The business and investing worlds continue to have more than one eye on Donald Trump and his latest tariff announcements, with the US president chopping and changing on a regular basis. Despite pushing back the deadline for trade deals to be agreed from Wednesday of this week to 1 August, he has nonetheless given new tariff rates to more than a dozen nations.
Elsewhere, big US tech firms Apple and Amazon are in the headlines, the former with a record half a billion euros fine from the EU and the latter for asking some workers to volunteer their time across the busy Amazon Prime days period.
Stock markets have not reacted too dramatically to the latest tariff changes, though the FTSE 100 fell slightly on Monday but rose on Tuesday. Chinese-founded firm Shein, meanwhile, have filed to float in Hong Kong, seemingly as a way to pressure British regulators into letting them IPO on the London Stock Exchange without prospectus changes.
Follow The Independent’s live coverage of the latest stock market and business news here:
Business news live - Tuesday 8 July
- US send letters to 14 nations with new tariff rates
- Asian stocks rise overnight; FTSE 100 fails to follow in morning trading
- Trump tariffs: All you need to know on delays, latest rates and the UK's deal
- Apple appeal after EU hands out massive €500m fine
- Seraphine Group head into administration, most staff made redundant
- Monzo fined £21m by FCA over historical crime controls
- More lenders drop mortgage rates below 4%
Why a wealth tax in the UK would fail, according to experts
16:57 , Karl MatchettThat’s it for us today - we leave you with an expert view of wealth taxes in the UK, how they have been used elsewhere and why it’s not going to work to help Rachel Reeves plus a £30bn black hole in the public finances.
See you tomorrow morning!
‘Naive and arrogant’: Why a wealth tax in the UK would fail, according to experts
Business news live - Tuesday 8 July
08:21 , Karl MatchettGood morning! Welcome back to The Independent’s live coverage of the business world - today’s focus will be very much on tariffs and the latest impacts there, but also we have stock market news, one British company going into administration and plenty more besides.
US send out tariffs to 14 nations with new rates
08:40 , Karl MatchettDespite President Trump announcing a delay to the tariffs deadline - now 1 August - 14 nations have now been sent letters detailing a new tariff rate for them.
Several Asian nations have been particularly hard-hit, with rates up to 40 per cent.
In terms of the most business activity with the US, Japan and South Korea are the two countries who between them account for 8.5 per cent of all US imports - they both have 25 per cent rates starting next month.
Full list of new tariff rates sent out by Trump
08:46 , Karl MatchettHere are the 14 nations who have been given new tariff rates, effective from 1 August, in order of highest to lowest:
- Laos 40%
- Myanmar 40%
- Cambodia 36%
- Thailand 36%
- Serbia 35%
- Bangladesh 35%
- Indonesia 32%
- Bosnia and Herzegovina 30%
- South Africa 30%
- Tunisia 25%
- Kazakhstan 25%
- Malaysia 25%
- South Korea 25%
- Japan 25%
Japan’s prime minister Shigeru Ishiba confirmed that his government would continue to hold talks with the US, seeking a better deal for both.
“It is deeply regrettable that the US government has announced a further increase in tariffs, in addition to the rates already imposed,” he said.
FTSE 100 flat after Asian stocks rise on Trump tariff talks
08:58 , Karl MatchettDespite those Asian nations being hit by tariff rates, stocks were broadly up overnight in stock markets, with Japan’s Nikkei 225, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and the Shanghai Composite all ending the day’s trading in the green.
This morning in London, the FTSE 100 is...also up. But only just.
It’s fairly flat in early trading, up just 0.04 per cent, with France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX largely following suit so far.
What is going on with Trump’s tariffs? All you need to know as trade deal deadline delayed again
09:20 , Karl MatchettNew controversial trade tariffs announced earlier this year by Donald Trump for all nations exporting products to the US were due to come back into force this week. But that deadline has now been delayed — and there is suggestion it’s not really a deadline at all.
The UK rushed to the front of the queue to arrange a deal which came into effect at the end of June but few others have agreed terms with the world’s biggest economy.
So what’s the state of play now and what comes next?
What is going on with Trump’s tariffs? All you need to know as deadline delayed again
Apple to appeal €500m fine over app store rules
09:46 , Karl MatchettApple say they will appeal a €500m (£431m) fine handed to them by the EU over rules within their app store.
The EU say the tech firm breached regulations by preventing app developers showing customers cheaper deals by buying outside the Apple app store environment.
For their part, Apple say say Brussels rules have made it “confusing” and say they have gone “far beyond” law requirements.
The app store and rules were redesigned and a new fee structure brought in for app developers.
Amazon ask corporate workers to volunteer their time for Prime Day deliveries
09:58 , Karl MatchettOne of the world’s biggest companies, Amazon, has asked some employees to volunteer their time during the busy period across Prime day sales, according to a report.
The Guardian say they have seen a staff memo asking for them to work Tuesday to Friday, with those from departments such as engineering or marketing asked to join in prepping groceries for deliveries.
An Amazon spokesperson it was “entirely optional, and it allows corporate employees to get closer to customers while enabling our store teams to focus on the work that’s most impactful.”
Shein file for Hong Kong IPO in bid to pressure UK regulators
10:18 , Karl MatchettChinese-founded fashion firm Shein was supposed to be the next blockbuster IPO on the London Stock Exchange, but the move has failed to gain traction due to regulators wanting better risk disclosures for potential investors.
That particularly relates to supply chains around the Xinjiang region, where China has previously been accused of human rights abuses against the indigenous Uyghur people.
Shein have now instead filed to float the company on the Hong Kong exchange, with the FT reporting the move is to pressure British regulators into softening their stance.
The expected valuation on Shein publicly listing in the UK was reported to have dropped to around £22bn earlier this year, having been closer to £40bn previously.
Shein accused of 'lack of transparency' over IPO bid
10:22 , Karl MatchettFollowing on from those reports of Shein trying to strongarm regulators into accepting the prospectus as-is, the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF) have hit out at a “lack of transparency” from the business.
James Alexander, CEO of UKSIF, said: “Reports that Shein is seeking to use its Hong Kong IPO filing to pressure the UK regulator into approving it are deeply concerning.
“The possibility of Shein securing a UK listing has consistently prompted investor unease over the company’s lack of transparency. This is due to its potential exposure to allegations of modern slavery and human rights violations within its supply chains.
“The UK needs to uphold strong governance standards to preserve its position as a leading global financial centre. Any erosion of this would be detrimental to investors.”
Maternity clothing company Seraphine goes into administration risking 100 jobs
10:41 , Karl MatchettSeraphine Group, the maternity wear company which went public in 2021 and was taken private again in 2023, has gone into administration.
There are 95 jobs and the majority have been made redundant, with just one shop left open following the closure of six others across the UK, France and the US.
New investors have been sought but no deal has been arranged, with the company seeking now to sell remaining assets including the brand name.
Monzo fined £21m for inadequate crime controls
10:46 , Karl MatchettThe Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined digital bank Monzo just over £21m for inadequate anti-financial crime systems and controls.
That fine relates to historical issues with the controls, between 2018 and 2020, when the growth of the bank outpaced required changes to important regulatory conditions.
Those included onboarding processes for new clients and risk assessments, the FCA state - as well as failing to comply with set terms which saw the bank take on 34,000 high-risk customers between 2020 and 2022.
An FCA statement says Monzo has now “established and completed a financial crime change programme to remediate and enhance its wider financial crime control framework in line with recommendations made in the independent review.”
Octopus Energy to pay out £1.5m on meter errors
11:08 , Karl MatchettOfgem has said Octopus Energy must pay £1.5m after delays in handing out final bills.
The fee, split between refunds and compensation, relates to more than 34,000 customers not receiving final bills on time for prepayment meters - which means within six weeks.
“With energy costs soaring, we’d like to see Ofgem put people over policies. People want lower bills,” said an Octopus comment.
“We’d like to see Ofgem focusing its efforts on delivering that.”
Revolut launch new investing ISA with no monthly fee
11:21 , Karl MatchettDigital bank Revolut have today launched their stocks and shares ISA within the app.
Amid a wider push to get people investing, ISAs as a whole have been in the news of late with the Cash ISA likely to see a cut and Lifetime ISAs set for an overhaul when Rachel Reeves gives her Mansion House speech this month.
Revolut’s offering comes with no monthly subscription to open the tax-free investing account and free trades depending on the level of each person’s account - meaning standard accounts get one free trade per month. Thereafter, a fee of 0.25 per cent per trade applies.
Individual shares as well as ETFs are available within the ISA, with future plans to pay interest on uninvested cash held within it.
Fractional shares are available across all UK, European and US assets, AIM-listed businesses are not.
FTSE 100 rises: Biggest gains and falls on Tuesday
12:00 , Karl MatchettAs we hit midday it’s time for our usual look around the stock markets, with the FTSE 100 up 0.18 per cent so far - a positive day for the UK’s biggest firms.
Not all are created equally though and some are more in favour than others as usual.
Biggest risers:
- Entain, +3.34 per cent
- Glencore, +2.5 pc
- Fresnillo, +2.22 pc
- Schroders, +2.17pc
Biggest fallers:
- Rentokil, -2.1pc
- Convatec, -1.97pc
- Coca-Cola HBC, -1.5pc
- Barratt Redrow, -1.4pc
Two more lenders offering mortgage rates below 4%
12:21 , Karl MatchettMortgage rate battles have been heating up once more and now both Skipton and Barclays have announced deals running at under 4 per cent interest rates for some products.
One Barclays deal for existing customers now offers a five-year fixed 3.92 per cent rate for a £999 product fee. A host of other products priced above 4 per cent are seeing their rates drop too.
Stephen Perkins, managing director at Yellow Brick Mortgages, said: “Competition is heating up and lenders are adapting their strategies. These latest rate reductions are welcome news to borrowers and the property market. If this continues, it could be an exciting race that leaves all borrowers as a winner.”
Almost 40% of female Scottish survey respondents report inappropriate touching
12:41 , Karl MatchettAlmost 40% of Scottish respondents to a survey on workplace sexual harassment have reported inappropriate touching.
The survey, run by trade union Unite, polled more than 6,000 women across the UK – 1,143 of whom were in Scotland.
Of those north of the border, 37.5% reported unwanted touching at work, while just under 10% said they had been sexually assaulted and 4.6% said they had been a victim of sexual coercion.
More details on the report here.
Almost 40% of female Scottish survey respondents report inappropriate touching
What is going on with Trump’s tariffs?
13:00 , Karl MatchettNew controversial trade tariffs announced earlier this year by Donald Trump for all nations exporting products to the US were due to come back into force this week. But that deadline has now been delayed — and there is suggestion it’s not really a deadline at all.
The UK rushed to the front of the queue to arrange a deal which came into effect at the end of June but few others have agreed terms with the world’s biggest economy.
Here’s everything you need to know on what comes next.
What is going on with Trump’s tariffs? All you need to know as deadline delayed again
Monzo issue response to £21m FCA fine on crime controls
13:20 , Karl MatchettFollowing the FCA fining Monzo £21m earlier, Monzo Group chief executive TS Anil has issued a statement in response, saying the bank has put the issue in the past.
“The FCA’s findings relate to a historical period that ended three years ago and draw a line under issues that have been resolved and are firmly in the past - with our learnings at the time leading to substantial improvements in our controls.
“I’m pleased the FCA recognises the significant investments we have made, as well as our ongoing commitment to managing these risks today, as we go from strength to strength as a business approaching 13 million customers. Financial crime is an issue that affects the entire industry - and at Monzo, we have the right team, best-in-class technology and an unwavering commitment to doing all we can to stop it in its tracks,” he said.
Triple lock to push pension costs three times higher by 2030
14:08 , Karl MatchettThe OBR has calculated that the state pensions triple lock will send the cost spiralling way beyond initial estimates, to £15.5bn annually by 2030.
That increase is thought to be unsustainable and, given increasing ages of the population, would on the current path rise to 7.7 per cent of the economy by 2070.
A report from the OBR said:
“Efforts to put the UK's public finances on a more sustainable footing have met with only limited and temporary success in recent years in the aftermath of the shocks, debt has also continued to rise and borrowing remained elevated because governments have reversed plans to consolidate the public finances.
“Due to inflation and earnings volatility over its first two decades in operation, the triple lock has cost around three times more than initial expectations.”
FTSE 100 stays solid, US stocks flat after tariff delay
14:37 , Karl MatchettQuick check on the stock markets around the world now the US is back in action this afternoon.
The FTSE 100 remains up 0.13 per cent, fairly steady for the day, while around Europe it’s Germany’s DAX up 0.44 per cent which is the standout.
Stateside shows a mixed early picture in trading, however.
The Nasdaq is up 0.18 per cent, but the S&P 500 is flat and the Dow is in the red to the tune of 0.25 per cent.
Nothing dramatic as investors absorb the latest tariff changearounds, which is probably a net positive given the upheaval of April.
Twitter founder launches WhatsApp rival that works offline
15:00 , Karl MatchettTwitter co-founder Jack Dorsey has launched a new messaging app that works without WiFi or phone service.
Bitchat instead operates using a phone’s Bluetooth signal, which allows users to communicate during situations like music festivals or protests where cell service is patchy or restricted.
Bluetooth typically has a range of around 100 metres, however Bitchat overcomes this technical limitation by using something called a Bluetooth mesh network, which relays messages through other users in the vicinity.
More details here, from our deputy tech editor Anthony Cuthbertson:
Rishi Sunak returns to Goldman Sachs in first role since being prime minister
15:35 , Karl MatchettGoldman Sachs has appointed former prime minister Rishi Sunak as a senior adviser.
The role, which will see Mr Sunak return to Goldman after 21 years, is his first major position since resigning as lead of the Conservative Party following its general election defeat last year.
Mr Sunak, who was prime minister between October 2022 and July 2024, is set to advise leaders across the firm and provide “insights on the macroeconomic and geopolitical landscape”.
More from PA:
Rishi Sunak announces first major position since losing election
