Donald Trump issued new tariffs to a host of nations at the start of this week and while stock markets haven’t reacted in undue fashion yet, the first big impact has now been seen with the price of copper shooting to record levels on threats of a 50 per cent tariff rate.
The FTSE 100 rose on Tuesday and has begun Wednesday is similar fashion, following a mixed overnight trading session in Asia. But within UK companies, housebuilders were hit with a £100m collective payment after an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
Meanwhile, Rachel Reeves has been sent an open letter by building societies, pleading with her not to cut the cash ISA allowance limit in her Mansion House speech next week, as the government seeks ways to encourage more people to invest.
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Business news live - Wednesday 9 July
- Housebuilders including Barratt Redrow agree £100m payment after CMA investigation
- Building societies write open letter to chancellor pleading not to cut Cash ISA allowance
- Copper prices surge - then fall again - on Trump 50% tariff threat
- WPP shares crash 17% on Wednesday
- John Lewis named top retailer for customer satisfaction
- Nvidia becomes world's first $4tn company
Business news live - Wednesday wrap
16:33 , Karl MatchettTime to wrap up for today; we’ll be back as usual at 7am on Thursday.
Today’s main lines:
- John Lewis was named top shop for customer satisfaction
- Advertiser WPP saw shares drop more than 18 per cent today
- Building societies have pleaded with the chancellor not to cut Cash ISA allowances next week
And we’ll leave you with more on the Nvidia story here. See you tomorrow!
Nvidia becomes world’s first-ever $4 trillion business after share price rise
Business news live - Wednesday
08:44 , Karl MatchettGood morning and welcome to The Independent’s live business coverage on Wednesday.
Lots to come today starting with Cash ISA discussions, then tariff upgrades latest featuring copper on the rise and plenty of FTSE 100 talk too. On we go...
Housebuilders set for £100m payment after investigation
08:53 , Karl MatchettSeveral of the UK’s biggest housebuilders are to pay a collective £100m after an investigation by the CMA found they had shared sensitive information, including related to pricing.
If the CMA accept the deal it means the procedure will not go to a ruling over whether the firms broke competition law.
Barratt Redrow, Vistry, Persimmon, Bellway, Berkeley Group, Bloor Homes and Taylor Wimpey are the seven builders involved, with the investigation launched last February.
The £100m fee is to go towards funding affordable new homes.
Rachel Reeves under pressure to save cash ISAs after building societies pen open letter to chancellor
09:06 , Karl MatchettRachel Reeves is under fresh pressure not to cut the cash ISA limit after building societies penned an open letter to the chancellor, describing them as “a vital role in the broader economy”.
The chancellor is expected to announce a cut from the current £20,000 per person annual allowance during her Mansion House speech on July 15, as part of a push to encourage people to invest more widely.
But the Building Societies Association (BSA) is now pleading with her to leave the popular savings product untouched.
Full details here:
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Building societies send open letter to Rachel Reeves in fight to save cash ISAs
Copper price surges - then drops - after Trump threatens 50% tariff
09:20 , Karl MatchettThe price of copper has hit record highs after US president Donald Trump said the commodity was next in line for a tariff of 50 per cent.
With the metal used in everything from wires and cars to telecomms, the price of futures surged up to 17 per cent overnight.
However, analysts have pointed to “fatigue” with Trump’s constant changes of direction as a reason for the price falling again today.
Copper is down around 3 per cent today.
FTSE 100 and European stocks rise
09:40 , Karl MatchettWednesday morning trading has seen stock indices rising, with the FTSE 100 up about 0.2 per cent.
It did open even higher before a quick pullback, but in Europe the same green numbers can be seen almost across the board.
The CAC 40 in France, the DAX in Germany and Euro Stoxx 50 are all up at least 0.75 per cent so far.
Shares crash 17% in advertising giant WPP
10:05 , Karl MatchettShares in FTSE 100 advertising firm WPP have crashed more than 17 per cent this morning.
The £5.5bn company is currently seeking a new chief executive and has lost key business this year, including a £1.2bn Mars contract.
This morning’s drop comes after a profit warning, with both net sales and profit margin set to drop and job losses expected as a result.
“While the uncertain economic backdrop is clearly unhelpful, some of its peers have fared better and WPP’s share price halving under Mark Read’s tenure cannot be attributed to this alone. Advertising agencies have faced pressures from the dominance of Meta and Google-owner Alphabet in online advertising, with AI another potential threat,” said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell.
“Current chair Philip Jansen – who used to run BT and has a background in corporate restructuring – faces potentially the biggest challenge of his career as he looks to appoint the right man to succeed Read and provide support for a turnaround in WPP’s fortunes.”
'Cash ISA is a waste of the allowance'
10:24 , Karl MatchettFollowing on from the Building Society Association’s open letter to Rachel Reeves, we should point out not everybody is against cutting the cash ISA.
Investment platform IG called recently for a complete abolishing of the cash ISA.
Now Adrian Murphy, CEO of Murphy Wealth, says money not “being spent” should “be invested in companies” to boost growth.
“Far too much ISA wealth is held in cash, which is not what the tax wrapper was originally conceived for,” Mr Murphy said.
“To that end, reducing the cash ISA allowance would be a sensible move. Ultimately, a cash ISA is a waste of the allowance and anything that encourages people to invest for the long term should be welcomed. Billions sitting in cash is bad for the economy, bad for the stock market, and bad for business. If money isn’t being spent it should at least be invested in companies helping to boost growth at home and globally.”
Talks continue over UK-US trade deal exemption for steel
10:40 , Karl MatchettTalks to conclude a deal to see tariff threats removed from steel exports remain ongoing, Downing Street has said.
The UK-US deal means 100,000 cars can be exported to the US without additional tariffs, while aerospace manufacturers are also exempt.
But without a deal for steel, the current 25 per cent tariff rate could rise to 50 per cent.
“A swift and positive resolution is needed to safeguard jobs, unlock growth and restore confidence in the UK steel sector,” Gareth Stace, director general at the industry body UK Steel, said.
‘Naive and arrogant’: Why a wealth tax in the UK would fail, according to experts
11:00 , Karl MatchettAny attempt by Rachel Reeves to plug the gap in the UK’s public finances through a wealth tax would be “naive”, with very few success stories from other nations, experts have warned.
The chancellor may need to find as much as £30bn in savings through either cutting costs or raising taxes ahead of her Budget, with Keir Starmer’s government under pressure to find ways of raising funds for the public purse.
But leading tax lawyer Dan Neidle, now of Tax Policy Associates, claims a wealth tax would actually have a detrimental effect on the UK’s tax take – and that the government would be “arrogant” to think it would work in this country.
‘Naive and arrogant’: Why a wealth tax in the UK would fail, according to experts
Watchdog bans host of ads for prescription-only weight-loss medications
11:19 , Karl MatchettA watchdog has cracked down on a host of weight-loss jab providers for advertising the prescription-only medications to the public.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the nine rulings against the ads – one featuring reality TV personality Gemma Collins – made it “crystal clear” that all injectable forms of weight-loss medication were prescription-only and therefore could not advertised to the public.
In December, the ASA warned businesses and individuals who were targeting members of the public with ads for the medicines.
More from Josie Clarke, PA:
Watchdog bans host of ads for prescription-only weight-loss medications
Pharmaceuticals facing 200% Trump tariff
12:00 , Karl MatchettOne of the biggest lines to come out of ongoing tariff discussions is Donald Trump suggesting pharmaceuticals could see a 200 per cent levee placed on them.
The US president said companies had to “to get their act together” - but suggested they might have a year or longer to make changes before those come into force.
AstraZeneca announced plans worth more than £2bn last year to develop on US soil and GSK announced more than £500m worth of US investment shortly before Mr Trump was elected.
Business leaders call for stamp duty removal
12:30 , Karl MatchettRachel Reeves is not just getting told not to cut the cash ISA - there are also renewed calls to remove stamp duty from buying British shares.
Presently, 0.5 per cent is charged on all purchases of UK-listed shares other than AIM companies.
That’s in contrast to buying European or US stocks, for example, which has no such fee attached - a real barrier to buying British, in the eyes of investment platforms.
The report from the CBI also wants secondary listings in London to become a more prevalent theme, particularly for firms already listed in Asia.
EU deal with US to see higher tariffs than UK
13:00 , Karl MatchettThe EU is closing in on a trade deal with the US finally - but the overall tariff is expected to be higher than that arranged by the UK.
A report in the FT suggests Brussels will sign a temporary framework which will not have the same exemptions or reductions as the UK have, with cars and aerospace products.
The base tariff will be 10 per cent, the same as the UK, but EU agrifood products may be tariffed at 17 per cent.
John Lewis beats M&S and Ocado to be top of the shops for customer satisfaction
13:29 , Karl MatchettJohn Lewis has been named as the nation’s favourite retail store, beating a string of other major businesses to take the top spot for customer satisfaction.
The UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) received almost 60,000 responses from customers, ranging through retail, banking, services, utilities, telecommunications and more, with a score then assigned to each brand.
John Lewis edged out Marks & Spencer to take the top spot among retail outlets, with Holland & Barrett, Ocado and Amazon also among the best ranked.
In banking, the most notable highlight was seeing smaller, digital or challenger brands beat off competition from most of the main established high street names.
Full details and top brands here:
This retail store has been voted top of the shops for customer satisfaction
US stocks set to open higher on Wednesday, gold lower
14:00 , Karl MatchettThe futures quotes show the US stock markets set to open higher this afternoon, with the Dow Jones leading the way, up 0.29 per cent.
Individual stocks such as Meta and Nvidia are set for modest rises after opening.
However, gold’s price is on the decrease once more, down almost 0.5 per cent.
Five money mistakes to avoid over summer
14:30 , Karl MatchettLaith Khalaf, head of investment analysis at AJ Bell, has listed out five key money-related issues that people should look out for over summer.
1) Changing money at the airport. This can cost you 189 euros over every £1000 exchanged, versus even using the same company online ahead of time. A big one to avoid!
2) Using credit cards instead of debit cards for withdrawals and ordering online money. Fees apply, so just avoid it.
3) Bank cards abroad. Now thankfully, more banks are bringing in no fees abroad as standard. But not all of them do and some charge a per-transaction fee. Make sure you know where you stand and get a specific abroad one if not. They are easy, available, free and quick.
4) Not paying in local currency. You’ve been there, in a shop overseas and the payment terminal offers you to pay in pounds sterling or in euros/dollars/wherever you happen to be. Always pay in the local currency - that’s where rates are far cheaper.
5) Buyback options. When you come back from travelling, selling your unused currency will net you far less than you paid for it usually. Sometimes with a fee on top, too. Save it for next time if you can!
Samsung heirs sell Seoul villa to pay South Korea’s largest-ever inheritance tax bill
15:00 , Karl MatchettThe heirs of late Samsung chair Lee Kun-hee have sold a luxury villa in Seoul’s Itaewon district for 22.8 billion won (£13m) – likely to help pay South Korea’s largest-ever inheritance tax bill of around 12 trillion won (£6.8bn).
According to court registry records, the villa is jointly owned by Lee’s widow, Hong Ra-hee, honorary director of the Leeum Museum of Art, and their three children – Lee Jae-yong, executive chairman of Samsung Electronics; Lee Boo-jin, president of Hotel Shilla; and Lee Seo-hyun, head of Samsung C&T’s fashion division. It was purchased in 2010 for 8.28 billion won and recently sold at a 175 per cent gain.
Samsung heirs sell Seoul villa to pay South Korea’s largest-ever inheritance tax bill
Nvidia is world’s first-ever $4tn business after new share price surge
15:58 , Karl MatchettUS-based chipmaker Nvidia has become the world’s first-ever $4 trillion (£2.9tn) company after its shares rose again on Wednesday, surpassing $164 soon after trading opened.
Shares only hit a new record high as recently as two weeks ago, but a continued push from investors back into the stock markets has seen them fly even higher.
Now, CEO Jensen Huang has seen his firm beat rivals Apple and Microsoft to become the first to cross the $4tn market capitalisation threshold - the share price multiplied by the number of outstanding shares, giving a valuation of the company.
Matt Britzman, a senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, labelled it a “historic moment for US markets”.
X on the hunt for a new CEO after Linda Yaccarino steps down
16:20 , Karl MatchettLinda Yaccarino, the chief executive of X, announced on Wednesday that she will be stepping down as CEO of the platform after two years.
Yaccarino , 61, took the top position at the company after Elon Musk acquired Twitter and promised to transform it into a “public square” type of platform, free from censorship.
In a post on X, Yaccarino said that she was “immensely grateful” to Musk for “entrusting me with the responsibility of protecting free speech, turning the company around, and transforming X into the Everything App.
Yaccarino said she would be moving to Musk’s other company, xAI.
This is a breaking news story, more follows here…
Linda Yaccarino steps down as X CEO after two years at Musk’s platform
