Introduction: Oil price slides as US and Iran pause fire<\/p>\n
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.<\/p>\n
Oil prices have fallen more than 5% this morning as the US paused strikes on Iran for the second night in a row, with military officials advising <\/a>Donald Trump <\/a>to stop his bombing campaign. <\/a><\/p>\n Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, is now down 5.3% to $91.68 a barrel, after it hit $100 last week.<\/p>\n Trum is believed to be considering diplomatic and military options in the conflict with Iran, while the Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to visit the White House on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Iran said on Sunday that it would pause \u201cretaliatory\u201d attacks against US allies in the region.<\/p>\n Jim Reid, of Deutsche Bank, says that while the pause is not a formal ceasefire, both sides have presented it as \u201can opportunity for diplomacy\u201d.<\/p>\n double quotation markUS officials, including UN ambassador Mike Waltz, have stressed that all military options remain on the table and that President Trump is simply giving negotiations more space. However, reports from the New York Times and Axios suggest an active debate within the administration over both the effectiveness and costs of further strikes, with some military officials reportedly arguing that key objectives have largely been achieved. For now, the market is treating the lull as a positive development, although the situation remains highly fluid.<\/p>\n The main market risk remains the energy and shipping front. Traffic through Hormuz remains severely disrupted, while the conflict has broadened into the Red Sea, where Iran-backed Houthi forces reportedly launched missile and drone attacks against Saudi energy infrastructure around Jizan and Yanbu over the weekend, prompting retaliatory Saudi strikes. This raises the prospect of simultaneous disruption to both Gulf and Red Sea export routes. So a welcome pause from the main actors but a fragile one, especially with side battles still ongoing.<\/p>\n Elsewhere this morning, AstraZeneca reported better than expected profits for its second quarter, driven by strong growth in its cancer treatment sales.<\/p>\n Its earnings for the three months ended in June rose 18% to $2.63 (\u00a31.97) a share, while its overall revenue rose by 5% to $15.38bn at constant currency.<\/p>\n The agendaShare<\/a><\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n European gas prices drop sharply<\/p>\n European wholesale gas prices are also falling this morning, as a pause in US and Iranian strikes over the weekend lifts hopes that traffic through the strait of Hormuz could continue.<\/p>\n The European benchmark, the Dutch front-month contract, fell by 6.8% to \u20ac59.22 per megawatt hour (MWh). The British month ahead contract dropped by 6.8% to 143.93p per therm.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Energy companies BP and Shell are unsurprisingly the worst performers across the FTSE<\/a> 100 this morning, with their shares down by 3.8% and 2% respectively thanks to the weaker oil price. Overall the energy sector is down by about 2.6%.<\/p>\n JD Sports is the best performer, with shares in the fashion retailer up 3.6%. Vodafone is second, with its shares up 3% after an upbeat quarterly update this morning.<\/a><\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a003.27 EDT<\/p>\n European stock market rallies as US-Iran pause pushes oil lower<\/p>\n European stocks are rallying this morning as investors rejoice at a sharp drop in oil prices, after the US paused its nearly two-week long run of strikes against Iran.<\/p>\n The Stoxx Europe 600, which tracks the biggest companies on the continent, is up by 0.9%. The UK\u2019s blue chip FTSE<\/a> 100 is up 0.5%, while the French Cac 40 is up 1.1% and the German Dax is up 1.5%.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a003.20 EDT<\/p>\n Oil dips below $90, Eurozone and UK bond yields fall<\/p>\n The oil price has dipped below $90 a barrel, as investors weighed the pause in fire between the US and Iran.<\/p>\n Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell by 7.1% to $89.94 a barrel. It rose above $100 last week, when the US carried out several consecutive nights of strikes against Iran, and the Yemeni Houthi movement threatened to carry out a naval blockade of Saudi Arabian ports.<\/p>\n However prices are falling today as the US paused strikes on Iran for the second night in a row, and as military officials advised <\/a>Donald Trump <\/a>to stop his bombing campaign.<\/a><\/p>\n In Europe, bond yields are slipping on lower oil prices \u2013 Eurozone 10-year yields are down by about 3 basis points, while in the UK the 10-year gilt yield is down by about 5 basis points to 4.98%.<\/p>\n The drop in the UK gilt yield also came after Andy Burnham <\/a>said over the weekend that the UK needed to bring the welfare bill down.<\/a><\/p>\n Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at the broker Wealth Club, said the lower gillt yield eased some of the pressure off Burnham\u2019s new government.<\/p>\n double quotation markThis will be welcome given focus has switched firmly to the spending challenges facing the new government, with warnings from the prime minister that social care needs desperate reform to help save the NHS while also accepting that the benefits bill needs to be brought down. There is still a distinct lack of detail on how he and his ministers will go about tackling the huge costs of welfare, and so investors in government debt look set to stay wary while there\u2019s so much talk but so little action on lowering government spending costs.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a003.47 EDT<\/p>\n Elsewhere on the corporate front this morning, Vodafone has reported a 9.7% rise in revenue in its first quarter to \u20ac10.3bn.<\/p>\n Service revenue rose 5% in the quarter ended in June, compared with investor expectations of a 4.6% gain. Management now expects that its adjusted earnings will reach somewhere between \u20ac13bn to \u20ac13.3bn for the full year ending in March.<\/p>\n In recent years, Vodafone has restructured its business \u2013 including selling its Italian and Spanish operations and its 50% stake in its Dutch joint venture \u2013 as well as merging with Three to create the UK\u2019s largest mobile operator.<\/p>\n Earlier this month the French telecoms billionaire Xavier Niel<\/a> became Vodafone\u2019s largest shareholder after buying a 16% stake for \u00a34.4bn.<\/p>\n The company has also been fighting allegations, first published in the Guardian, that it \u201cunjustly enriched\u201d itself at the expense of scores of vulnerable small business owners <\/a>by slashing commissions to franchisees running the mobile phone group\u2019s high street stores.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>DCC Energy agrees to \u00a35.75bn takeover<\/p>\n Yet another company has been picked off London\u2019s stock exchange this morning: DCC Energy has agreed to a \u00a35.75bn takeover by private equity investors KKR and Energy Capital Partners.<\/p>\n Shareholders in the FTSE<\/a> 100 energy distributor will receive \u00a365.25 per share \u200cin cash, a proposed \u200cfinal dividend of 147.22p per share, and a potential payment of up \u200cto \u00a31.25 per share if DCC can sell its technology unit for at least $800 million.<\/p>\n The deal represents a 24% premium to DCC\u2019s share price in late April, before it received the consortium\u2019s first bid.<\/p>\n DCC \u200cchair Mark Breuer said in a statement:<\/p>\n double quotation markWhilst the DCC Energy Board remains confident in the energy strategy and associated 2030 Ambition announced in 2022, the Board believes the Consortium\u2019s offer represents a compelling opportunity for shareholders to crystallise value in cash at an attractive premium to DCC Energy\u2019s historical trading price.<\/p>\n We are confident that the Consortium will be strong stewards of DCC Energy\u2019s 50-year heritage and support the business during its next phase of growth.\u201d<\/p>\n It is the latest in a long string of takeovers in London\u2019s stock market \u2013 Mitie, Intertek, easyJet, Beazley and Schroders have all agreed to takeovers this year.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.56 EDT<\/p>\n Shein falls to $99m loss ahead of IPOWoman with online shopping orders in Shein packaging Photograph: Imago\/Alamy<\/p>\n The Chinese fast fashion giant Shein reported a $99m (\u00a374.1m) net loss in its first quarter, after the removal of an import duty exemption in the US on small packages triggered a slowdown in sales.<\/p>\n The figures were released as part of the company\u2019s pre-IPO paperwork, as it prepares to list on Hong Kong\u2019s stock exchange.<\/p>\n It showed that the business made a $99m loss in the first quarter of 2026, compared with net income of $395m a year earlier.<\/p>\n The US scrapped its tariff exemption for small packages in May. Shein said in its filing that it was \u201cpursuing a wide range of options, including increasing our prices in the US market to offset a portion of the increased costs\u201d.<\/p>\n The European Union has also this month imposed a \u20ac3 fee on low-value e-commerce imports, in a move designed to defend European businesses from what the union calls \u201cunfair competition\u201d from China.<\/p>\n Shein has seen a sharp drop in its valuation in recent years, as the pandemic-era boom in online shopping has ended. The company is now reportedly seeking a valuation of $40bn to $50bn, compared with reports of a potential valuation of $100bn in 2022.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Introduction: Oil price slides as US and Iran pause fire<\/p>\n Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.<\/p>\n Oil prices have fallen more than 5% this morning as the US paused strikes on Iran for the second night in a row, with military officials advising <\/a>Donald Trump <\/a>to stop his bombing campaign. <\/a><\/p>\n Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, is now down 5.3% to $91.68 a barrel, after it hit $100 last week.<\/p>\n Trum is believed to be considering diplomatic and military options in the conflict with Iran, while the Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to visit the White House on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Iran said on Sunday that it would pause \u201cretaliatory\u201d attacks against US allies in the region.<\/p>\n Jim Reid, of Deutsche Bank, says that while the pause is not a formal ceasefire, both sides have presented it as \u201can opportunity for diplomacy\u201d.<\/p>\n double quotation markUS officials, including UN ambassador Mike Waltz, have stressed that all military options remain on the table and that President Trump is simply giving negotiations more space. However, reports from the New York Times and Axios suggest an active debate within the administration over both the effectiveness and costs of further strikes, with some military officials reportedly arguing that key objectives have largely been achieved. For now, the market is treating the lull as a positive development, although the situation remains highly fluid.<\/p>\n The main market risk remains the energy and shipping front. Traffic through Hormuz remains severely disrupted, while the conflict has broadened into the Red Sea, where Iran-backed Houthi forces reportedly launched missile and drone attacks against Saudi energy infrastructure around Jizan and Yanbu over the weekend, prompting retaliatory Saudi strikes. This raises the prospect of simultaneous disruption to both Gulf and Red Sea export routes. So a welcome pause from the main actors but a fragile one, especially with side battles still ongoing.<\/p>\n Elsewhere this morning, AstraZeneca reported better than expected profits for its second quarter, driven by strong growth in its cancer treatment sales.<\/p>\n Its earnings for the three months ended in June rose 18% to $2.63 (\u00a31.97) a share, while its overall revenue rose by 5% to $15.38bn at constant currency.<\/p>\n