Tuesday 3 July 2018

Britain’s banks face the threat of a wave of
new PPI bills that could add billions of pounds to the £30bn
already shelled out. A court ruling paves the way to a “renewed
claims bonanza” says The Guardian. The judgement suggests that even
if the PPI policy was not mis-sold, the buyer may still be able to
reclaim because the scale of the commissions paid were excessively
high.

The British Chambers of Commerce has warned
that companies are running out of patience over the lack of
progress in the Brexit talks as it publishes a list of 23
“real-world” questions on the talks. The questions cover subjects
including VAT, tariffs, customs and regulations. “Business patience
is reaching breaking point,” said director general Adam
Marshall.

Roger Federer has inked a deal with Japanese
clothing company Uniqlo after he walked away from partnership with
Nike, which began in 1994. The tennis legend’s contract is
reportedly worth $300m (£228m) over the next 10 years. Although he
wore garments from the Japanese brand at his Wimbledon match
yesterday, he still wore Nike shoes.

Theresa May is close to lifting the
eight-year long freeze on fuel duty to help meet pledges to raise
more money for the NHS, reports The Guardian. Under pressure from
cabinet ministers to boost public spending while continuing to
reduce the deficit, the PM believes an inflation-linked increase
would raise £800m extra for Treasury coffers next year.

The manager of the England football team is
being credited with a rise in waistcoat sales. Marks & Spencer,
which has been the official suit supplier to the England team since
2007, said demand for the garments has risen 35% thanks to what
they say is “the Gareth Southgate effect”. Southgate has been
wearing a waistcoat on the touchline at the World Cup.

“Treat that claim with scepticism. Life has rarely worked out
pleasantly for the little folk when the squeeze is on.” Nils
Pratley of The Guardian says small suppliers should be wary of
Tesco’s claim that should be increasingly excited to sell to a big
customer.

FTSE 100: down -1.17 to 7,547.85
Dow Jones: up +0.14 to 24,307.18
Dax: down -0.55 to 12,238.17
Cac 40: down -0.88 to 5,276.76
Nikkei: down -0.97 to 21,601.14
Hang Seng: dow -2.44 to 28,249.11
US dollar: buys €0.8596 and £0.7613
Sterling: buys $1.3131 and €1.1288
Oil: $77.76 up +0.46