Markets rally as US and China call trade war truce - business live (1 hour 9 minutes old)

US Treasury secretary Mnuchin says the trade war is ‘on hold’, bringing cheers to nervous markets 7.36am BST Britain’s blue-chip share index of top shares is likely to smash through 7,800 points for the first time ever today.City traders are predicting a rally in London, thanks to the new spirit of detente between the US and China over trade.US and China stepping back from the brink of a trade war has lifted sentiment, boosting equity indices, putting the FTSE on track for a fresh record high.Asian equities have bounced and Europe points to a higher start, as Trump’s administration halts plans[...]

Marks & Spencer to reveal dozens of store closures (15 hours old)

Staff braced for announcement as retailer’s restructuring plan gathers paceHundreds of Marks & Spencer staff will find out as soon as Monday whether their store is closing, as the retailer accelerates its retrenchment from struggling UK high streets.The M&S chief executive, Steve Rowe, is shutting 100 of its large clothing and food shops amid falling sales and profits. It has already closed 20, affecting about 900 jobs, but staff are braced for the axe to fall on another tranche of stores before the announcement of its annual results on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Russian 'dirty money' is damaging UK security, MPs say (2 hours old)

Government must stop money laundering by ‘kleptocrats and rights abusers’, which is helping Putin subvert international rulesA powerful committee of MPs has warned that the government is putting national security at risk by allowing “kleptocrats and human rights abusers to use the City of London to launder their ill-gotten funds to circumvent sanctions”. The foreign affairs select committee said the government’s lax approach to tackling international money laundering is putting money “directly into the hands of regimes that would harm the UK, its interests and its allies”. Continue reading...

Brexit blamed for dramatic fall in UK business registrations (2 hours old)

Collapse is mirrored by tumble in direct foreign investment into Britain of 90%Britain’s decision to leave the European Union has sparked a dramatic fall in the number of French, Dutch and Belgian businesses registering in the UK, in a further illustration of Brexit’s impact on the UK economy.Figures from Companies House show that French companies registered 48% fewer businesses in the UK in 2016-17 than the previous financial year while companies in Belgium registered 38% fewer. Companies in the Netherlands, which is probably the worst affected by Brexit of Britain’s trading partners, registe[...]

House price inflation in parts of Wales hits 10%, while London falls (1 hour 45 minutes old)

As buyers rush to beat the new stamp duty rates, property prices in Monmouthshire leap 11.3% in a yearA rush to beat new stamp duty rates has pushed annual house price inflation in large parts of Wales to above 10%, in sharp contrast to rapidly declining prices in London.Prices in Monmouthshire jumped by 11.3% in the year to the end of March, according to the Your Move index. But the rugged landscape of the Brecon Beacons appears to be the last refuge of the property boom, with Your Move reporting striking price falls in London. Continue reading...

Drax power station to lead fresh carbon capture trial (2 hours old)

Biomass-burning unit at facility will be fitted with pioneering technology that aims to cut emissionsDrax Group will lead a £400,000 trial to capture and store carbon at its north Yorkshire power station in an attempt to kickstart a technology that has repeatedly failed to get off the ground in the UK.The company was part of earlier efforts to build a £1bn prototype carbon capture coal plant, but pulled out in 2015 after it missed out on renewable energy subsidies. Now the firm will try again with a pioneering form of the technology, bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), to cut em[...]

Power station boss warns against reliance on electricity imports (15 hours old)

Will Gardiner, CEO of Drax Group, says interconnectors are threat to energy securityBritain’s increasingly reliance on electricity imported from Europe threatens energy security and will import carbon emissions, according to the new boss of the country’s biggest power station.Will Gardiner, chief executive of Drax Group, said that the growing proportion of power forecast to come from interconnectors – physical links to transfer electricity across borders – would also fail to deliver the aims of the government’s industrial strategy. Continue reading...

Shell faces shareholder challenge over climate change approach (15 hours old)

Investors back resolution calling on oil giant to set tougher carbon targets in line with Paris climate deal Royal Dutch Shell faces a shareholder challenge over climate change this week, as investors insist oil and gas firms should offer more transparency and action on carbon emissions.A growing number of pension funds have backed a resolution at Shell’s AGM on Tuesday that calls on the company to set tougher carbon targets that are in line with the goals of the Paris climate deal. Continue reading...

Outcry over mass train cancellations as new Thameslink timetable begins (15 hours old)

London passengers find many of the promised new services not runningRail passengers trying to use the upgraded £7bn Thameslink service on Sunday were met with mass train cancellations and no information about why services were not running.A huge publicity drive backed Sunday’s biggest ever timetable change but, despite the big build-up, passengers trying to get into and around London found few of the promised new services were actually running. For more than a year, Govia Trains has been working on an ambitious plan to merge its Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern train operations and intr[...]

TSB customers still unable to access accounts four weeks after 'glitch' (17 hours old)

Analysts say the chaos cause by an IT upgrade will cost the bank tens of millions in fines and compensationTSB customers are still unable to make payments or access key accounts almost a month after the botched IT upgrade. As one group of analysts said the chaos could cost TSB as much as £56m this year alone, many of the problems that have bedeviled the bank are yet to be resolved as the crisis enters its fifth week. Continue reading...

Altice delivers strong subscriber numbers sending shares up 11% (4 days old [17/05/18])

European arm of telecoms and cable group shows hints of recovery after torrid period

BT presses button on deeper integration of consumer arm with EE (4 days old [16/05/18])

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Tech giant accused of publishing content that harmed reputation of its smaller rival

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Politicians increasingly frustrated by big technology companies