Author: WTX Business Team

BP’s under-fire boss cuts 4,700 jobs in fight to revive shares The Middle East is “on tenterhooks”, the Financial Times says, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas “nears [the] finish line”. Featured is an image of Palestinians jostling for food aid in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, as “the world waits for Israel to approve” the agreement. The paper leads on BP cutting “more than 5% of its workforce”, as its “under-fire boss” fights to save costs and “revive a share price that has lagged behind rivals”.

“GDP growth slowed markedly in the summer when the new government began warning of tax hikes,” said Rob Wood, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

“The “multiphase agreement” reportedly includes a truce, the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas, and the freedom of Palestinian prisoners”

Tulip leaves CITY AM reports on the resignation of Treasury Minister Tulip Siddiq who stepped down over fears her recent scandal will become a distraction. The paper also reports that businesses have lost confidence – now at the lowest since Liz Truss crashed the economy in 2022.

Siddiq quits over London properties linked to ousted Bangladeshi regime The FT leads with Tulip Siddiq announcing her resignation. The paper says she stepped down over fears her situation would be a distraction and harm the government’s resignation. The paper highlights that the prime minister has kept the door open for her return. The paper reports Elon Musk is being used as a broker in a deal to stop TikTok’s US shutdown. In other USA news on the front page, there is a picture of the LA wildfires with a story reporting strong winds are raising the threat.

Sir Keir Starmer has declined to confirm that Rachel Reeves will be Chancellor at the next general election. The Prime Minister was asked about Reeves’ role following a speech in London on artificial intelligence (AI) and insisted he was “completely confident” in her. Continue Reading …

EU yards carry out crucial repairs for Russian Arctic gas tanker fleet European shipyards have been providing essential maintenance to Russian ice-class tankers, enabling the continued transport of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia’s Yamal plant in the Arctic, despite stringent Western sanctions targeting Russia’s energy sector.

Extra bank holiday 2025: Hospitality industry slams Number 10 decision Bank holidays 2025: Number 10 has announced the additional day off has been canned It had been rumoured that an additional bank holiday would make its way onto the calendar for 2025 to earmark the end of WWII, but Number 10 has announced that the extra day off won’t be going ahead. UK hospitality bodies have slammed the government’s decision to can the extra bank holiday. Restaurant and bar groups say that bank holidays provide an extra financial boost to the hospitality sector. Their messages echo calls made in 2022…

Pound sterling continues to suffer as traders pare bets on Fed rate cuts Sterling suffered again on Monday, falling to a 14-month low against the dollar amid a global sell-off prompted by concerns that the US Federal Reserve will only cut interest rates once this year. The pound was trading as much as 0.7 per cent lower against the dollar this morning, dropping to $1.211. It was the worst performing currency against the dollar in the G-10. “Sterling continues to trade on a soft footing and its losses could extend this week,” Chris Turner, an FX analyst at ING said,…

Mark Zuckerberg’s unexpected ‘free speech’ overhaul of Meta’s content moderation has sparked concerns among advertisers that it will lead to a surge of harmful content and misinformation across the social media platform.  Multiple advertising bosses told the Financial Times that Meta’s move to end its fact-checking programme and weaken hate speech policies could cost the platform, where marketing represents the majority of its $135bn in annual sales, if brands fear their adverts might run next to toxic content. Continue Reading …

British Steel is poised to scrap plans to return steelmaking to Teesside in a big jobs blow for northeast England. The Chinese-owned group had planned to build one “green steel” furnace in Teesside — creating hundreds of jobs in the process — and another at its main works in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, under a major business restructuring. However, both furnaces will now be built in Scunthorpe under plans being discussed with Labour ministers. Continue Reading …

Price hikes are coming as firms battle Reeves tax raid, Bank of England survey suggests Inflationary pressures are likely to persist this year as firms prepare to hike prices to combat the effects of Rachel Reeves’ tax-raiding Budget, a survey from the Bank of England suggests. The Bank’s latest decision maker panel, which surveys finance chiefs around the country, showed that firms’ inflation expectations picked up in December. Expected price growth in the year ahead increased to four per cent, up from 3.8 per cent the month before. This was the highest level since April last year. The survey also…

Pound sterling continues to sink as UK economy ‘clearly on very shaky ground’ Pound sterling has continued to sell off this morning, and UK government bond yields have ticked higher as UK risk assets remain under pressure. The pound fell below $1.23 against the dollar in early trade and is currently down 0.7 per cent against the dollar and 0.6 per cent against the euro. Meanwhile, the domestically focused FTSE 250 index opened lower 0.6 per cent. The day after 30-year government bond yields reached their highest this century, yesterday 10-year government yields jumped to 4.82 per cent, the highest…

UK fintech funding races ahead of Europe According to new figures, the UK’s fintech sector was beaten by only the US on total investment last year despite a sharp fall in funding on 2023 levels. As global fintech investment fell 20 per cent globally to $43.5bn (£35.2bn), the UK attracted $3.6bn (£2.9bn) of total funding, more than the next five European countries combined, according to data from Innovate Finance. Despite the sharp fall in new capital coming into the sector, industry figures are hoping for a resurgence in 2025. “When we’ve been speaking with investors, they’re positive about 2025,” Janine…

UK government borrowing costs continued rising on Wednesday, and the value of sterling dropped as investors recalibrated their views on the UK economy.

European leaders warned Donald Trump not to meddle with the continent’s borders on Wednesday, a day after the president-elect refused to rule out taking Greenland by force.

The fight over America’s economy Already things have turned nasty. Donald Trump has not even got to the White House, and his raucous court of advisers have rounded on each other. In recent days Elon Musk and other tech tycoons have traded insults with the MAGA crowd over highly skilled migration. What seems like a petty spat over visas is in fact a sign of a much deeper rift. For the first time, tech is coming to Washington—and its worldview is strikingly at odds with the maga movement. https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/01/02/tech-is-coming-to-washington-prepare-for-a-clash-of-cultures

New look to shut stores as Labour’s Budget bites Fashion retailer New Look is set to accelerate store closures and “Chicken King” Ranjit Boparan is pushing supermarkets to swallow big cost increases, as large employers across different sectors grapple with the fallout from Labour’s tax-raising budget. About a quarter of New Look’s 364 UK stores are said to be at risk of closure when leases expire, raising the prospect of significant job losses across its workforce of about 8,000 staff. https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/companies/article/new-look-to-speed-up-store-closures-as-budget-fallout-spreads-057pcj7fx

Wall Street set for listings rush as private equity sheds holdings Wall Street bankers are gearing up for a revival in initial public offerings as private equity groups seek to tap buoyant US equities markets to offload some of their flagship holdings. Several private equity-backed groups have already filed paperwork with securities regulators for IPOs, including medical devices company Medline and software maker Genesys. https://www.ft.com/content/5dcf3d4e-8e16-470b-b33d-fc73d3043f58

The FT names Donald Trump their Person Of The Year – “after the most dramatic comeback in modern US history, the president-elect promises a new era of sweeping deregulation and a profound shift to the cultural right.”