Connect with us

Published

on

There is a mounting risk that fuel prices could soon begin to rise again as major oil-producing countries ponder a big cut in output.

The Opec+ cartel, which includes Saudi Arabia and Russia among its main members, is expected by markets to reveal this week a collective target to reduce delivery by more than one million barrels per day.

The price of Brent Crude, which rose 4% on Monday in anticipation of such a cut, was up further during Tuesday’s trading – to just shy of $90 per barrel.

Follow live updates on the cost of living crisis

Opec+ is responding to weaker demand for oil globally as economies tackle high inflation though there is pressure from the West to maintain supply to help tame the pace of price rises.

While the current Brent price remains far below the early Russia-Ukraine war highs of above $120 per barrel, the recent weakness of the pound would be expected to contribute to pressure on UK pump prices, potentially adding to the cost of living crisis again according to motoring organisation the RAC.

That is because wholesale fuel, like oil, is traded in dollars.

More on Cost Of Living

‘Further pain at UK pumps’

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams told Sky News: “The extent of the (Opec+) cuts will be crucial, as will compliance from member countries throughout October.

“But one thing’s for sure, it’s likely to cause further pain for drivers at the pumps in the UK, particularly with the pound so weak against the dollar.

“If the cost of a barrel were to climb back up to $100, drivers at the current exchange rate would very soon see forecourts displaying prices around 175p a litre again, which is 12p more than the current UK average.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

How rising costs will affect you

Average pump prices are currently 163p for unleaded and 180p for diesel – the latter remaining higher because of the loss of Russian supplies.

The pound was infinitely higher in value versus the US currency, around the $1.25 level, when petrol and diesel costs were hitting record levels daily in the spring following the Russian invasion.

It slumped to an all-time low of $1.03 last week in the wake of the government’s mini-budget when financial markets balked at the volume of giveaways and level of borrowing required to fund the growth programme.

How the markets are performing

It had recovered to just shy of $1.14 by Tuesday morning. That has been credited to government U-turns since Kwasi Kwarteng’s statement to the Commons and a weakening in the historic level of dollar strength.

The reason cited for the weakening was data suggesting the US economy was slowing faster than expected, raising the prospect of a pause to sharp US interest rate hikes.

Stock markets also recovered some poise as investors left the safety of the dollar, with the FTSE 100 putting on 1.5% in early dealing to take the index above the 7,000 points mark.

The more domestically-focused FTSE 250 was 2% higher.

Energy and commodity stocks were among those to enjoy the best gains as prices recovered from their recent recession -induced slump.

Opec sources told the Reuters news agency that voluntary output cuts by individual members could come on top of the group production reductions.

That being the case, it would amount to the largest output reduction since the start of the COVID pandemic in early 2020.

However, there were signs that the markets were yet to fully shrug off the fallout from the mini-budget that saw UK borrowing costs soar.

There were clear concerns around the UK’s credibility when the government raised £2.5bn on the bond markets.

The 0.5% of the 2061 (40-year) gilt on offer was sold at an average yield of 3.371%.

While that was the highest yield for any gilt sold at auction since 2014, it came in below that for a 30-year green bond syndicated last week.

It drew bids worth 1.97 times the volume on offer – the lowest bid-to-cover ratio since March.

Continue Reading

Business

Struggling Aston Martin steers into fresh pay controversy

Published

on

By

Struggling Aston Martin steers into fresh pay controversy

Aston Martin is steering a path towards a twin-pronged pay row with shareholders as it grapples with the impact of President Trump’s tariffs on car manufacturers.

Sky News can reveal that the influential proxy voting adviser ISS is urging investors to vote against both of Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings’ remuneration votes at next week’s annual general meeting.

The pay policy vote, which is binding on the company, has attracted opposition from ISS because it proposes significant increases to potential bonus awards to Adrian Hallmark, the company’s new chief executive.

“Concerns are raised regarding the increased bonus maximums, which are built upon competitively[1]positioned salary levels and do not appear appropriate given the company’s recent performance,” ISS said in a report to clients.

More from Money

Aston Martin is also facing a meaningful vote against its pay report for last year – which is on an advisory basis only – because of the salaries awarded to Mr Hallmark and other executive directors.

The company’s shares have nearly halved in the last year, and it now has a market value of little more than £660m.

Despite the ISS recommendation, Aston Martin will win the vote by virtue of chairman Lawrence Stroll’s 33% shareholding.

The luxury car manufacturer has had a torrid time as a public company and now faces the headwinds of President Trump’s tariffs blitz.

This week it said it would limit exports to the US to offset the impact of the policy.

Aston Martin did not respond to a request for comment ahead of next Wednesday’s AGM.

Continue Reading

Business

Financial wellbeing platform Mintago lands £6m funding boost

Published

on

By

Financial wellbeing platform Mintago lands £6m funding boost

A financial wellbeing platform which counts the alcohol-free beer producer Lucky Saint among its clients has landed a £6m funding injection from a syndicate of well-known investors.

Sky News understands that Mintago, which was founded in 2019, will announce in the coming days that Guinness Ventures has jointly led the Series A round alongside Seed X Liechtenstein and Social Impact Enterprises.

Mintago, which also counts car rental firm Avis and Northumbrian Police among its customers, aims to help employees save and manage their money more effectively.

More from Money

A number of the start-up’s current investors, Love Ventures and Truesight Ventures, are also understood to have reinvested as part of the fundraising.

MINTAGO
Image:
The company, which counts Lucky Saint and Avis among its users, has finalised a Series A funding round

The company was set up by Chieu Cao and Daniel Conti, and claims to offer more salary sacrifice schemes than any other UK provider.

It also provides independent financial advice, a service for finding lost pension pots, retail discounts and GP services.

“We realised that organisations are crying out for the same help we provide their staff,” Mr Conti said.

“The benefits of providing that support impact everyone.

“When a company improves their salary sacrifice benefits engagement, they can save thousands in National Insurance Contributions, but their employees save too, easing the strain on their finances.”

The new capital will be used to develop additional products using artificial intelligence, according to the company.

“Mintago is enabling its customers to become truly people-centric organisations by giving them the tools to support their employees’ financial wellbeing,” Mathias Jaeggi, a partner at Seed X Liechtenstein, said.

Continue Reading

Business

iPhones sold in US will no longer come from China – as Apple reveals impact of Trump’s tariffs

Published

on

By

iPhones sold in US will no longer come from China - as Apple reveals impact of Trump's tariffs

Apple says devices sold in the US will no longer come from China, as the tech giant tries to mitigate the impact of Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Most iPhones will be sourced from India instead, with iPads coming from Vietnam, to prevent dramatic price rises for American consumers.

Unveiling financial results from January to March, the company said the US president’s escalating trade war has had a limited impact on its performance so far.

However, Apple CEO Tim Cook believes the tariffs will add £677m in costs during the current quarter – assuming Trump’s policies don’t change.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

How Trump 2.0 changed the world

Revenue for the first three months of the year stood at £71.8bn, with earnings of £18.6bn also beating analyst expectations.

High demand for iPhones during this period may have been driven by US shoppers rushing to make purchases before the new tariffs came into force.

But the full impact of any panic buying will only emerge when Apple reports its results from April to June later in the year.

More on Apple

Apple’s reliance on Chinese factories to manufacture its iPhones meant the company was far more exposed to the impact of Trump’s trade war than others.

Read more from Sky News:
NHS may offer weight loss jabs over counter
Trump’s national security adviser to leave role
North Korean hacker caught red-handed

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Trump: Tariffs making US ‘rich’

After the president unveiled plans to impose reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries – now largely paused for 90 days – Apple’s stock plunged by 23%, wiping out £582bn of value.

While its share price has recovered slightly, it remains 5% lower than before “Liberation Day”.

Growing tensions between Washington and Beijing are also having an impact on Apple’s sales in China, which fell 2.3% between January and March.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Is your iPhone data less secure?

Addressing the planned changes to manufacturing, Mr Cook added: “We have a complex supply chain. There’s always risk in the supply chain. What we learned some time ago was that having everything in one location had too much risk with it.”

Devices sold outside of the US will continue to be made in China.

Continue Reading

Trending