Twitter reduces sales forecast for 2015
Apple shares fall after quarterly earnings
UK economic growth slows to 0.3%
Greek PM sees EU deal by next week
Ben Morris
Business Reporter
That's it from the Business live page today. We're back tomorrow from 06:00, with a busy schedule which includes US growth figures, preliminary results from Argos owner, Home Retail Group, and a trading update from Next.
US food group Kraft, which recently agreed to be bought by Heinz, has released first quarter results, external. First quarter sales were down 0.2% compared to the same quarter last year, which it partly blamed on the stronger dollar. Net earnings fell 16% to $429m.
US shares were mixed - the Dow Industrials closed 0.4% higher at 18,110. The S&P 500 added 0.3% to 2,114 but the Nasdaq fell 0.1%. Apple shares weighed on the Nasdaq, closing 1.6% lower following results released late on Monday.
Investors reacted badly to Twitter's results - its shares are down more than 19%. The social media company continues to attract customers - the average number of monthly users was 302 million for the quarter, up 18% year-on-year. But Twitter's net loss widened to $162.4m, external in the first quarter, up from a $132.4m loss in the same period last year.
Image source, ReutersTwitter has now released, external its results for the quarter ending 31 March and those leaked results were correct. Revenue was less than expected at $436m - Twitter blamed lower-than-expected sales from new products. The company has also reduced its forecast for sales in 2015 and announced the purchase of TellApart.
A financial firm called Selerity is tweeting Twitter's results, external, an hour before they are due to be released. We can't confirm the accuracy but the tweets say that first quarter revenue was $436m, which was less than expected. Nothing official from Twitter so far. Twitter shares fell sharply before trading was halted.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe global economy is suffering a "glut of capacity" and a "lack of demand" says respected economist Nouriel Roubini, external on Bloomberg TV. Oil and other commodities are in plentiful supply, as is labour and manufacturing capacity he says. Mr Roubini thinks that with interest rates so low it would make sense for countries to borrow and invest in infrastructure which he says "would be highly productive". He thinks US interest rates might start to rise in September.
Oil prices spiked upwards late in London's trading session after reports said that a US ship had been seized by Iran. But the situation turned out to be less inflammatory than initially feared and the price of North Sea Brent crude eased to end up pretty much where it started, at $64.79 a barrel.
Nick Malkoutzis
Deputy editor of Greek daily Kathimerini
Hospital suppliers say state has stopped paying them since Dec & unpaid invoices stretch back 14-16 mths. Threaten to stop supplies #Greece
Image source, APThe National Football League, better known as the NFL, is giving up its tax-exempt status. The NFL has been tax-exempt since 1942, but from 2015 it will file returns as a taxable entity. The NFL generates billions of dollars of revenue and has been criticised for not paying tax on that income. However, the teams themselves already pay tax on their income.
A survey in the US has found that only a quarter of the workforce plans to give up work completely when reaching the pensionable age. More than half of those surveyed said they intend to keep on earning - and that's mainly because they have to. Matt Wells has been finding out why the retirement dream seems to be dying for the World Service's World Business Report.
Image source, Getty ImagesJens Weidmann, the head of Germany's Bundesbank, has had a pop at the Greek government for failing to implement reforms. "It is decisive that a functioning administration is established in Greece to move the economy and the state's finances onto a sustainable course and, most importantly, that trust is built in a reliable course of reform," he says. However, the government of Alexis Tsipras "has again thwarted early hopes that this will happen", Weidmann adds.
Image source, Getty ImagesPresident Obama said claims that the US was opposed to the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) were not true, but that it required transparency and good governance. "It could be a positive thing, but if it's not run well it could be a negative thing," the US President told a news conference with Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe in Washington.
Image source, Getty ImagesNavinder Singh Sarao, the British financial trader accused of helping trigger a multibillion-dollar US stock market crash, is expected to appear in court on Wednesday after failing to raise bail. The 36-year-old is fighting plans to extradite him to America to face trial and was granted bail at Westminster magistrates' court in London last week. A court official said Mr Sarao had failed to raise the security of £5m and he will appear at a custody hearing at the same court on Wednesday.
Image source, ReutersStock markets in France and Germany had a wobble today. Frankfurt's Dax fell 1.9% and the Cac-40 fell 1.8%. Traders said there was some caution while a two-day policy meeting is held at the US Federal Reserve. In Frankfurt Commerzbank slumped 5.7% after it announced a plan to sell shares worth 1.4bn euros. In Paris Orange fell 4.7%, following a dip in profits and sales in the first quarter.
Image source, PAA new episode in the drama over Kensington's striped house. The local council has ordered the owner of the London house to remove the red and white stripes. The new paint job appeared suddenly earlier this month and follows the rejection of the owner's plan to undertake a major renovation to the house - including a two-storey basement. The owner can appeal against the order.
Rory Cellan-Jones
Technology correspondent
Note to PRs - press release boasting of your client's expansion into "new verticals" may not really work
Image source, Getty ImagesApple is still "undervalued" and "misunderstood" says billionaire investor Carl Icahn in a tweet, external. He is a major shareholder in the company and would obviously appreciate a rising share price. Mr Icahn is promising an in-depth report into the company within two weeks.
After closing at a record on Monday, the FTSE 100 finished with a fairly sharp loss - down 1.27%. Standard Chartered led the index lower, falling 3.45% after weak first quarter results. Miners were the winners, with Fresnillo up 2.4% and Anglo American 2.3% higher. There were even bigger falls on the continent, where the Cac-40 in Paris and Dax in Frankfurt both fell almost 2%.
Image source, APNigeria's state-owned oil company needs to be "urgently reviewed and restructured" according to an audit commissioned by the government. The PwC report found, external that in 2012 and 2013 the Nigeria National Petroleum Company spent 46% of the proceeds of its revenue from oil sales on operations and subsidies. It says that is unsustainable.