Human rights group urges UK financial regulator to block Shein’s LSE flotation

Campaigners allege Uyghur people used as forced labour at some of fast-fashion retailer’s cotton suppliers in China

A human rights group has urged Britain’s financial regulator to block the Chinese fast-fashion retailer Shein’s planned blockbuster flotation on the London Stock Exchange.

Stop Uyghur Genocide, a UK-based human rights charity that alleges minority Uyghur people are being used as forced labour at some of Shein’s cotton suppliers in China’s north-western Xinjiang region, has begun a legal campaign against the planned stock market listing.

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London Tunnels moves IPO plan to Amsterdam in blow to UK markets

Proposed tourist attraction hopes to bring 2m visitors a year to abandoned wartime network

London Tunnels, which aims to convert an abandoned underground network into a tourist attraction, has ditched plans to float in the capital, instead opting to list in Amsterdam.

The company aims to make the Kingsway exchange tunnels, a network of 8,000 sq metres under Holborn in central London, into a new attraction that will bring in 2 million visitors a year.

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Stop Shein listing on the FTSE, workers’ rights campaigners urge

Groups issue call to next government amid criticism of online fashion retailer’s labour practices and accusations of copying

Workers rights campaigners have called for the UK’s next government to oppose the online fashion business Shein joining the FTSE, arguing that a London listing would be “yet another betrayal to working people everywhere and the planet”.

Alena Ivanova, campaigns lead at Labour Behind the Label, said it had heard the news of senior British politicians courting Shein’s £50bn listing “with dismay” given what she claimed was a lack of transparency about its supply chain and ethical concerns.

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GameStop shares soar as ‘Roaring Kitty’ reveals $116m bet in Reddit post

Roughly $390m worth of GameStop shares had changed hands before 6am ET, following Keith Gill’s first Reddit post in three years

GameStop shares surged more than 70% premarket on Monday after “Roaring Kitty” Keith Gill, the stocks influencer behind the 2021 retail trading frenzy, returned to Reddit with a post showing a $116m bet on the embattled videogame retailer.

Roughly $390m worth of GameStop shares had changed hands by 5:53am ET, more than the $343m in Wall Street favorite Nvidia, according to LSEG data.

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Hundreds of millions wiped from Trump fortune in wake of conviction

Trump Media & Technology Group’s stock finishes day down 5.3% on Wall Street, as ex-president’s stake falls from $6bn to $5.6bn

Donald Trump’s paper fortune dropped by hundreds of millions of dollars on Friday as shares in his media firm came under pressure in the wake of his conviction in his New York hush-money trial.

Trump Media & Technology Group’s stock finished the day down 5.3% on Wall Street, denting the value of the former president’s vast stake in the business.

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Dow Jones Industrial Average hits 40,000 points for first time; UK reality TV stars charged over FX scheme – as it happened

Strong quarterly results and hope of interest rate cuts drive DJIA to new alltime high

A group of business leaders have warned Rishi Sunak that the government’s migration policies risk weakening the UK university sector, the Financial Times reports, undermining a key reason for companies to invest in the country.

The FT explains:

In a letter to Rishi Sunak, bosses at groups including miners Anglo American and Rio Tinto and industrial conglomerate Siemens, said they were “deeply concerned” by widening funding gaps and declining international student applications that were “a result of government policy”.

They said this risked “undermining the positive impact that international students have on our skills base, future workforce, and international influence”, as well as reducing the funding available for research and industry collaboration.

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Shein ‘steps up plan for London IPO’ amid US listing hurdles

Sources say Singapore-based online fashion retailer founded in China prefers a float in New York but faces tougher scrutiny than expected

The fast-fashion company Shein is stepping up preparations for a London listing after its attempt to float in New York faced regulatory hurdles and pushback from US lawmakers, sources have told Reuters.

The online clothing retailer plans to update China’s securities regulator on the change of the initial public offering (IPO) venue and file with the London Stock Exchange (LSE) as soon as this month, said one source.

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UK economy escapes recession with fastest growth since 2021, sending FTSE 100 to new high – business live

Short, shallow recession is over, as UK economy grows faster than forecast in January-March quarter, by 0.6%, fastest quarterly growth in over two years


Labour’s shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has posted that it’s ‘time for change’.

Following this morning’s GDP report, Reeves says:

From no growth to low growth - is that really the scale of the Conservatives’ ambitions?

Food prices are still high, families are paying more on their monthly mortgage bills and working people are worse off.

Construction remains the one area of weakness, particularly in the commercial sector. That’s no surprise.

Real estate is particularly exposed to the effect of higher interest rates, and the upheaval of the pandemic is still rocking the office and retail sector - with increased home working and online shopping permanently changing demand. That’s not a trend that’s unique to the UK.

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Oil services company John Wood Group rejects £1.4bn takeover offer

Aberdeen-based firm listed on FTSE 250 knocked back unsolicited approach from Dubai-based Sidara

The British oil services company John Wood Group has rejected a £1.4bn takeover offer from a Dubai-based rival, Sidara, which “fundamentally undervalued” the company.

Aberdeen-based Wood is the latest British company on the London Stock Exchange to face takeover speculation amid deepening concerns that UK-listed stocks are undervalued compared with other markets.

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Warren Buffett backs Apple after firm sells millions of shares in iPhone maker

Berkshire Hathaway CEO stressed relationship at annual meeting attracting Apple CEO Tim Cook, Bill Gates and Bill Murray

The billionaire investment tycoon Warren Buffett has stressed his empire will remain a key investor in Apple after it sold billions of dollars’ worth of shares in the iPhone maker.

Thousands of shareholders in Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett’s sprawling conglomerate, have flocked to Omaha, Nebraska, for the firm’s annual meeting – dubbed Woodstock for Capitalists – this weekend.

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Anglo American rejects £31bn takeover offer from mining rival BHP

All-share proposal had potential to be one of biggest deals in sector for decade but deemed ‘opportunistic’

The board of Anglo American, the London-listed mining company, has rejected a “highly unattractive” £31bn takeover approach from its Australian rival BHP.

BHP’s all-share proposed offer for Anglo American had the potential to be one of the biggest deals in the global mining sector for a decade but has attracted criticism from Anglo’s shareholders as being too low and “highly opportunistic”.

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What’s behind the record FTSE 100 high?

Hopes of a UK interest rate cut and easing geopolitical tensions are not the only reasons for the intraday peak reached this morning

The UK stock market has hit an intraday record high, lifted by hopes of interest rate cuts and easing geopolitical tensions, after setting a new closing high on Monday. The FTSE 100 index touched 8,076 points at the opening bell on Tuesday, surpassing a previous high of 8,047 reached in February 2023. We explain what is behind the rising London market.

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Billionaire Republican donor’s firm brands Trump’s social media CEO ‘loser’

Ken Griffin’s Citadel Securities claimed Devin Nunes would be ‘fired on The Apprentice’ amid stock trading row

The CEO of Donald Trump’s social media empire was branded a “proverbial loser” whom the former president “would have fired on The Apprentice” by a trading firm owned by the billionaire Republican donor Ken Griffin on Friday.

In an extraordinary statement, Citadel Securities accused Devin Nunes, chief executive of Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), of trying to deflect blame for the company’s recent stock market woes. TMTG hit back claiming Citadel was “world famous for screwing over” small investors.

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Middle East conflict risks sharp rise in oil prices, says IMF

In the UK, anxiety over the crisis after Iran’s missile strike on Israel drives down UK shares

An escalating Middle East conflict risks leading to higher oil prices, a reversal of the recent fall in inflation and a puncturing of the optimistic mood in financial markets, the International Monetary Fund has warned.

The Washington-based IMF said it was closely monitoring events in the region after Iran’s missile strike on Israel at the weekend and stressed the possibility that a war between the two countries could lead to higher interest rates.

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Disney wins boardroom showdown with activist investor

CEO Bob Iger says defeat of Nelson Peltz campaign will allow company to focus on ‘growth and value creation’ for shareholders

Disney saw off a boardroom coup on Wednesday, defeating a bid by one of corporate America’s most renowned activist investors to overhaul its management.

The entertainment giant announced at its annual shareholder meeting that it had secured enough votes by a “substantial margin” to defeat a campaign launched by the billionaire Nelson Peltz, who has spent months demanding change at the Magic Kingdom and excoriating its top executives.

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Trump’s Truth Social reveals $58m loss as auditor raises doubts about viability

Shares dropped by as much as 25% as investors scrutinize fundamentals of company’s business

Shares in Donald Trump’s Truth Social dropped by as much as 25% on Monday after the social media company revealed it lost $58.2m last year and an auditor disclosed “substantial doubt” over its ability to continue operating.

An extraordinary stock market debut last week left Trump Media & Technology Group valued at more than $7bn. But it generated sales of just $4.13m in 2023, according to regulatory filings.

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Fast fashion retailer Shein doubles profits as it awaits IPO approval

Company founded in China and promoted on social media is thought to be considering London listing

Shein, the online fast fashion retailer founded in China, has more than doubled its profits to more than $2bn (£1.6bn) as it awaits approval for a stock market listing in New York or London.

The company, which is growing rapidly around the world by using social media to promote its goods, recorded sales of about $45bn last year, according to a report in the Financial Times based on information from sources close to the company.

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UK Libor trader Tom Hayes loses appeal against rate-rigging conviction – as it happened

The former star UBS and Citigroup trader was convicted of conspiracy to defraud by manipulating financial benchmark and served 5 1/2 years in prison

Britain’s financial regulator has identified shortcomings in how some motor insurance firms are valuing written-off or stolen vehicles.

A review by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has found evidence that suggests some firms are offering their customers less than their written-off or stolen vehicle is worth and, in some cases, are only increasing that offer when a customer complains.

Having your vehicle written off or stolen can be intensely stressful and we expect firms to offer the right support to help their customers.

We expect all motor insurers to take note of our findings and we are engaging directly with those that have issues that need to be addressed.

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Trump’s Truth Social valued at nearly $8bn as it goes public in New York

Trump Media & Technology trading on Nasdaq under ‘DJT’ ticker, using Trump’s initials and closing up 15% after first day of trading

The firm behind Donald Trump’s Truth Social went public on Tuesday at a price that values the minnow social network at close to $8bn.

Shares in Digital World Acquisition, the shell company with which Trump’s social media business has merged, have been surging since the turn of the year.

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Trump could net $3bn after investors approve Truth Social to go public

Plan approved by vote of shareholders in Digital World Acquisition, with which Trump’s business sought to combine

Investors approved plans to take Donald Trump’s social media platform public on Friday, netting the former president a paper fortune of $3bn.

Trump Media & Technology, the firm behind his minnow social network Truth Social, has spent years fighting to land on the stock market via a so-called “blank check” merger with a shell company.

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