Well that's all from us today, thanks for following along.
Here's a quick recap of today's events:
It positive day for London stocks, which chalked up solid gains as investors bet on a new wave of relief from governments and central banks to help tackle the ongoing economic effects of Covid-19.
There was a similar story across the continent.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 touched its highest level in the month, with Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC both rising solidly.
European technology shares became the first sector to recoup losses from the widespread and severe market drop that started in February.
Better-than-forecast data on US jobs creation and factory activity have also provided a boost to confidence, as have hopes for a vaccine, which observers say is key to kickstarting any recovery.
Key European markets posted gains of 1.5 percent or more at the close while on Wall Street, the Dow Jones was more than 350 points higher in the late New York morning
What to look forward to tomorrow:
Interim results: Ferrexpo, Micro Focus
Full-year: Halfords, JD Sports, Photo-Me International
Economics: Halifax house prices (UK); industrial production (Germany); job openings (US)
04:36 PM
Pensana Rare Earth climbs 54pc on first day
Pensana Rare Earths has finished up at a 54pc premium after its admission to the main market of the London Stock Exchange.
Pensana is developing the Longonjo project in Gabon, which is one of the largest rare earth mines in the world and will be the first major mine in production since Mt Lynas 12 years ago.
The company will produce NdPr, a critical component in the high strength permanent magnets used to wind turbines and EVs.
04:26 PM
Indonesia's Lion Air slashes 2,600 jobs as virus bites
Via AFP: Indonesia's Lion Air Group is slashing 2,600 jobs as the coronavirus pandemic hammers Southeast Asia's biggest carrier, a company spokesman said.
The layoffs - about 9pc of the airline's 29,000 employees - would mainly affect contract workers, it said.
The job cuts come after Lion earlier reduced management and staff salaries.
"Lion Air Group is in a difficult and challenging period due to the effects of...Covid-19," said Lion Air spokesman Danang Mandala Prihantoro.
"The tough decision is taken as a strategy to maintain business continuity, streamline the company's operations, (and) to reduce expenses and restructure the organisation."
Laid-off employees would be "prioritised" for rehiring if conditions improve, he added.
04:12 PM
Cineplex launches legal action against Cineworld over failed deal
Cineworld
Cineworld has vowed to “vigorously defend” itself against legal action launched by Canadian rival Cineplex after it abandoned a $1.3bn takeover last month, my colleague Hannah Uttley writes.
Cineplex, which owns the Regal chain of cinemas in north America, said last week it would sue Cineworld for C$2.18bn (£1.3bn) as it accused the British firm of breaching obligations related to the planned deal.
Cineworld pulled out of the takeover last month after claiming Cineplex breached a number of covenants under their agreements, claims which Cineplex denies.
The merger would have made Cineworld North America’s biggest cinema operator.
The UK chain denied breaching any obligations or duties on Monday, adding that if Cineplex’s claim was successful, it would be limited to its costs and expenses incurred as part of the deal.
03:56 PM
Europe closes higher
The FTSE 100 closed 2.09pc higher to 6,285.94 today as the bullish sentiment from China spilled over to the west. The domestically-focused FTSE 250 climbed 1.43pc to 17,550.03.
In the eurozone the Frankfurt DAX and Paris CAC closed 1.64pc and 1.49pc respectively.
The easing of lockdowns is providing hope the global economy will bounce back from an expected recession this year, with England's pubs reopening at the weekend and tourist attractions around Europe now either open or planning to.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones was more than 350 points higher in the late New York morning.
David Madden of CMC Markets said: "Positive mood from China influenced dealers in this part of the world, even though the health crisis is still a major worry. On Saturday, the WHO claimed there was over 212,000 new cases of Covid-19, a new daily record.
The Beijing authorities can’t talk up their own market forever, so it is likely in the next few days, the pandemic will be back in centre-stage as far as traders are concerned."
European stocks close out the day with solid gains, following the surge in Chinese stocks earlier
The Stoxx 600 closes 1.55% higher, London's FTSE 100 up 2.1%
Spain is likely to extend its furlough scheme until the end of the year, and possibly into 2021 for the worst-hit industries, as it grapples with an economic meltdown the country's labour minister has said.
A final decision will be made in September on extending support based on economic data over the summer, said Yolanda Díaz, a member of the radical leftist party Podemos.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Ms Díaz said: "The government is going to be there for the sectors that most need it – without any room for doubt.
"It would not make sense to undertake this gigantic, unprecedented effort in the Spanish economy [to preserve jobs] and then just let things fall away."
European markets are heading for a pretty upbeat close, have performed strongly all day. My colleague LaToya Harding is taking over here, and will steer the blog into the evening. Thanks for following along today!
03:05 PM
49 individuals sanctioned as UK gets its own Magnitsky Act
Foreign secretary Dominic Raab has named the first 49 individuals to face sanctions as he set out plans for a UK version of the US’s Magnitsky Act.
Bloomberg reports:
The sanctions on 49 individuals involve visa bans and assets freezes and include 20 Saudi citizens suspected of involvement in the killing of the columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
The Magnitsky Act is named for Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who died in a Moscow jail in 2009 after alleging officials were involved in tax fraud, and the list includes individuals implicated in his case. Twenty-five Russians are named in the list published by the Foreign Office.
Mr Raab told parliament:
If you are a kleptocrat or an organized criminal you will not be able to launder your blood money in this country
Thank you Dominic for your leadership. You started the journey to help the Magnitsky family get justice for the murder of Sergei Magnitsky 8 years ago when you were a back bench MP and you’ve now delivered as Foreign Secretary today. We are forever grateful for what you’ve done https://t.co/CpXzQbnvUM
Of course, being the US, there are two PMIs to choose from. The less well-established of the two – IHS Markit’s – gave a reading of 47.9, indicating a continued contraction in activity.
Chris Williamson, its chief business economist, said:
June saw a record surge in the PMI’s main gauge of business activity in the US as increasing numbers of companies returned to work and expanded their operations amid the reopening of the economy. The survey points to a strong initial rebound from the low point seen at the height of the pandemic lockdown in April, with indicators of output, demand, exports and employment all showing steep gains
02:19 PM
US services PMI hits four-month high
The Institute of Supply Management’s non-manufacturing gauge reached a reading of 57.1 – the highest since February – as activity picked up among America’s service firms.
A reading above 50 indicates growth on the previous month.
Bloomberg reports:
A gauge of new orders climbed nearly 20 points to a four-month high of 61.6. The ISM’s measure of services employment, however, remains weak and continues to signal job cuts. The gauge advanced to 43.1 in June from 31.8, but is well below a year-ago level of 55.2 as the pandemic continues to upend the labor market across industries.
01:54 PM
Petropavlovsk shareholder calls for new general meeting to reappoint ousted board as mining feud ramps up
Petropavlovsk
The second largest shareholder in London-listed mining group Petropavlovsk has moved to appoint a new board at the company following turmoil that saw half of its directors removed last week at a general meeting.
My colleague Ed Clowes reports:
Prosperity Capital, which owns a 20pc stake in the company, said on Monday morning it would call for a general meeting to allow shareholders to vote on the reinstatement of the ousted board members.
These include the company's former chief executive, Pavel Maslovskiy, who was voted off the board last week in an attempted "coup" that plunged the company into uncertainty.
Mr Maslovskiy's deputy, Alya Samokhvalova, hit out at the revolt in an interview, calling it “dishonest beyond belief”.
One of the board members involved in ousting the long-term directors was from rival Russian mining group UGC, which recently took a large stake in Petropavlovsk.
The move “was an attempt to take control of the company”, Ms Samokhvalova said.
In a statement, Petropavlovsk said that the general meeting would “enable the shareholders of the company to vote on the future directors of Petropavlovsk in full knowledge of the relevant information{.
Separately, the gold miner is waiting for a decision to come down on Monday afternoon on an injunction, sought by one of Petropavlovsk's shareholders, that would prevent the company from appointing an interim board.
This would include Ms Samokhvalova among others.
If successful in its application for an injunction, Everest Alliance, which owns a 7.5pc stake in the company, will be permitted to appoint four of its own nominees to the board.
Petropavlovsk's CEO, Mr Maslovskiy, told The Telegraph earlier this year that the company was studying a potential merger with UGC, the company's largest shareholder, in a deal that would catapult the pair into the upper echelons of the gold mining industry.
Despite saying that the deal could “definitely happen”, the company appeared to pour cold water on the idea the following day.
“Whilst the company maintains an active dialogue with all its shareholders, it is not currently engaged in any transaction discussions with UGC,” Petropavlovsk said in a statement to the market.
01:39 PM
Wall Street starts the week firmly in the green
US stocks soar at the open despite increase in virus cases.
US market data - Bloomberg
01:13 PM
List of 30 Prets to close
My colleague Helena Horton has the full list of the 30 Pret A Manger restaurants to close:
European equities remain solidly higher, with the US open in about half an hour.
Bloomberg TV - Bloomberg TV
12:33 PM
High street visits jumped at weekend
Revellers came out in force over the weekend to celebrate the reopening of pubs, bars and restaurants after three months of lockdown.
My colleagues Laura Onita and Lizzy Burden report:
Visits to the high street rose by more than a third on Saturday and were up nearly 50pc on Sunday in the evening - suggesting that customers were eager to return to their favourite eating and drinking spots.
The data from Springboard compared the weekend just gone with Saturday and Sunday the week before and suggests a recovery is now underway for the tottering hospitality industry. Nevertheless, weekend footfall was still down more than 50pc compared to year earlier.
There was a particularly large pick up in London, with footfall almost two-thirds higher on Sunday after thousands packed the streets of Soho the night before to celebrate lifting of restrictions.
Diane Wehrle of Springboard warned that although normality is gradually returning, there is still a long way to go for both shops and leisure businesses.
Uber buys food delivery company Postmates for $2.65bn
Tech company Uber has bought up US food delivery group Postmates in a $2.65bn all-share deal that is expected to close out in the first quarter of next year.
Announcing the deal, Uber said:
Postmates is highly complementary to Uber Eats, with differentiated geographic focus areas and customer demographics, and Postmates’ strong relationships with small- and medium-sized restaurants, particularly local favorites that draw customers to the Postmates brand.
Additionally, Postmates has been an early pioneer of “delivery-as-a-service,” which complements Uber’s growing efforts in the delivery of groceries, essentials, and other goods.
Uber Eats head Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty is expected to continue to run Uber’s combined delivery business, which is trying to gain ground against US marker leader DoorDash.
Dara Khosrowshani, chief executive of Uber, said:
We’re thrilled to welcome Postmates to the Uber family as we innovate together to deliver better experiences for consumers, delivery people, and merchants across the country.
11:42 AM
Midday round-up
If you’re just joining us, it was a surprisingly busy Monday morning. Here are some of the day’s top corporate stories:
City bets on next Lloyds chief as António Horta-Osório steps down: The boss of Lloyds Banking Group will end his decade-long run in the top job next year after a tenure that included returning the bank to private ownership after its £20bn bailout during the financial crisis.
Auditors told to separate consulting work: PwC, Deloitte, KPMG and EY have been told by the accounting watchdog to separate their auditing units from their consulting businesses by June 2024.
Pret A Manger to close 30 stores: Pret A Manger has announced it is to permanently close 30 of its shops after it experience “significant operating losses” as a result of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, in economics:
The UK’s construction sector has returned to growth with its best PMI reading since July 2018
Eurozone retail sales jumped by a record amount in May, but remain below their pre-Covid-levels...
...while it was a similar story for German industrial orders, which jumped but remain low
And in markets:
European stocks have jumped today
The pound is trading pretty flat
11:13 AM
Poll: 44pc of companies plan to cut staff numbers as furlough scheme ends
Less than half of Britain’s businesses plan to keep all their furloughed on once the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme winds down at the end of October, according a poll.
Research by Opinium and centre-right think tank Bright Blue found 44pc of employers do not expect to keep all of their current staff on payroll after the CJRS ends – with 31pc expecting to lay off some furloughed staff, 9pc expecting to lay off most of furloughed staff and 3pc expecting to lay off all furloughed staff.
Bright Blue
Bright Blue senior researcher Anvar Sarygulov said:
There is significant contrast between medium and large businesses. Most large businesses (62pc) are expecting to keep all of their furloughed staff on the payroll after the CJRS ends, while most medium businesses (65pc) are expecting to lay off at least some people who are currently furloughed. The picture is more mixed for small businesses, with 47pc expecting to lay off at least some furloughed staff, and 41pc expecting to keep all of them.
Another notable City move this morning: Rentokil’s chief financial officer Jeremy Townsend has announced his intention to step down from the pest control specialist after 10 years in that role.
He has been appointed to the board of supermarket Morrisons, where he will serve as a non-executive director from today.
His role at Rentokil will be taken up by Stuart Ingall-Tombs, who was previously the FTSE 100 company’s European CFO.
Richard Solomons, Rentokil’s chairman, said:
Jeremy has made a significant contribution to Rentokil Initial over the last ten years. With Andy [Ransom, CEO], he has been a critical factor in the transformation and success of the Company over this period.
At Morrisons, Mr Townend will take a space vacated by Belinda Richards, who is taking up a role as independent non-executive director of Jupiter Fund Management.
Ms Richards said:
I have very much enjoyed my time at Morrisons and have reluctantly advised the Board of my decision to leave the Company in order to pursue a new role with Jupiter.
10:29 AM
Greece to allow direct flights from UK from
The Greek government will allows direct flights from the UK to Greece’s airports from July 15th, according to a spokesperson.
As a precondition, travellers to Greece will need to fill out new forms on where they will be staying, and where they have come from.
10:16 AM
New Aviva boss signals major overhaul
My colleague Michael O’Dwyer has more details on the initial comments made by Amanda Blanc, Aviva’s new chief executive. He writes:
Amanda Blanc, who joined Aviva as a non-executive director in January, has taken over at the FTSE 100 insurer and promised to deliver a strategic shake-up “at pace”.
Ms Blanc, who previously ran part of Zurich’s European operations and did the same for Axa in the UK, said: “I’m not a business as usual person and I haven’t come here to do a business as usual job.”
Aviva disappointed investors last year with a decision not to pursue a break up of the global business or pursue a radical overhaul.
Ms Blanc, who is a former chair of the Association of British Insurers, promised to look at all options.
“I have been on the Aviva board since the start of this year and have a good understanding of where the business has its strengths and what actions we should take across our portfolio,” she said. “We do not have a day to waste.”
At least 1,000 jobs at risk as Pret a Manger prepares for closures
Pret - Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire
At least 1,000 jobs are at risk as coffee and food chain Pret a Manger looks to permanently close 30 of its locations due to Covid-19.
The group warned it faces “significant operating losses” as a result of the lockdown, which has devastated its clientele of office workers and commuters.
It sales are at about a quarter of last year’s levels, with its UK recovery “much slower” than other countries where it operates.
Retail sales across the eurozone jumped a record-breaking 17.8pc month-on-month in May as shops reopened and activity picked up following sharp falls in March and April.
But they remain well below pre-Covid-19 levels, down 5.1pc on the same month last year.
09:21 AM
Reaction: Construction sector likely to remain under pressure this year
The construction sector’s return to growth comes as no big surprise, says Pantheon Macroeconomics’ Samuel Tombs.
A jump in month-on-month activity was virtually inevitable as restrictions ease up. But there are signs of lingering pressure in the data, which may indicate lower output for the rest of this year. He added:
Admittedly, the recovery in construction activity should be stronger than after the 2008-to-09 recession, given that banks are better placed to supply credit through the recovery, and public sector investment will be increased, not squeezed.
Nonetheless, a full V-shaped recovery is not on the cards, given that the future occupancy rates of office and retail space are highly uncertain, and lenders have pulled back from high [loan-to-value] lending which supports first-time buyers to purchase new homes. Accordingly, we currently expect construction output to be about 5pc below its pre-Covid level in the fourth quarter of this year.
At last, a PMI reading that makes sense; the 55.3 print for the construction PMI is consistent, in both theory and practice, with a month-to-month increase in output.
Note, however, the employment index rose merely to 41.5: builders are not gearing up for a V-shape in demand pic.twitter.com/kvWq192fah
Capital Economics’ Andrew Wishart noted that the rise brings the all-sector PMI up from a trough of 13.4 in April to 48.3 in June. He added:
Technically of course, any reading below 50 means the economy has contracted month-on-month. But we know this isn’t the case, so it appears some firms are instead giving an indication of how activity compares to normal. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle – activity is returning, but we are still some way below the pre-virus level.
09:10 AM
Construction sector returns to growth
More construction news: activity in the sector rebounded at its strongest monthly rate since July 2018, according to the latest purchasing managers’ index reading from IHS Markit.
The sector received a PMI score of 55.3 – where a reading above 50 indicates growth on the prior month.
IHS Markit said:
June data pointed to a sharp turnaround in the performance of the UK construction sector as the phased restart of work on site helped to lift output volumes and boost business confidence. At the same time, new orders stabilised after three months of sharp declines and purchasing activity expanded at the fastest rate since December 2015.
Here are some key points:
Residential building was the best-performing area of construction activity in June. Around 46pc of survey respondents noted an increase in housing activity, while only 27pc experienced a reduction. The latest expansion of residential construction work was the steepest for just under five years.
Commercial work and civil engineering activity also returned to growth
New business volumes increased marginally in June, which ended a three-month period of decline. However, the rate of new order growth was far weaker
Employment numbers fell at the end of the second quarter
The index measuring business expectations for the year ahead remained historically subdued, but climbed to its highest since February
08:50 AM
Barratt deliveries fall by a third
More from Barratt Developments’ trading update this morning (which has landed two days earlier than scheduled). Britain’s largest housebuilder said its deliveries dropped by a third as Covid-19 hit the UK, forcing site closures.
Its home completion volumes fell to 12,604 for the period ended March 22, down from 17,856 a year earlier.
The group said business had picked up since restrictions were loosened:
Since the removal of Government restrictions on housing market activity on 13 May 2020 there has been a welcome recovery in internet activity, site visitors and net reservations across both the industry and our business. However, the prospects for the wider UK economy and the medium term impact on the new homes market remains uncertain and will only become clearer over the coming months.
It called for the Government to extend the current Help to Buy scheme beyond March 2021 to “ensure the UK’s housing recovery is sustained”.
08:41 AM
Barratt pays out £70m to replace Grenfell-style cladding on buildings
Barratt Developments says it expects to pay out £70m following a review into cladding on its buildings launched in the wake of the Grenfell tragedy.
The FTSE 100 group said its review focused on the Citiscape development in Croydon, which had the most “severe” issues.
It removed aluminium composite material cladding from the building last year, leading it to discover underlying “structural concerns”, including “significant issues relating to the design of the building's reinforced concrete frame”. It said:
While we have no legal liability to cover the costs of this work, in line with our commitment to customers and recognising the responsibility we have for the work of our partners, we have taken the decision to pay for the required remedial action which would otherwise fall on leaseholders.
It is reviewing 26 other buildings with reinforced concrete frames of a similar specification to Citiscape, saying:
Those detailed reviews have so far shown that eight developments have no defects while seven developments required some remedial action to address smaller-scale problems. At these developments, remedial action has either been successfully completed or is underway...
Based on our current assessments, it is estimated that the total future costs for the required remedial programme at Citiscape, the review itself, and any remediation required at other buildings, will be around £70m, with this charge, and the related cash outflow arising in FY20 and FY21. We are actively seeking to recover costs from third parties, however there is no certainty regarding the extent of any financial recovery.
I’ll follow up on the group’s wider performance in a subsequent post.
08:19 AM
Cars sales remain low
New car sales were down more than a third last month, even as restrictions were eased and many Britons got back on the roads.
There were 145,377 registrations during the month according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders – a -34.9pc decline “reflecting uncertain economic confidence and delayed re-opening of Welsh and Scottish showrooms”.
Registrations are down 48.5pc for the year to date.
SMMT - SMMT
Here’s a breakdown of the numbers:
SMMT - SMMT
07:51 AM
Rolls-Royce shares bounce back from Friday’s fall
Rolls-Royce - Handout
Shares in Rolls-Royce have regained some ground today after Friday’s sharp fall.
The FTSE 100 engineering group fell sharply at the end of last week after confirming it is looking into ways of shoring up its balance sheet.
As my colleague Alan Tovey reported over the weekend, the group is preparing to close its final salary pension scheme four years early to conserve cash as grounded aircraft pile pressure on its finances.
He reported:
The jet engine maker is seeking to end accrual of future benefits now, rather than in 2024.
If Rolls gets the go-ahead from pension members and trustees following a consultation, it is likely to save a total of about £500m in contributions. Under the current arrangements, in the last financial year Rolls made total cash contributions to the pension scheme of more than £150m.
Cutting payments to the scheme will ease the pressure on Rolls, which has seen demand for its engines and servicing of them collapse.
Britain’s audit watchdog has told accountancy’s Big Four – Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC – to set out plans for an operational separation of their audit practices by late October.
The Financial Reporting Council is accelerating efforts to split off the groups’ audit divisions despite opposition from the firms themselves. The Big Four will need to provide a timetable for the changes to be implemented by the end of June 2024.
It comes as part of efforts to address issues of quality in the sector, which has been beset by scandals in recent years, including the collapse of outsourcer Carillion and retailer BHS. Concerns about audit standards have been stirred again in recent weeks following the dramatic collapse of German payments firm Wirecard.
More details on the scope of the FRC’s plans can get found here
Sir Jon Thompson, the FRC’s chief executive, said:
Today the FRC has delivered a major step in the reform of the audit sector by setting principles for operational separation of audit practices from the rest of the firm. The FRC remains fully committed to the broad suite of reform measures on corporate reporting and audit reform and will introduce further aspects of the reform package over time.
07:13 AM
European shares surge
European markets have jumped this morning at the prospect of further stimulus.
Bloomberg TV - Bloomberg TV
07:12 AM
Boohoo shares plunge after ‘slavery’ report
Shares in online fashion giant Boohoo have dropped sharply after a report in the Sunday Times that said workers in Leicester making clothes for the group were being paid as little as £3.50 an hour.
The factory, which displayed the sign Jaswal Fashions, was also operating last week during the localised coronavirus lockdown without additional hygiene or social distancing measures in place. The undercover reporter spent two days working in the factory where he was told to expect £3.50 an hour, despite the minimum wage in Britain for those aged 25 and over being £8.72.
He obtained covert video footage of himself packing garments made in the factory under the label of Nasty Gal, which is owned by the fast-fashion brand Boohoo whose boss, Mahmud Kamani, is set to scoop a £50m bonus.
Responding the the claims this morning, Boohoo said:
We are grateful to The Sunday Times for highlighting the conditions at Jaswal Fashions, which, if as observed and reported by the undercover reporter, are totally unacceptable and fall woefully short of any standards acceptable in any workplace. Our early investigations have revealed that Jaswal Fashions is not a declared supplier and is also no longer trading as a garment manufacturer.
It therefore appears that a different company is using Jaswal’s former premises and we are currently trying to establish the identity of this company. We are taking immediate action to thoroughly investigate how our garments were in their hands, will ensure that our suppliers immediately cease working with this company, and we will urgently review our relationship with any suppliers who have sub-contracted work to the manufacturer in question.
The group added:
We are keen and willing to work with local officials to raise standards because we are absolutely committed to eradicating any instance of non-compliance and to ensuring that the actions of a few do not continue to undermine the excellent work of many of our suppliers in the area, who provide good jobs and good working conditions.
07:06 AM
Aviva names Amanda Blanc as new CEO, Tulloch out
Amanda Blanc - Michael Walter/Troika
Insurer Aviva has named Amanda Blanc its new chief executive with immediate effect.
She will replace Maurice Tulloch, who is leaving the chief executive role after just over a year for “family health reasons”.
Ms Blanc is currently a non-executive director at the FTSE 100 group.
The changeover comes at a crucial time for Aviva, which was in the middle of a strategic overhaul under Mr Tulloch, including shedding much of its Asian operations.
George Culmer, Aviva’s chair, said:
I would like to thank Maurice for his valuable contribution over many years with Aviva. The Board and I were saddened to hear of the personal reasons behind his desire to step down and we wish him and his family the very best for the future.
We are delighted that Amanda will be our new CEO. The Board was unanimous in endorsing her appointment. I know she will bring real dynamism to Aviva and re-establish our credentials as a high-performing, innovative and customer-centric business.
Mr Tulloch will be placed on gardening leave for the next six months, and will still be eligible for a bonus.
Ms Blanc will receive a basic salary of £1m, with a bonus opportunity of up to 200pc of her current salary. However, the group’s bonus scheme is on pause until its resume dividends. She will also be eligible for an award of up to 300pc of her salary under the group’s long-term incentives programme.
06:53 AM
German industrial recovery begins – slowly
Factory orders in Germany began to bounce back from April’s nadir in May, rising a chunky 10.4pc month-on-month. Despite that jump, it’s still well below pre-virus levels, and down 29.3pc year-on-year.
06:43 AM
Horta-Osório to step down at Lloyds
António Horta-Osório - Jason Alden/Bloomberg
Lloyds Bank chief executive António Horta-Osório will step down next year as part of a shake-up at one of the UK’s biggest banks.
My colleague Jon Yeomans reports:
Mr Horta-Osório will depart the bank in June 2021 having served 10 years as its boss, Lloyds said.
It comes as Lloyds said Robin Budenberg would succeed Lord Blackwell as chairman in October.
Lord Blackwell paid tribute to Mr Horta-Osório, saying he had “overseen a comprehensive transformation of the group's balance sheet, operations, and customer propositions, including the repayment of the UK Government’s £21bn investment and evolution of the group into the UK's largest digital bank”.
Mr Horta-Osório said had “mixed feelings” about leaving the bank but added: “I know that when I leave the group next year, it has the strategic, operational and management strength to build further on its leading market position.”
Good morning. The FTSE 100 is set to start the week firmly in the green, following Asian indexes, despite new flare-ups of virus cases forcing countries to reimpose lockdown measures.
Spain imposed a second lockdown for a region in the northwest of the country, while Australia’s two most-populous states will close their shared border following a big increase in cases in Victoria.
5 things to start your day
1) Sunak mulls new business support measures. Treasury and British Business Bank officials are reviewing access to state-backed loan schemes after the EU relaxed state aid rules.
Asian stock markets rose as investors looked ahead for data they hope will support optimism about a global economic recovery.
Benchmarks in Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Australia all advanced.
The Shanghai Composite Index rose 3.9pc to 3,274.62 while the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained 1.4pc to 22,612.72. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 2.5pc to 26,006.60.
The Kospi in Seoul rose 1.3pc to 2,180.70 and Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 advanced 0.2pc to 6,070.10. New Zealand, Singapore and Jakarta also gained.
This week, investors are looking ahead to interest rate decisions in Australia and Malaysia. The Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to keep its benchmark rate at a record low of 0.25pc while forecasters expect another cut from Bank Negara Malaysia.
Markets also are watching an election in Singapore and possible unrest in Hong Kong over a security law.
Coming up today
No FTSE 350 companies are due to report
Economics
SMMT new car registrations, construction PMI (UK); retail sales (eurozone); manufacturing orders (Germany); final services PMI, ISM nonmanufacturing index (US)
Samantha Davis, the wife of Star Wars and Harry Potter actor Warwick Davis and herself an actress, has died aged 53. Samantha co-founded the dwarfism charity Little People UK and featured in the final Harry Potter film, alongside Warwick. Warwick announced the news in a statement to the BBC, revealing she had died on 24 March.
The Prince of Wales has made his first public appearance since his wife, the Princess of Wales, announced she was battling cancer last month, and made a sweet promise to a Royal fan
While Western eyes are fixed on Tehran and Tel Aviv, Ukraine’s frontlines are showing clear signs of crumbling. There is a very real possibility they could crumble this summer if we do not throw the kitchen sink at Russia. Even if we do, it may already be too late for the weapons and munitions long promised by the West to save the day.
King Charles is said to have extended an olive branch to his youngest son and his wife by 'hinting' they should visit Balmoral this summer - but it could put the couple in a 'difficult position'.
Meghan Markle was on hand to congratulate her husband Prince Harry and his Royal Salute Sentebale team after they won the Royal Salute Polo Cup in Wellington, Florida
BBC Breakfast star Carol Kirkwood has been missing from the show this week. The weather presenter's absence comes after she shared an update on her health last week…
Springtime On The Farm returned to Channel 5 with Helen Skelton and Jules Hudson but fans had the same complaint for the show and the former Blue Peter presenter
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh's daughter Lady Louise Windsor has to follow a very antiquated rule with regards to her younger brother James, Earl of Wessex
The rest of Europe, Remainers like to tell us, is forging ahead into a glorious green future while Brexit Britain is stalling, the government backsliding one by one on its net zero commitments.
Meghan Markle is said to be missing "some aspects" of life in the UK and is worried that her children may grow up to "blame her" if they are "deprived" of the chance to be working royals in the UK.
This Morning guest Catherine was left stunned as she learnt the real value of her £10 charity shop bargain during the latest episode of the ITV chat show.
Yahoo News 
