The Guardian Nachrichten

 

FTSE 250 firms Paragon and OSB Group, owner of Kent Reliance and Precise Mortgages, slide on London Stock ExchangeRachel Reeves considering rent freeze to limit Iran war falloutBusiness live – latest updatesShares in some of the UK's biggest buy-to-let lenders such as Paragon and One Savings Bank have fallen after it emerged that the chancellor may make private landlords commit to a one-year rent freeze.In an effort to protect households from rising living costs as a result of the Iran war, Rachel Reeves is considering whether to ban landlords in England from increasing rents for a limited period of time, the Guardian revealed on Monday night. Continue reading......

Bank's chief executive points to rising fraud as it sets aside a further £105m for motor finance compensationBusiness live – latest updatesBarclays is pulling back from lending to risky borrowers, as its chief executive warned of increasing numbers of fraud cases and the bank took a £228m hit from the failure of a mortgage lender.The mortgage lender Market Financial Solutions (MFS) collapsed in February amid allegations of fraud and the UK's financial regulator has since launched an investigation into the scandal. Continue reading......

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsGood morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.The Iran war has helped BP to double its profits in the first quarter of this year, its latest financial results show.Overall, our business continues to run well. This was another quarter of strong operational and financial delivery, and we made further progress towards our 2027 targets. We had high plant reliability, high refining availability and increased production in the Gulf of America and at bpx Energy, our US onshore business - keeping production levels steady despite the ongoing disruption.10am BST: ECB survey of Consumer Inflation Expectations in the eurozone2pm BST: US house price data: S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price MoM3pm BST: US consumer confidence data Continue reading......

Shop price inflation rose by 1% year-on-year in April, slowing from 1.2% in March, the BRC saysPrice rises in UK shops have slowed as retailers applied “heavy discounting” to their goods in an effort to entice shoppers amid weakening consumer confidence, the industry's trade group said.Shop price inflation rose by 1% year-on-year in April, a slowdown from 1.2% in March and below the three-month average of 1.1%, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Continue reading......

Japan Airlines will introduce the robots for trial run at a Tokyo airport amid country's surge in inbound tourism and worsening labour shortagesJapan's famously conscientious but overburdened baggage handlers will soon be joined by extra staff at Tokyo's Haneda airport – although their new colleagues will need to take regular recharging breaks.Japan Airlines will introduce humanoid robots on a trial basis from the beginning of May, with a view to deploying them permanently as a solution to the country's chronic labour shortage. Continue reading......

Resolution Foundation report says 'crisis' stems from rising ill-health and a failing system of benefits and job supportBritain has the third-highest rate of young people not in work or education among Europe's richest countries because of rising ill-health and a failing system of benefits and job support, a report has warned.The Resolution Foundation thinktank said the UK was facing a “crisis” in youth jobs amid a dramatic rise in the number of 16- to 24-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training (Neets) to almost 1 million – the highest level in more than a decade. Continue reading......

Lord committee says chancellor and recent predecessors have allowed themselves too little room for manoeuvreBusiness live – latest updatesRachel Reeves should aim to run a “significantly larger” buffer against her fiscal rules, according to a report from a House of Lords committee that says the UK's public debt is on an unsustainable trajectory.The chancellor raised taxes at last year's budget in order to more than double the “headroom”, or buffer, against her fiscal rules to £22bn – some of which is expected to be eroded by the impact of the Iran war. Continue reading......

James Sherwin-Smith's candidacy is a test of the building society's commitment to mutual valuesJames Sherwin-Smith, who is aiming to become the first customer to be voted onto the board of Nationwide in nearly 25 years, deserves top marks for perseverance. A year ago his attempt to get his name on the ballot paper was stymied, or so it seemed, by data protection rules and so forth. This time, he has the necessary 250 nominations to be a candidate at the July annual meeting.It is a development to welcome. As argued here a year ago, there is something of a democracy deficit at Nationwide. While the UK's most important mutually-owned society understandably milks the fact it does not have to answer to beastly shareholders, ownership by the members does not always translate into giving those members a real voice in how the place is run. Continue reading......

Lawyers for Avara Foods and Freemans of Newent say legal claim backed by 1,300 people is 'entirely inferential'Lawyers for one of the country's biggest producers of industrially farmed chicken have attacked a claim that they are responsible for pollution in the River Wye and River Usk.More than 1,300 people have signed up to sue Avara Foods, its subsidiary Freemans of Newent and the local sewage company Welsh Water for extensive and widespread pollution in the rivers and their catchment areas. Continue reading......

Exclusive: Mayor raises concerns about using public money to support firms 'who act contrary to London's values'UK politics live – latest updatesSadiq Khan may oppose Scotland Yard using Palantir's AI systems to process criminal intelligence because of his “concerns about using public money to support firms who act contrary to London's values”.The mayor of London's office made the statement after the Guardian revealed last week that Palantir, whose software has been used in Donald Trump's ICE immigration crackdown and by Israel's military, has held talks with the Metropolitan police over a wide-ranging contract that could run into tens of millions of pounds. Continue reading......

Beijing says domestic tech companies must seek explicit government approval for accepting US investmentBusiness live – latest updatesChina has blocked Meta's $2bn (£1.5bn) acquisition of an AI startup as it cracks down on US investments in domestic tech companies.Mark Zuckerberg's Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, announced the acquisition of Manus, a developer of autonomous AI agents, in December. Continue reading......

Deal comes five years after Shell sold its North American shale business and is its biggest acquisition for a decadeShell has agreed to buy Canadian shale producer ARC Resources for $16.4bn, five years after Europe's biggest gas and oil producer sold its North American shale business.The deal, which includes $13.6bn in cash and shares and taking on ARC's $2.8bn debt, would be Shell's biggest acquisition since it bought BG Group a decade ago. Continue reading......

Sources say staff have been asked to pack up final stock and equipment after waves of closuresJewellery chain Claire's is closing its final UK stores on Tuesday, cutting about 1,000 jobs months after falling into administration.Sources said staff at Claire's, which collapsed in January, had been asked to pack up the final stock and equipment with the remaining outlets to formally close on Tuesday after successive waves of closures in recent weeks. Continue reading......

The long-troubled air carrier is in bankruptcy court as the Trump administration scrambles to save the companySoaring fuel prices are threatening air carriers around the world, and in the US the White House is scrambling to save the long-troubled Spirit Airlines.The carrier is in bankruptcy court and is quickly running out of cash. Reports last week suggested that the Trump administration was in talks to loan as much as $500m to the company as it teetered on the brink of liquidation. Then on Thursday, Trump told reporters the federal government might buy the ailing airline. Continue reading......

Critical week for global economy as banks expected to issue warnings over conflict driving up pricesBusiness live – latest updatesThe world's most powerful central banks are poised to hold borrowing costs unchanged this week amid growing concerns over the unfolding inflation shock from the Iran war.In a critical week for the global economy, each of the central banks in the G7 are expected to issue warnings over the risks from the Middle East war driving up prices for households and businesses. Continue reading......

Hundreds of senior staff in territory benefit from nearly £30,000-a-year grant per child not available to staff in group's other hubs HSBC is reportedly reviewing a perk that covers school fees for bankers in Hong Kong as part of a big overhaul of the bank under chief executive Georges Elhedery.Europe's largest bank is considering whether to scrap the perk for new employees or make changes to total compensation, Bloomberg News reported. No decisions have been made yet. Continue reading......

Musk's lawsuit accuses Altman of fraud, while OpenAI says that Musk is 'motivated by jealousy'A lawsuit between two of Silicon Valley's biggest tycoons goes to trial Monday in California, the culmination of a years-long bitter feud. Elon Musk has accused Sam Altman of betraying the founding agreement of the non-profit they started together, OpenAI, by changing it to a for-profit enterprise.Musk accuses Altman, OpenAI, its president Greg Brockman, and its major partner Microsoft of breach of contract and unjust enrichment in the lawsuit. Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday morning at a federal courthouse in Oakland, with opening arguments from both sides expected later this week. The trial is slated to last two to three weeks. Along with internal communications from Musk and key executives at OpenAI, the trial promises a who's who of Silicon Valley on the witness stand, including Musk, Altman and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Continue reading......

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsGood morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets, and the world economy.The new week begins with the oil price rising, again, as the stalled US-Iran peace talks threaten to extend disruption to crude supplies from the Middle East.“If they ⁠want to talk, they ​can come to us, or ​they can call us.You know, there is a telephone. We have ​nice, secure lines.”Talks have stalled between US and Iran as Iran has stated that it will not negotiate till the US blockade remains in place, while US has stated that it doesn't know who it is negotiating with.Our base case remains that we are moving towards a deal but tail risk of short term escalation remains. It is not in the interest of either parties to escalate further. The latest Iran proposal shows the wiliness of Iran to negotiate, while Trump already wants a deal. Hence, we believe that we will eventually move towards a deal, but with some speed bumps along...

James Sherwin-Smith will be up for election after securing more than 250 nominations to run alongside existing directorsNationwide building society could have a customer on its board for the first time in nearly a quarter of a century after one of its longtime members secured enough support for a spot on the lender's annual ballot.James Sherwin-Smith will be up for board elections at Nationwide's annual general meeting (AGM) in July, having gathered more than the 250 peer nominations necessary to run alongside existing directors. Continue reading......

Darren Jones suggests cost of energy, food and flights will remain high after de-escalation and Hormuz strait reopensThe UK faces higher prices for food and fuel for at least eight months after the war in Iran ends, a minister has said. The closure of the strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane that carries a fifth of global oil and gas, has sent oil prices soaring since the US and Israeli attacks on Iran began in February. Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the prime minister, said the conflict would probably continue to raise prices for energy, food and flights in the coming months as potential issues around energy supplies affect production, rather than lead to shortages on supermarket shelves. The UK government has urged motorists to fill up their cars as usual amid higher prices at the pumps and for air travellers not to change their plans over potential jet fuel shortages. Jones told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme: “You're going to see prices go up a bit as a consequenc...