practice is not illegal and does not violate the UK’s ban on Russian oil, critics argue that it undermines sanctions designed to limit Russia’s financial support for the war. The UK government refutes claims of any Russian oil imports since…

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