Stock markets stage recovery
After the heavy selling we saw last week, European stock markets have staged a recovery, with nearly all the main indices rising by more than 2%.
The exemption for smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices from US tariffs on Chinese imports, announced on Friday, has brought some much-needed cheer to markets. However, Donald Trump and US officials have said that the exclusion could be short-lived.
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UK’s FTSE 100 index up 151 points, or 1.9%, at 8,115
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Germany’s Dax up 559 points, or 2.75%, at 20,936
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France’s CAC up 176 points, or 2.5%, at 7,281
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Italy’s FTSE MiB up 922 points, or 2.7%, at 34,951
US stocks are also set for a rally when Wall Street opens in a few minutes, with S&P 500 futures rising by 2.1% in pre-market trading. It ended last week at 5,363.
The US dollar has recovered some ground but is still trading 0.2% lower against a basket of major currencies. It is down by 0.4% against sterling.
Gold has lost 1.2% to $3,196 an ounce, as tariff fears receded, for now. It hit another record high earlier amid a dash for safe haven assets.
In the oil markets, Brent crude and US crude – the two global benchmarks – have both advanced 1.1%, to $65.44 and $62.15 a barrel respectively.
Oil prices have been boosted by the easing of tariff fears, and Chinese data showing a sharp rebound in crude imports in March, but gains were limited by concerns that the trade war between the US and China could weaken world growth and dent demand for crude.
The oil cartel Opec has cut its 2025 forecast for growth in global oil demand for the first time since December, partially due to the impact of US trade tariffs.
In its monthly report, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries estimated world oil demand will rise by 1.3m barrels a day this year and by 1.28m barrels a day next year. Both forecasts are down by 150,000 barrels a day from last month’s figures.
Key events
UN calls on Trump to exempt poorest countries from ‘reciprocal’ tariffs
The UN’s trade and development arm, Unctad, is calling on Donald Trump to exempt the world’s poorest and smallest countries from “reciprocal” tariffs, or risk “serious economic harm”.
In a report published on Monday, Unctad identifies 28 nations the US president singled out for a higher tariff rate than the 10% baseline – despite each accounting for less than 0.1% of the US trade deficit.
These include Laos, which is expected to face a 48% tariff; Mauritius, on 40%; and Myanmar, to be hit with 45%, despite trying to recover from a devastating earthquake.
The White House shocked many developing countries with the punitive tariff rates announced this month.
European Commission issues burner phones to US-bound staff – FT
The European Commission is reportedly handing burner phones and basic laptops to some staff who are going to the US to avoid the risk of espionage, a measure traditionally reserved for trips to China.
Commissioners and senior officials travelling to the IMF and World Bank spring meetings next week have been given the new guidance, the Financial Times reported.
They said the measures replicate those used on trips to Ukraine and China, where standard IT kit cannot be brought into the countries for fear of Russian or Chinese surveillance.
“They are worried about the US getting into the commission systems,” said one official.
Stock markets stage recovery
After the heavy selling we saw last week, European stock markets have staged a recovery, with nearly all the main indices rising by more than 2%.
The exemption for smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices from US tariffs on Chinese imports, announced on Friday, has brought some much-needed cheer to markets. However, Donald Trump and US officials have said that the exclusion could be short-lived.
-
UK’s FTSE 100 index up 151 points, or 1.9%, at 8,115
-
Germany’s Dax up 559 points, or 2.75%, at 20,936
-
France’s CAC up 176 points, or 2.5%, at 7,281
-
Italy’s FTSE MiB up 922 points, or 2.7%, at 34,951
US stocks are also set for a rally when Wall Street opens in a few minutes, with S&P 500 futures rising by 2.1% in pre-market trading. It ended last week at 5,363.
The US dollar has recovered some ground but is still trading 0.2% lower against a basket of major currencies. It is down by 0.4% against sterling.
Gold has lost 1.2% to $3,196 an ounce, as tariff fears receded, for now. It hit another record high earlier amid a dash for safe haven assets.
In the oil markets, Brent crude and US crude – the two global benchmarks – have both advanced 1.1%, to $65.44 and $62.15 a barrel respectively.
Oil prices have been boosted by the easing of tariff fears, and Chinese data showing a sharp rebound in crude imports in March, but gains were limited by concerns that the trade war between the US and China could weaken world growth and dent demand for crude.
The oil cartel Opec has cut its 2025 forecast for growth in global oil demand for the first time since December, partially due to the impact of US trade tariffs.
In its monthly report, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries estimated world oil demand will rise by 1.3m barrels a day this year and by 1.28m barrels a day next year. Both forecasts are down by 150,000 barrels a day from last month’s figures.
Interesting thread on British Steel on X, from Jess Ralston, head of energy at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit.
1) “Why don’t we produce the coke that you need to build steel?”
The coke from the Cumbria coal mine would contain too much sulphur for British Steel to use on its own; we’d have to import anyway.
& the mine operator states 85% of coal would be exported.https://t.co/vcZUY4WORE
— Jess Ralston (@jessralston2) April 14, 2025
2) “Why do you ban that under green legislation?”
No legislation currently exists which bans coal production in the UK.
The Government has stated it intends to bring forward legislation to ban new coal mines, but this has not yet happened.https://t.co/GLzBhTVZBS
— Jess Ralston (@jessralston2) April 14, 2025
3) “What you call green energy [is] driving those prices up, and making it unsustainable to produce steel”
Wrong. UK Steel says: “The main driver of the price disparity is now wholesale electricity costs, driven by the UK’s reliance on natural gas power”https://t.co/KZJfviAj04
— Jess Ralston (@jessralston2) April 14, 2025
4) “Environmental regulations make it [steel] expensive and force us to import it from China”
This is inaccurate. Gas sets the wholesale electricity price 98% of the time, which is what drives costs for heavy industry – not “environmental regulations”.https://t.co/CUpkxptHNa pic.twitter.com/HYu5opqU8T
— Jess Ralston (@jessralston2) April 14, 2025
Robinson isn’t the only one to incorrectly blame net zero for steel industry chaos
Lack of industrial strategy & high gas prices, which remain volatile, are the final straw
Robinson should focus on this, not try to be sensationalist about new coal mines, which are a red herring
— Jess Ralston (@jessralston2) April 14, 2025
Goldman Sachs’ equities trading benefits from market turmoil
Kalyeena Makortoff
Goldman Sachs has reported its best-ever quarter for equities trading as the bank benefited from market turmoil triggered by Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office.
The Wall Street bank reported record revenues from its equity division in the first quarter, after rising by 27% compared to a year earlier to $4.2bn.
Its fixed income, currency and commodities division, which deals with bond and foreign exchange trading, also rose about 2% year-on-year, but experienced a 61% jump compared to the final three months of 2024, to $4.4bn – as the uncertainty and turmoil sparked by Trump’s second presidential term sparked a flurry of transactions.
Overall, it helped push pre-tax profits up 8% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, to $5.6bn.
But there are now concerns that the uncertainty and market volatility will lead to significant delays in IPOs, and spook firms from taking out new loans or taking part in fresh M&A – in moves that could ultimately hit investment banking revenues for lenders like Goldman.
Goldman’s CEO David Solomon stopped short of naming the wave of tariffs launched at the start of the month, just after the Q1 cut-off, but said:
We are entering the second quarter with a markedly different operating environment than earlier this year…
Water companies face levy for enforcement costs this summer
UK water companies face a levy to fund enforcement work by regulators under new proposals, as the water minister vowed to make polluters “pay for the damage they cause to our waterways”.
The consultation, which runs until 26 May, proposes a new levy to raise on certain water discharge activities (i.e. sewage spills) and is designed to recover costs associated with the Environment Agency’s enforcement work directly from water companies.
The new charging scheme will be finalised and implemented this summer.
Alan Lovell, chair of the Environment Agency, said:
The Water (Special Measures) Act was a crucial step in making sure water companies take full responsibility for their impact on the environment.
The increased regulatory powers introduced by this legislation, including cost recovery for our enforcement work, will allow us to close the justice gap, deliver swifter enforcement action and ultimately deter illegal activity. Alongside these reforms, we are undertaking the biggest ever transformation to the way we regulate the water industry. By investing in people, training and digital assets, we are ensuring water companies better meet the needs of both people and the environment, now and in the future.
Water minister Emma Hardy said:
We promised that polluters would pay for the damage they cause to our waterways. That’s why we’re making sure water companies – not regulators – bear the cost of enforcement action taken in response to their failings. Through the Water (Special Measures) Act water bosses could face imprisonment for lawbreaking and regulators now have new powers to ban undeserved bonuses and bring automatic and severe penalties against polluters. Today’s consultation takes us closer to shaping a water sector that delivers real and lasting improvements for customers and the environment as part of our Plan for Change.
Here’s a handy explainer, from my colleague Jasper Jolly, on why British Steel is scrambling to find enough raw materials to keep steel production going at Scunthorpe, after the government took control of the plant on Saturday.
From coking coal to salamander taps, here’s what you need to know about workings of UK’s last two blast furnaces.
Here’s our full story on Sony hiking its PlayStation 5 prices by around 25% as Donald Trump’s tariffs bite.
The Japanese game developer said it had made the “tough decision” to raise the price of the console’s digital edition to £429.99 in the UK, up from the previous recommended retail price of £389.99, and €499.99 in Europe, up from €449.99, starting from today.
There will be no price change for the standard PS5, which comes with a disc drive. The PS5 Pro, an upgraded model of the console which was launched last year, was also spared price hikes.
The struggling US chipmaker Intel is closing in on a deal to sell a majority stake in its programmable chips division to the Californian private equity firm Silver Lake Management.
Intel, which is keen to offload non-core assets, may announce a deal to sell Altera to the private equity firm as soon as this week, according to Bloomberg News.
Intel bought Altera for $17bn in 2015. Its multi-use chips are mainly used in telecommunications networks. Last year, the group said it was looking to sell a stake in Altera as part of efforts to turn its business around. Altera has attracted interest from Oregon-based Lattice Semiconductor Corporation and a group of buyout firms, Bloomberg News has reported. Some bids valued Altera at as little as $9bn.
While talks are advanced, a deal could still be derailed by market turmoil amid White House tariff announcements, which has prompted many dealmakers to put transactions on hold.
UK Steel, the steel industry body, has sent us its response to the race to keep British Steel’s blast furnaces at Scunthorpe alight.
UK Steel director general Gareth Stace said:
The act passed this weekend by the government gives British Steel and its workers breathing space while a long-term situation for the site’s operations is found.
The next and most immediate step is securing the iron ore and coking coal needed to keep the furnaces operating. If the furnaces cool down, it is virtually impossible for them to be restarted.
We applaud the Herculean efforts of officials and British Steel staff to secure these supplies. Dozens of other steel companies have offered assistance and materials, demonstrating that, at times of crisis, the sector comes together as one. The success of our steel industry sits above any individual business.
UK Steel and our members stand ready to do all we can to support British Steel in these efforts.
Wood Group shares jump after new bid from Dubai’s Sidara
The troubled UK oilfield services and engineering company Wood Group has received another bid from Dubai’s Sidara worth £242m plus a potential $450m capital injection – after Sidara walked away from a £1.5bn bid last year.
Shares in the FTSE 250-listed company jumped as much as 28% and are now up nearly 11% at 27.7p.
The Aberdeen-based company, which is mired in an accounting scandal and struggling with high debts, said the “non-binding conditional” proposal, worth 35p a share in cash, also includes a “possible” capital injection of $450m into the business. Sidara would also take on Wood’s $1.1bn debt pile, a big chunk of which needs to be refinanced by October.
Wood said that if Sidara were to make a firm offer, the Wood board “would be minded to recommend such an offer to Wood’s shareholders”. Sidara has confirmed that it has made significant progress with its due diligence on Wood, the UK firm said.
It added:
Work continues on a range of alternative refinancing options. However, having carefully considered the viability of these options together with its financial advisers, the board of Wood currently believes that the possible offer represents the better option for Wood’s shareholders, creditors and other stakeholders.
The deal “would create a leading global engineering consulting company” while Wood would “operate as a standalone, client-facing brand”.
The Dubai-based engineering and consulting firm has until 17 April to make a formal offer or walk away, after the latest round of talks in February. Sidara ditched plans to buy the UK firm in August, citing mounting geopolitical risks and uncertainty in financial markets.
Wood has also rejected several bids from its Dubai suitor, including one at 230p a share in March.
Sidara, which was founded in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1956 as Dar al-Handasah, provides engineering and consultancy services on large building projects.
Last month, Wood, which employs 35,000 people, admitted that its financial results needed to be restated, after a review found “cultural failings” led to information being withheld from its auditors. The review, carried out by Deloitte, also found “inappropriate management pressure” to stick with existing financial reports.
Wood’s chief financial officer, Arvind Balan, quit abruptly the week before after it emerged that he had misstated his professional qualifications.
British Steel appoints interim CEO and COO
British Steel has announced the appointment of Allan Bell as interim chief executive and Lisa Coulson as interim chief commercial officer with immediate effect.
Bell was the company’s chief commercial and procurement officer until now, while Coulson was director of marketing and strategy. The pair were instrumental in keeping British Steel’s operations running through challenging recent months.
The appointments have been signed off by the business secretary.
Both have been long term employees of British Steel and have worked at the site for 14 and 19 years respectively. Bell said:
Our sole focus is ensuring a secure and sustainable future for British Steel’s production in Scunthorpe.
Our immediate priorities are securing the raw materials we need to continue blast furnace operations, ensuring we have the dedicated personnel to run those furnaces, and maintaining the highest levels of health and safety for our workforce.
We look forward to working in partnership with our colleagues in government, the trade unions and the workforce here in Scunthorpe.
Back to British Steel. Martin Belam on the politics live blog is following developments.
Treasury minister James Murray has criticised previous Conservative governments for their approaches to relations with China, saying that the current Labour administration needed to be “cool-headed, clear-eyed and pragmatic” in its dealings with the country, as there were significant economic implications.
Asked outright on LBC radio if, in the wake of the British Steel crisis, the government should be treating China as a hostile state akin to Russia or Iran, Murray said “No. China is not a hostile state.”
He continued, telling listeners:
China is a country with whom we have a large important relationship. We need to be pragmatic about it and understand that we have different ways of interacting with China in different areas of our relationship.
China is the second-biggest economy in the world, fourth-biggest trading partner for the UK, and there are 450,000 jobs in Britain that depend on exports to China, so we need to engage with them.
But I think if you look at what’s happened in recent years under the previous governments it either arguably was too naive and too “not eyes open” under Cameron and Osborne, and more recently in the latter days of the previous government, there was no engagement at all.
And I think neither of those are quite the right approach. We need to be cool-headed and clear-eyed and pragmatic about this, and realise there areas where we’re going to cooperate, some where we’re going to compete and others where we’ll challenge.
