Business news live: Bonds latest after yields rise and Microsoft cut 4% of workforce in AI push
Meanwhile, news across the business world saw TSB confirm it would be bought by Santander to create the UK's third-biggest bank, pending approval, and AstraZeneca's CEO has held conversations over moving the biggest firm on the London Stock Exchange to a US listing. Elsewhere, Microsoft are cutting 9,000 jobs as the race to employ AI for tasks continues, while Thursday also sees The Independent show how Trump tariffs are impacting small and medium businesses across the UK.
The FTSE 100 was flat on Wednesday, despite several miners enjoying strong rises.
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Reuters
33 minutes ago
- Reuters
UK lawmaker from Farage's Reform removes himself from the party
LONDON, July 5 (Reuters) - A British lawmaker from Nigel Farage's Reform UK party, James McMurdock, has removed himself from the party pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations relating to his business propriety, the right-wing party said on Saturday. McMurdock, one of five Reform lawmakers elected to join the UK's 650-strong parliament in the 2024 general election, will now sit as an independent, according to a statement on social media platform X from Reform's main enforcer of party discipline Lee Anderson. While the party - led by prominent Brexit campaigner Farage - has only a handful of lawmakers compared to the governing Labour Party's 403, it leads national opinion polls and gained noticeable ground from Labour in the local elections in May. "The allegations relate to business propriety during the pandemic and before (McMurdock) became an MP (Member of Parliament)," Anderson said in the statement. "At Reform UK we take these matters very seriously." McMurdock did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. The Reform statement said he has agreed to cooperate with any investigation following allegations which are likely to be published by a national newspaper.
Daily Mail
38 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Shambles on the hard-Left: Jeremy Corbyn says 'discussions are ongoing' after Zarah Sultana quits Labour and boasts she will 'co-lead' new insurgent party… amid claims he is 'furious at being blindsided' by the MP
An insurgent threat to Labour was teetering on the brink of chaos today as its launch descended into squabbling. Zarah Sultana dramatically quit Labour last night and declared she would be 'co-leading' a new left-wing party with Jeremy Corbyn. The ardent pro-Palestinian MP is a long-term critic of Keir Starmer, and was already sitting as an independent after being stripped of the whip. But it seems the move caught Mr Corbyn by surprise, with the former Labour leader said to be 'furious and bewildered'. He finally commented on the development this afternoon to insist 'discussions are ongoing' - saying Ms Sultana would 'help us build a new alternative' but seemingly stopping short of endorsing her as a 'co-leader'. There also appears to be no decision on what the name of the new party would be, with options mooted including 'Real Change' and 'Peace and Justice Project'. Mr Corbyn has been hinting strongly that he wants to form a new party - with polls suggesting it could attract 10 per cent of the left-wing vote and inflict major damage on Labour. In an interview on Wednesday the 76-year-old claimed there was a 'thirst' among voters 'for an alternative view to be put'. The ardent pro-Palestinian MP is a long-term critic of Keir Starmer , and was already sitting as an independent after being stripped of the whip Mr Corbyn finally commented on the development this afternoon to insist 'discussions are ongoing' - saying Ms Sultana would 'help us build a new alternative' but seemingly stopping short of endorsing her as a 'co-leader' Mr Corbyn has sat as the independent MP for Islington North since being suspended by Labour in 2020 for downplaying the extent of anti-Semitism in the party under his leadership. He was expelled last year but retained his seat in the general election, since when he has been part of the Independent Alliance, a loose grouping of independent MPs with left wing political views. Posting on X last night, Ms Sultana that she was 'resigning from the Labour Party'. She said: 'Jeremy Corbyn and I will co-lead the founding of a new party, with other independent MPs, campaigners and activists across the country.' She said that 'Westminster is broken but the real crisis is deeper' and the 'two-party system offers nothing but managed decline and broken promises'. 'A year ago I was suspended by the Labour Party for voting to abolish the two-child benefit cap and list 400,000 children out of poverty,' the former Labour MP added. I'd do it again. I voted against scrapping winter fuel payments for pensioners. I'd do it again. 'Now, the Government wants to make disabled people suffer; they just can't decide how much.' In a post on social media this afternoon, Mr Corbyn said: 'Real change is coming. 'One year on from the election, this Labour Government has refused to deliver the change people expected and deserved. Poverty, inequality and war are not inevitable. Our country needs to change direction, now. 'Congratulations to Zarah Sultana on her principled decision to leave the Labour Party. I am delighted that she will help us build a real alternative. 'The democratic foundations of a new kind of political party will soon take shape. Discussions are ongoing – and I am excited to work alongside all communities to fight for the future people deserve. 'Together, we can create something that is desperately missing from our broken political system: hope.' Appearing on ITV 's Peston on Wednesday - after opposing plans to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist group - he said he was working with groups 'all around the country' 'That grouping will come together. There will be an alternative view and there will be an alternative put there which is about a society that deals with poverty, inequality and a foreign policy that's based on peace rather than war,' he said. Asked if he would like to lead the party he said: 'I'm here to work, I'm here to serve the people in the way I've always tried to do.'
Reuters
43 minutes ago
- Reuters
UK reestablishes diplomatic ties with Syria as Lammy visits Damascus
LONDON, July 5 (Reuters) - Britain said on Saturday it was reestablishing diplomatic relations with Syria, as foreign minister David Lammy visited the Syrian capital Damascus. "There is renewed hope for the Syrian people. The UK is reestablishing diplomatic relations because it is in our interests to support the new government to deliver their commitment to build a stable, more secure and prosperous future for all Syrians," Lammy said in a statement.
