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The Independent
24-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Earnings and trade hopes send FTSE 100 to new high
The FTSE 100 posted another record close on Thursday, buoyed by well-received earnings and hopes for a trade deal between the US and Europe, following the Japan-US agreement. The FTSE 100 index closed up 76.88 points, 0.9%, at 9,138.37, a new closing peak. It had earlier hit a new all-time high of 9,158.21. The FTSE 250 closed up 141.92 points, 0.6%, at 22,155.41, and the AIM All-Share closed up 2.88 points, 0.4%, at 776.87. 'The positive sentiment generated by the trade deal agreed between the US and Japan continued to permeate the markets,' said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould. This was boosted further by 'optimism surrounding trade talks between the US and EU', said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Rostro trading group. In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris fell 0.4%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt gained 0.2%. A European Commission spokesman said that he believed a trade deal with the US is 'within reach', AFP reported. According to multiple diplomats, the deal could waive tariffs on aircraft, timber, pharmaceutical products and agricultural goods. This followed a report in the Financial Times late on Wednesday that a trade deal between the EU and the US was close. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged despite a 'challenging' environment and uncertainty caused by trade disputes. The decision, which was expected, leaves the rate on the deposit facility at 2%, on the main refinancing operations at 2.15%, and on the marginal lending facility at 2.4%. The Frankfurt-based lender said the economy has so far proved resilient overall, partly reflecting recent rate cuts, in a 'challenging' global environment but there remains exceptional uncertainty, especially because of trade disputes. The ECB's governing council said it will follow a data-dependent and meeting-by-meeting approach to determining the appropriate monetary policy stance. ECB president Christine Lagarde said that policymakers were 'in a wait-and-watch situation' and members of the governing council had voted unanimously to keep rates on hold. Risks to growth remained 'tilted to the downside', she said, but the economic outlook could also improve if there is a quick resolution of trade tensions. Matthew Ryan at Ebury said: 'The ECB stuck to the script on Thursday. 'As expected, there was no change in rates and president Lagarde repeated that the bank was both in a 'good place' and a wait-and-see mode, suggesting that the governing council has no plans to alter policy for the time being.' Mr Ryan detected a 'moderately hawkish' tone in Ms Lagarde's comments, as 'she not only expressed confidence over the 2% inflation target, but said that the economy was performing better than expected, while making no attempt to talk down the value of the euro'. But barring a 'blowup' in US-EU trade negotiations, Mr Ryan thinks that the ECB will likely stay on hold through at least the next couple of meetings. The pound eased to 1.3535 dollars late on Thursday in London, compared with 1.3571 dollars at the equities close on Wednesday. The euro traded at 1.1773 dollars, higher against 1.1737 dollars. Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at 146.79 yen, compared with 146.33 yen. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.4%, the S&P 500 traded 0.2% higher as did the Nasdaq Composite. There were mixed fortunes for two of the 'Magnificent Seven' following earnings released after Wednesday's closing bell in New York. Google parent company Alphabet rose 1.7% after better-than-expected second quarter results. 'Google delivered what we believe is a defining quarter with 32% Google Cloud revenue growth, increasing scale of AI search products, and greater benefits from AI across every part of the business,' said analysts at JPMorgan. 'We believe the combination of strong AI-driven Cloud demand and accelerating backlog makes Google Cloud a bigger driver of the bull case going forward,' JPM added. But Tesla fell 7.6% after its second-quarter results underwhelmed. AJ Bell's Russ Mould said the results are 'as ugly as the Cybertruck design, with revenue, profit, margins and free cash flow all in decline. It's difficult to see how Tesla digs itself out of the hole it is in any time soon'. 'Competition is fierce, tariffs are biting, the end of tax credits for electric vehicle buyers in the US could hurt, Elon Musk's political escapades have been a turn-off for many people, and product innovation has failed to make waves,' he added. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.4%, stretched from 4.38%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.94%, unmoved from Wednesday. In London, BT surged 10% after what Berenberg called a 'reassuring' first-quarter trading update. Berenberg said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation was slightly ahead of consensus, with Openreach the main driver of this beat. In addition, BT said Virgin Media O2 chief financial officer Patricia Cobian will replace Simon Lowth as BT's chief financial officer, joining in the summer of 2026. Mr Lowth has been chief financial officer for for nine years, and will retire following a handover to Ms Cobian. BT will announce the date of Ms Cobian's arrival 'in due course'. Reckitt Benckiser jumped 10% as it raised full-year guidance, lifted its dividend and launched a new share buyback, as it said its strategic reset is bearing fruit. 'This is a strong first-half performance with Core Reckitt growing like-for-like net revenues 4.2%, demonstrating the strength of our Powerbrands and the positive impact of the strategy we launched a year ago,' chief executive Kris Licht said. The maker of Nurofen painkillers and Strepsils lozenges said pre-tax profit fell 14% to £1.31 billion in the six months to June 30 from £1.52 billion a year prior, as revenue slipped 2.6% to £6.98 billion from £7.17 billion. But like-for-like sales rose 1.5% in the half-year, and by 1.9% in the second quarter, Reckitt said. Within core brands, Reckitt said like-for-like sales increased by 4.2%. Reckitt now targets like-for-like net revenue growth of above 4% in 'Core Reckitt' for 2025, improved from previous guidance of 3% to 4% growth. Lloyds Banking Group edged up 0.9% after it increased its dividend ahead of half-year earnings growth and confirmed its full-year guidance, citing strategic progress and strong capital generation. Other blue-chips to benefit from well-received results were Howden Joinery, Vodafone and Airtel Africa, up 8.7%, 3.6% and 7.2% respectively. On the FTSE 250, media firm ITV jumped 13% after its earnings, online trading platform IG rose 8% as it accompanied results with a new share buyback, and an upbeat trading update boosted building materials company Wickes 3%. The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were BT Group, up 20.8p at 220.2p, Reckitt Benckiser, up 518p at 5,558p, Howden Joinery, up 73p at 908.5p, Airtel Africa, up 13.2p at 196.3p and Ashtead Group, up 191p at 5,048p. The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were SSE, down 60.5p at 1,851.5p, Beazley, down 20.5p at 889.5p, Fresnillo, down 30p at 1,433p, 3i Group, down 80p at 4,264p and BP, down 6.8p at 397.7p. Brent oil was quoted higher at 69.40 dollars a barrel in London on Thursday, from 68.24 dollars late Wednesday. Gold eased to 3,373.34 dollars an ounce against 3,412.38 dollars. Friday's local corporate calendar sees half-year results from lender NatWest, property portal Rightmove and a trading statement from pub operator Mitchells & Butlers. The global economic calendar on Friday has UK retail and consumer confidence data plus US durable goods orders figure
Daily Record
22-07-2025
- Daily Record
Firefighter apprentice sacked after boasting he was once hitman for Mexican drug cartel
Zac Gonzalez Rostro was sacked after bosses were told of his claims he was a cartel hitman. A trainee firefighter has been given the boot after boasting he was once a contract killer for a drugs gang. Zac Gonzalez Rostro was just six weeks into his training programme with Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service when his wild claims sparked an investigation. He had been telling fellow trainees at the Bury centre about his podcast appearances where he alleged to have murdered more than 70 people as part of an LA gang. When quizzed by fire service investigators, he admitted his shocking stories were fabricated purely to earn cash from podcasts, reports the Manchester Evening News. During one podcast, he boasted of killing "more than 70" people and claimed that after one murder, gang members used a victim's severed head as a basketball. In another episode, he declared: "I was introduced to the killing game. You give me a pistol, you give me a rifle and I will do my job." He detailed how he was running with a gang in Los Angeles and moved up from "home invasions" - break-ins in Beverly Hills and Santa Monica, to drive-by shootings. He alleged he used a revolver in his first shooting "as it does not leave a casing". He also spoke of "spraying" homes with bullets and claimed to have witnessed children as young as eight carrying firearms. He stated: "I like the adrenalin. I wanted to join the Marines but I joined something else." Speaking about his alleged "gang-related" youth, he added: "You basically stick with your own race. You are always looking behind your back. I have seen kids pull out guns at the age of eight. You start getting a full sense of the danger you are in from around the age of 12. I have seen young kids, they have nothing else but the gang you know. Their parents are dead, or dad's in prison, mom in rehab. They have nothing. "We would do a lot of home invasion, like rob. I've never been a fan of selling drugs, but I have been a fan of getting money." Rostro, who revealed in a podcast that his mother is Mexican, appeared before a disciplinary panel on Friday. Deputy Chief Officer Carlos Meakin explained: "We were recently made aware of serious allegations against an apprentice firefighter. "We moved quickly to suspend the apprentice while we investigated the allegations. Our investigation is now complete, and following a hearing this afternoon the apprentice has been dismissed. "Public safety is our top priority alongside the safety and welfare of our staff. Before recruiting the apprentice in question, we carried out enhanced national DBS checks, as we do for all potential recruits, as well as an international criminal records check. These did not flag any areas of concern. "We also checked the applicant's social media as part of our screening process, but as he used a pseudonym online, we were not aware of the content which came to light this week. "We hold our staff to the highest standards and will not tolerate attitudes or behaviours that goes against our values. Within 20 minutes of the allegations being reported to us we had launched an investigation, the apprentice firefighter was suspended the same day, and we concluded our investigation within 72 hours. "We're supporting staff who have been affected by this issue." The M.E.N. understands that GMFRS carried out an enhanced DBS check and international criminal records checks before employing the apprentice in question. These did not raise any red flags. Fire bosses said the apprentice "had the right to work in the UK and provided all relevant visas and documentation." The service maintains it "will always take swift action to investigate any reports of attitudes or behaviours that go against our values." An inquiry was launched within 20 minutes of the trainee's allegations. Rostro was amongst around 30 recruits participating in the programme.
Al-Ahram Weekly
02-07-2025
- Business
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Stocks diverge as tariffs deadline looms - Markets & Companies
Stock markets diverged and the dollar rose Wednesday as US President Donald Trump ruled out a fresh delay to reciprocal tariffs. Tokyo-listed equities took a hit from Trump's threats to ramp up Japanese levies, Hong Kong closed higher and Europe's main indices were up around midday. Stocks trading was "taking a relatively positive tone despite the tech-led weakness seen in the US" on Tuesday, noted Rostro chief market analyst Joshua Mahony. Oil prices jumped more than one percent as crude-producer Iran suspended cooperation with the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, days after a ceasefire in a war that saw Israeli and US strikes on nuclear sites in the Islamic republic. Market watchers reacted also to Trump's signature budget bill that scraped through the Senate. Optimism over an extension to deep tax cuts helped to offset warnings it could add around $3 trillion to the national debt. A week before Trump's 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs ends, few governments have struck deals to avert the taxes, though White House officials say several are in the pipeline. And while the administration had set July 9 as the deadline to finalise pacts, investors largely expect that to be pushed back or countries given extra time. However, the president said Tuesday he was "not thinking about the pause" and again warned he would end negotiations or hike some duties. Among those in his sights was Japan, which he slammed this week over US rice and auto exports to the country. Asia Society Policy Institute vice president, Wendy Cutler, told AFP that "Japan's refusal to open its rice market, coupled with the US resistance to lowering automotive tariffs, may lead to the reimposition of Japan's 24 percent reciprocal tariff". In Washington senators passed Trump's "Big, Beautiful Bill" he says will boost the economy by extending tax cuts and slashing spending on programmes such as Medicare. The legislation now faces a tough passage through the House of Representatives, where some Republicans have raised concerns about its cost amid already heightened fears over the country's finances. On the corporate front Wednesday, shares in Qantas dropped more than two percent after the Australian airline said it was probing a "significant" cyberattack where hackers infiltrated a system containing sensitive data on six million customers. Hong Kong-listed Chinese tech titan Alibaba dipped after saying it would issue US$7 billion in subsidies for certain purchases. Hong Kong is expected to lead the world in IPO financing this year despite uncertainty from geopolitical tensions and trade tariffs, accountancy giant PwC said. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
