Business news live: FTSE 100 opens lower after UK-US trade deal is signed

Plenty of red out there in the early minutes of trading this morning.

The FTSE 100 is 0.56 per cent down, while for the 250 it’s 0.2pc and for the AIM it’s 0.24pc.

Europe is a similar story, with France’s CAC 40 down 0.8pc, the German DAX down 1.55pc and Spain’s IBEX 35 at the same figure.

Only one company in the UK’s benchmark index is up more than 1 per cent this morning: BP, the biggest riser at 1.4 per cent.

Yesterday we heard news of a potential Metro Bank buyout; today another high street name is on the watchlist.

TSB is owned by Spanish bank Sabadell, but the parent firm has confirmed there is interest from bidders and is set to “assess any potential binding offers”.

TSB was bought by Sabadell from Lloyds ten years ago.

Good morning and welcome back to our rolling business live updates.

Today there’s plenty coming up to start a busy midweek: Ashtead and Informa are among those with financials on the agenda, we’ll hear more about the UK-US trade deal and we’ll have all the stock markets news as it comes too.

Keir Starmer has suggested the trade deal between the UK and US will be in effect “very soon”.

“I’m certainly seeing President Trump today, and I’m going to discuss with him our trade deal,” Starmer told reporters at a G7 meeting.

“I’m very pleased that we made that trade deal, and we’re in the final stages now of implementation, and I expect that to be completed very soon.”

Cars, steel and beef were among the finer points being debated in that tariff deal.

Reuters are reporting that Warner Bros Discovery bondholders “have overwhelmingly approved a plan to split the corporation and put in place a new capital structure related to the deal.”

The plan is to split that business into multiple parts to unlock better value and focus the organisation on its relative strengths, such as streamings.

Avon is facing growing anger from its legion of sellers after cutting commission rates in a move that some workers say has wiped out more than two-thirds of their income.

Changes to pay structures, which affect thousands of representatives across the UK, have been introduced alongside shifting targets and reduced incentives – leaving many reps feeling misled, and prompting some to walk away from the company altogether.

Fortnum & Mason is planning to open its first UK stores outside of London, following a surge in demand for its luxury products including teas and biscuits.

The company told the Telegraph they are looking along the “spine” of the country and could open in a “beautiful location” which had “beautiful architecture”.

More airport stores are another opportunity for expansion.

Much has been made of the potential for changing rules to Isas later this year, as the government seeks to encourage more people to invest rather than only save.

A YouGov poll commissioned by Freetrade has found that three-quarters (75%) of those already investing do not believe change has to happen and that the rules are fine.

Freetrade CEO Viktor Nebehaj, said: “As an industry, we’re at risk of forgetting to listen to current and prospective retail investors in all this noise about ISA reform. Potential changes that add complexity could end up with a sting in the tail, turning prospective investors away from global markets and even encouraging those currently invested to shun markets.Retail investors value choice, incentives, and certainty. If this Government wants to encourage more people to invest, any reforms must keep these priorities in mind.”

A snapshot of business confidence shows they are somewhat less pessimistic about the world economy’s and the near-term outlook.

Oxford Economics’ Global Risk Survey, saw a downgrade in growth expectations in the aftermath of April’s ‘liberation day’ tariff announcements, which has now partially unwound.

“Respondents perceive a significant reduction in the probability of a severe deterioration in economic prospects,” said head of macro scenarios Jamie Thompson. “They see less than a 15% chance of a global recession this year, compared with more than 25% in April.”

More than 100 businesses were contacted for the report.

One factor to note was the questioning being conducted prior to the latest military escalation between Israel and Iran.