Tuesday 1 May 2018

The backlash has begun against the £15bn merger between
Sainsbury’s and Asda, with mounting calls for intervention. The
Daily Telegraph found that more than one in 10 of the supermarket’s
stores overlapped, adding to pressure on the competition watchdog
to launch an inquiry. Meanwhile, shorts were nursing heavy losses
after the market responded by sending shares rocketing to a
four-year high, closing up 14.5%.

Donald Trump has postponed metal tariffs on the UK to prevent a
trade war. The US President offered the last-gasp, 30-day reprieve
to the EU, Mexico and Canada after Wall Street fell on fears of
conflict. A 25% tariff on steel and 10% duty on aluminium had been
scheduled to come into effect at 5.01am BST on Tuesday after
temporary exemptions granted in March expired.

Companies confirmed more than $120bn of mergers yesterday,
including major tie-ups in the telecoms, energy and retail
industries. Amid what the Financial Times described as a “feverish
tide”, a dozen transactions greater than $100m in value were
announced on both sides of the Atlantic over the 24-hour period. A
record of $1.7tn in dealmaking has been agreed so far this
year.

The leading internal candidate to become the next chairman of
Barclays has ruled himself out of the race, reports Sky News. The
UK’s second-biggest bank is clearing regulatory obstacles, but Sir
Gerry Grimstone, who chairs Barclays’ investment bank and
international arm, has reportedly told colleagues that he does not
want to be considered as a successor to John McFarlane.

A Goldman trading desk that once had 500 people is now down to
just three, reports Bloomberg. As Wall Street traders fret about
being replaced by machines, Goldman Sachs President David Solomon
said: “15-20 years ago we had 500 people making markets in stocks.
Today we have three.” He also argued that  the introduction of
more technology into the trading business has made it more
efficient for clients.

“So if you get three Bs from Eton, you’re probably not as
impressive as somebody who gets three Bs from the school in a part
of the country where the school [wasn’t] doing well.” Former
education secretary Justine Greening says employers should
discriminate against job applicants from Eton.

FTSE 100: up +0.09 to 7509.30
Dow Jones: down -0.61 to 24163.15
Dax: up +0.25 to 12612.11
Cac 40: up +0.68 to 5520.50
Nikkei: up +0.17 to 22505.64
Hang Seng: up +1.74 to 30808.45
US dollar: buys €0.8287 and £0.7271
Sterling: buys $1.13752 and €1.1397
Oil: $74.82 up +0.13