FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 both end the day up by more than 1%
Osborne signals abandonment of Budget surplus target
UK government bond yields tumble
Shell boss in North Sea rethink
Image source, AFP/Getty ImagesThe government's budget watchdog has pushed back its long-term forecasts following the Brexit vote.
The Office for Budget Responsibility was due to release the fiscal projections later this month, but has pushed it back due to the "uncertainty about our future relationship with the EU".
It will now come later this year or early 2017.
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Image source, APApple may launch a takeover bid for Tidal, the music streaming service owned by Jay-Z, the Wall Street Journal reported, external. However, it cautioned that the "exploratory talks" may not result in a deal. A Tidal spokesman denied its executives had discussed a deal with Apple.
Jay Z lined up stars including Beyonce (his wife, pictured), Madonna and Chris Martin of Coldplay last March to unveil Tidal as a rival to Spotify, following criticism of the amount the streaming service pay acts in royalties.
Image source, Getty ImagesProfits at Waitrose are down 17% to £66.6m following "exceptionally tough" conditions in the grocery market for the year to January as like-for-like sales fell by 1.3%.
Total sales slipped £100m to £5.9bn and higher pension costs associated with owner John Lewis also contributed to the slide.
In documents filed at Companies House, Waitrose said it was operating "against a backdrop of exceptionally tough market conditions and continuing food price deflation".
Supermarkets are embroiled in a bitter price war, sparked by the rise of discounters Aldi and Lidl - although Waitrose has outperformed the big four of Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons.
Nice line from Wall Street Journal banking reporter Max Colchester:
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Image source, ReutersSome news from overnight in case you missed it, or are simply in the mood for some chocolate: Hershey has rejected a $23bn (£17bn) offer from Mondelez, the confectionery conglomerate that owns Cadbury.
A deal would have formed the world's largest confectionary company, overtaking Mars.
Hershey, which is controlled by a charity formed by its founder in 1894, said it "unanimously" rejected the bid.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe Royal Mint says that a week after the Brexit vote its bullion trading website, external has continued to record strong demand from investors.
"Our most popular product has been Signature Gold, which allows investors to benefit from economies of scale by purchasing fractions of large gold bars from as little as £20. Other notable sales increases have been seen with a 13-fold increase in sales of Royal Mint Refinery 100g gold bars, and kilo gold bars up by 75%," says Chris Howard, its director of bullion.
Investors also appear to be choosing to invest larger sums than before, with the average order up nearly 55%.
Image source, Getty ImagesUK manufacturing posted its best performance this year - hitting a score of 52.1 in June on the Purchasing Managers' Index, up from 50.4 in May. New orders also grew at their quickest pace since last October.
However, survey compilers Markit said almost all the data came in before the EU referendum, and it remains to be seen if the recovery will be derailed by the financial and political volatility.
Quote MessageThere’s a clear risk that ongoing uncertainty will have at least some short term impact on manufacturing during the coming quarters. The big question is whether any negative impact from uncertainty can be partly offset by a boost to exports resulting from the fall in the pound.”
Rob Dobson, senior economist at Markit
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For the first time the return from a UK government bond has turned negative.
A bond that matures in March 2018 fell briefly into that category, offering a "return" of minus 0.04% before rising back to just above zero.
It had meant that anyone who bought that particular so-called gilt was effectively paying the UK government for the privilege of lending it money.
Laith Khalaf at Hargreaves Lansdown said: "The UK is now officially through the looking glass, as the Brexit vote has pushed gilt yields below zero for the first time."
The yield on benchmark 10-year gilts is set for the biggest weekly fall since November 2011, as investors seek out safer investments.
Image source, ALL SPORT/Getty ImagesA wet summer could influence the Bank of England's decision whether or not to cut interest rates, says Lawrence Gosling, editor-in-chief of Investment Week.
The Bank could take the decision to lower rates from the current 0.5% - already a historic low - on 14 July, or decide to hold off a bit longer, he argues.
The summer is a notoriously difficult time to judge the economy, and curiously enough it's factors like the weather that they factor in, he says.
Image source, EPAThe early gains on the FTSE have come after another day of upbeat trading in Asia. Tokyo's Nikkei index closed 0.7% higher at 15,682 points - having risen every day this week following a sharp fall last Friday in the wake of the Brexit vote.
Seoul's Kospi rose 0.9% and Sydney's ASX 200 gained 0.3%. Analysts said stocks were basking in the prospect of the Bank of England lowering interest rates.
"In a testimony to the influence of low interest rates, world share markets have recovered nearly all their Brexit losses," said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng was closed for a public holiday.
Today business presenter Dominic O'Connell tweets:
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As Shell's chief executive Ben van Beurden tells the BBC he is taking a "good look" at its North Sea assets in the light of weak oil prices, Dominic O'Connell asks him if the oil giant is planning cutbacks.
Shell boss 'taking a good look' at North Sea assets
The yield on UK 10-year government bonds has sunk to a record low of 0.831% and is set for the biggest weekly fall since November 2011.
The fall reflects the prospect of more monetary loosening by the Bank of England to stimulate the economy.
Economics editor Kamal Ahmed tweets:
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Today Programme
BBC Radio 4
Image source, Getty ImagesIt's been a year since Sir Howard Davies delivered his report on airport expansion in the south east of England. Yesterday Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said a decision on building a new runway would not be made until October at the earliest.
Sir Howard tells Today that in a post-Brexit world the UK needs to show it is accessible to new markets and a new runway would demonstrate that: "Brexit is being seen as a somewhat insular sign - a sign of Britain turning in on itself ... We need this decision more than ever.”
It would also be funded largely by foreign investment - something the country needs more of.
A new runway at Heathrow - which is what the Davies report recommended - is now possible, he argues: “We do have a project ready to go which meets many of the environmental obstacles in its way.”
If the new prime minister makes a quick decision, Sir Howard says a new runway could be open by 2026.
After a strong end to the day following Mark Carney's hints of interest rate cuts, the FTSE 100 has maintained its momentum and is up 0.4% at the start of trading.
It's trading at 6,532 points - nearly 200 points higher than before the Brexit vote came in.
The index is set for its biggest weekly rise in four and a half years as banks rebound.
In case you missed it, manufacturer Siemens has joined Vodafone and Easyjet in warning that the UK's withdrawal from the EU could hit its investment in Britain.
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