Summary

  • Sterling hits new low against US dollar

  • Supermarket downgrade hits FTSE 100

  • Gold at two-year high and government bond yields tumble

  • RBS chairman says banks are open for business

Live Reporting

Tom Espiner

  1. Amazon plans to create 1,000 further UK jobs

    Parcels are prepared for dispatch at Amazon's warehouseGetty Images

    Amazon has said it wants to create a further 1,000 permanent jobs in the UK this year "in preparation for the festive season". It announced in January that it would add 2,500 roles.

    Doug Gurr, Amazon UK country manager, said:

    We are hiring for all types of roles from software engineers, computer programmers and corporate managers in our R&D centres and head office, to operations managers, engineers, service technicians, HR roles and order fulfilment roles in our fulfilment centres."

  2. Nutmeg expects all UK property funds to suspend trading

    Shaun Port, the chief investment officer of online investment firm Nutmeg, has said it expects all property funds to suspend trading due to outflows after the Brexit vote.

    We think all of these funds will now gate, probably for the remainder of the year. This is a stark reminder that low volatility does not mean low risk. Investors tend to invest on the understanding that they can sell their investment at any time, but the underlying assets - large buildings - are themselves very hard to sell at short notice. They require weeks or months to sell. Worse, some properties under development cannot be sold until development work is completed."

    He added that Nutmeg fears a "vicious cycle in commercial property where the gating of withdrawals in one fund leads to higher withdrawals and further gating in other funds across the sector.

    "As sentiment turns, funds could be forced into selling property assets at ever falling valuations, as more and more property comes onto the market, meaning the valuation of the fund also falls."  

  3. HSBC analyst: 'Asda price cuts loom'

    An Asda supermarket store logoGetty Images

    HSBC Global Researchhas downgraded its outlook for Tesco and Morrisons, saying it expects Asda is preparing to "fundamentally reposition on price".

    HSBC analyst David McCarthy said if Asda cuts prices, that "could seriously damage sector profitability":

    The chief executive of Wal-Mart International stated recently that Asda will prioritise sales over margin. We believe this suggests Asda may be preparing a major price repositioning. If Asda does reposition fundamentally, then it could seriously damage sector profitability. Consequently, we think it prudent to downgrade our ratings on Tesco and Morrison to reflect our growing concern."

  4. 'Half of property fund sector on ice' says analyst

    More than half of the £25bn Investment Association property fund sector has now suspended trading, saysLaith Khalaf of Hargreaves Lansdown:

    Over half of the property fund sector is now on ice, and will remain so until managers raise enough cash to meet redemptions. To do that they need to sell properties, and as any homeowner knows, that is not a quick or painless procedure. These funds are therefore likely to be closed for weeks and months rather than simply a matter of days. Clearly there has been a knee-jerk reaction to Brexit in the commercial property sector, which may moderate over time. Investors in commercial property funds should not make decisions in a panic. Granted the Brexit vote may have the potential to negatively affect the commercial property market in the short run, but long term investors should be willing to ride out periods of weakness, particularly when there has been such a sharp decline in fund prices without much evidence of a slowdown in the underlying property market."

  5. Canada Life suspends property fund
    Breaking

    Canada Life is the sixth property fund to suspend trading this week to halt outflows after the UK's Brexit vote.

  6. Jaguar Landrover supplier: Brexit will push up UK car parts prices

    Land Rover Freelander II SUV vehiclesGetty Images

    A German supplier to Jaguar Land Rover, ZF, has said that a sharp fall in the pound following the Brexit vote will hurt the pockets of UK customers buying car parts made abroad.

    ZF supplies automatic gearboxes which are assembled outside Britain to the UK-based carmaker.

    "The things we supply them have become significantly more expensive for them to buy. This means that if the situation persists, we expect pressure on prices," ZF chief executive Stefan Sommer said.

    The pound has fallen about 13% against the US dollar since the vote on 23 June, hitting a 31-year low this week. It has also dropped to a three-year low against the euro. 

  7. Columbia Threadneedle is fifth firm to suspend property fund trading after Brexit vote
    Breaking

    Columbia Threadneedle Investments says it has "temporarily suspended dealing in the Threadneedle UK Property Authorised Investment Fund", which is worth around £1.39bn.

    We have not been immune to the recent trend of retail outflows from the sector and so far these requests have been met from the cash balance retained within the Threadneedle PAIF. However, it is expected that these requests to sell will continue for the time being due to uncertainty in the market following the UK referendum result, therefore the temporary suspension of dealings allows sufficient time for the orderly sale of assets, and protects the interests of all investors."

    Columbia Threadneedle

  8. EU regulators raid rail passenger transport companies

    Train passengers walk along a platform after arriving at the railway station of ToulouseGetty Images

    European Union antitrust regulators said on Wednesday they had raided several rail passenger transport companies across the EU after concerns they may have taken part in a cartel to shut out competitors.

    The raids were carried out on 28 June.

    "The Commission has concerns that the companies concerned may have entered into anti-competitive agreements aiming to shut out competing rail passenger transport operators from the market, in breach of EU antitrust rules," it said.

    Unannounced inspections are a preliminary step in investigating suspected cartels.

  9. Sky Bet: Wales football win 'would lead to similar losses as Leicester win'

    Cristiano Ronaldo (L) of Real Madrid CF clashes hands with his teammate Gareth BaleGetty Images

    Thousands of Wales fans are heading to France for the biggest football match in the nation's history.

    Wales will appear in their first semi-final of a major tournament when they play Portugal in Lyon at 20:00 BST.

    The winners of that game will face either France or Germany in Sunday's Euro 2016 final.

    Bookies Sky Betting & Gaming said:

    "The worst result they could see would be Wales winning 2-1 or 3-1, with both Bale and Ronaldo scoring. These results could lead to estimated losses similar to that incurred when Leicester won the Premier League."

  10. Henderson suspends property fund trading after Brexit vote
    Breaking

    Henderson Global Investors, which some analysts say is the second biggest UK property fund behind M&G, has suspended trading in its £3.9bn portfolio.

    "Despite a strong underlying portfolio, the decision was taken due to exceptional liquidity pressures on the funds, as a result of uncertainty following the EU Referendum and the recent suspension of other direct property funds," the firm said.

    M&G and Aviva suspend their property funds on Tuesday.

  11. Tata 'wants to do the best by its steel workers'

    Has Tata Steel been fast and loose with the British Steel pension scheme?

    Small-business minister Anna Soubry thinks not:

    "I absolutely believe they genuinely want to to the best thing by their workers... Tata... what they want to do is to do the right thing... by the pensions, or the members, rather, of the scheme."

  12. Nationalisation of steel industry: 'Buy it for a quid?'

    Going into negotiations for Tata Steel, the option of nationalisation of the industry was and is on the table, says small-business minister Anna Soubry - but she adds that it is "not necessarily a good idea".

    She said that her phrase was "whether or not [to] buy it for a quid?"

    "We looked at all options. It's not necessarily a good idea... but the idea is on the table." 

  13. 'No clarity on steel industry trade post-Brexit'

    Anna SoubryGetty Images

    MPs are quizzing small-business minister Anna Soubry on the future for the UK's steel industry at a select committee hearing.  

    She is asked for some clarity on how tariffs will be imposed on the UK on goods exported by the steel industry, and whether the UK will impose tariffs on Chinese steel imports, in the wake of Brexit.

    She says: "I don't know,. I genuinely don't know. Work has begun... to make sure we get the very best deal out of a serious situation."

    Conservative MP David Davies, who was pro-Brexit, asks Ms Soubry whether she was aware that Tata had said a weaker pound following Brexit would help its exports.

    "The difficulty is it doesn't have the same [effect] on imports," she says, adding that the UK steel industry imports much of its raw materials.

  14. Wall Street opens lower amid global growth fears

    US stocks have opened lower as a potential global growth slowdown and Britain's vote to leave the European Union led investors to safe-haven assets.

    The Dow Jones industrial average was down 44.58 points, or 0.25%, at 17,796.04, the S&P 500 was down 6.72 points, or 0.32%, at 2,081.83 and the Nasdaq composite was down 24.81 points, or 0.51%, at 4,798.09. 

  15. Scots car sales fall in June

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  16. Builders back house-building 'renaissance' call

    Building montageGetty Images; PA

    The Federation of Master Builders has backed a call by the Local Government Association (LGA) for a "renaissance" in house building.

    Uncertainty following the Brexit vote "could make it difficult for private developers to rapidly build enough homes on their own," the LGA said.

    The builders federation agreed:

    At present, for every £1 spent on house building by the government, roughly £4 is spent on housing benefit. By increasing public spend on house building, homes will become more affordable and at the same time, significantly decrease the housing benefit bill."

    Brian Berry, Chief executive of the Federation of Master Builders

  17. How affordable is your house?

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  18. Those government bond yields in full...

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  19. Shoppers could escape higher food costs

    Sainsbury's signGetty Images

    The fall in sterling since the Brexit vote won't necessarily mean higher prices for shoppers, according to Sainsbury's chief executive Mike Coupe.

    He told shareholders at the supermarket's annual meeting: "It is not certain we will see inflationary pressures passed on to customers. It is difficult to judge how it will play out. Things may change in future, commodity prices could come down, exchange rates could change."

    He said supermarkets might absorb higher costs because of competitive pressures and pointed out that Sainsbury's is hedged against volatile commodity prices and currencies.

  20. 'Don’t panic about the pound'

    Jonathan Loynes, chief European economist at Capital Economics, is not so gloomy about the slide in sterling: 

    The single biggest factor behind the pound’s fall has been a substantial shift in expectations for UK interest rates. This re-assessment of the policy outlook has been fuelled by the deliberately dovish signals from Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, which imply that the Monetary Policy Committee is quite happy with the pound’s current level and would not be averse to a further depreciation... It might be argued the pound’s latest decline has been a Goldilocks depreciation – not too big and not too small."