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Business news live: Boeing shares sink after India crash and Poundland sold for £1
The FTSE 100 has tested new all time high levels over the past couple of days, but has fallen slightly short amid ongoing US-China trade talks and Rachel Reeves ' spending review announcement.
Thursday brought the surprise news of a bigger than expected contraction of the UK economy, which shrank 0.3 per cent in April, with services in particular playing a big part following tariff uncertainty and increased labour costs at the time.
As such, the UK's benchmark index was flat in early trading, with European stocks firmly in the red, following US and Asian indices ending the same way overnight. There was good news individually for the likes of Tesco and Halma however, following morning earnings reports, while high street chain Poundland has been sold for a nominal fee and faces a restructuring process under its new ownership.
Here is the latest business news and stock market updates across Thursday.
Boeing shares tumble after Air India plane crash
More details on the Boeing share price from PA:
Shares in Boeing tumbled in pre-market trading on Thursday after one of its planes crashed shortly after taking off in India.
The US-based airplane manufacturer, which has been blighted by safety issues in recent years, saw shares drop as much as 8%.
A Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft bound for Gatwick airport, carrying 242 people including 53 British nationals, appeared to explode after crashing shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad Airport.
Airline Air India said 169 passengers are Indian nationals, 53 are British, one is Canadian and seven are Portuguese.
Boeing shares tumble after Air India plane crash
The US-based airplane manufacturer, which has been blighted by safety issues in recent years, saw shares drop as much as 8%.
Karl Matchett12 June 2025 12:54
Boeing shares fall after plane crash in India
Ongoing news this morning is from India where a plane bound for Gatwick, London, has crashed.
Meanwhile, shares in Boeing have dropped 8 per cent in pre-market trading following the news.
The American airliner suffered a spate of issues last year but seemed to have turned a corner, the share price up 15 per cent in a year and 20 per cent year to date in 2025.
Karl Matchett12 June 2025 12:00
'I was turned away from a major work event because I had my baby with me'
A female entrepreneur was left feeling 'absolutely humiliated' after she was refused entry to London Tech Week because she was with her 18-month-old daughter.
Davina Schonle had travelled for three hours to get to the event at Olympia, where she planned to meet potential suppliers for her new start-up AI company.
But on arrival on Monday, she said officials prevented her from entering with her daughter, Isabella, who was in a pram.
The incident at the event, which was addressed by Sir Keir Starmer on the same day, has been widely condemned at a time when the tech industry tries to shake off its male-dominated tag.
'I was turned away from a major work event because I had my baby with me'
London Tech Week said the flagship event had not 'been designed to incorporate the particular needs, facilities and safeguards that under-16s require'
Karl Matchett12 June 2025 11:30
More City firms order workers back to office
The re-rise of office work among financial companies continues to increase, with the FT reporting that Panmure Liberum has joined Deutsche Bank and UBS in telling staff they must choose Mondays or Fridays, or both, as at least one of three office-based days.
The move away from work from home flexibility has been particularly noticeable in City firms this year.
Peel Hunt have staff back in four days now.
HSBC reportedly has a shortage of a 'few thousand' desks around the country as they get staff back to the office.
Karl Matchett12 June 2025 11:00
Mega caps keep spending on AI
After yesterday's news that Meta are to buy a stake in Scale AI for almost $15bn, today two more tech behemoths are ready to fund further AI-related initiatives.
Much smaller scale this time, but Nvidia are reportedly investing $15m and Samsung $10m into Skild, a company which makes software for AI robots.
The push towards physical AI-related products, like robots, cars or other moving items, is increasingly seen as the next big driver for those firms who have made huge profits so far from chips and software behind AI models.
Karl Matchett12 June 2025 10:45
DAX the biggest faller with European markets down
Most of the major European markets and indices are in the red this morning.
Germany's DAX is the biggest faller, more than 1.0 per cent down so far, with France's CAC 40 at 0.4 per cent in the red and the Ibex 35 0.7 per cent down.
The UK's FTSE 250 is similarly half a percent down, but the FTSE 100 remains bolstered to the flat line by the likes of BT, BP, Halma and Tesco.
Karl Matchett12 June 2025 10:20
Tesco remains dominant force in supermarket wars
FTSE 100 shares remain mostly flat, now just 0.07 per cent in the red, but Tesco is one of the London Stock Exchange-listed companies which is thriving this morning.
'Having narrowly missed closing at a new record high last night, the FTSE 100 held firm at the market open as strength in energy and tech was offset by weakness in banking shares,' says AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
'Escalating tensions between the US and Iran helped oil prices to a two-month high and gave heavyweight stocks BP and Shell a lift. Precious metal miners were also in demand as investors sought out safe-haven gold-related stocks in the hope of protection against renewed uncertainties in the world.
'Tesco has successfully fought off discount rivals Aldi and Lidl and protected its dominant UK market position, yet at no point can it take its foot off the pedal. The moment Tesco relaxes is the point at which rival operators pounce on the opportunity to eat some of its lunch.
'Its first quarter trading update implies that Tesco is still at the top of its game, achieving moderate but resilient sales growth and continuing to grow its market share. There's clear momentum in the business with sales of its premium products doing well, plenty of product innovation, non-food sales look encouraging, and it is now selling clothes online.'
Karl Matchett12 June 2025 10:00
Gold climbs after Trump's 'two weeks' claim on tariffs
Donald Trump last night said he'd be sending out letters to trade partners in two weeks, informing them of trade tariffs on a take-it-or-leave-it basis.
That has partly contributed to shares falling overnight and in Europe today, but it has also seen gold rise once more.
Gold is up around 0.8 per cent to $3,369.
Karl Matchett12 June 2025 09:40
Poundland faces restructure after being sold
High street discount chain Poundland is set for a 'restructuring' process after it was sold to investment firm Gordon Brothers.
The parent firm, Pepco Group, which has owned the brand since 2016, said it has completed the sale of the business for a 'nominal' fee.
It comes after an auction by Poland -based Pepco to sell Poundland after a sharp downturn in trading over the past year.
Poundland's more than 800 stores and roughly 16,000 employees will be transferred to the ownership of Gordon Brothers, which owns brands including Laura Ashley, as a result.
However, as part of the deal, Poundland is set to undergo a restructuring plan.
Karl Matchett12 June 2025 09:15
UK economic shrinking was 'inevitable' in April
A falling UK economy was 'inevitable' in April, said Danni Hewson, AJ Bell head of financial analysis.
The UK showed 0.3 per cent decline in GDP with the services sector in particular declining 0.4 per cent.
'It's hard not to look at today's headline fall in economic growth as anything other than inevitable. Company after company had warned the chancellor that the decisions taken during last year's Budget would impact business growth and create huge uncertainty about existing staffing levels,' Ms Hewson said.
'The latest jobs figures highlighted the fall in payrolled employees and rising unemployment earlier this week, and all those bill rises in April delivered another knock to consumer confidence, with the latest BRC retail sales figures showing spending on big ticket items has been reigned back.
'Rachel Reeves has said she is determined to deliver growth, and her spending plans have been given a cautious welcome by business groups up and down the country – but the caution speaks volumes.
'The next five months looks set to see the UK become something of a petri dish, where speculation and rumour fester as concern about rising debt levels feeds expectation that further tax hikes are inevitable.'
Karl Matchett12 June 2025 09:00
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Daily Mail
3 hours ago
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ANDREW PIERCE: Is Angela Rayner's hard-Left boyfriend plotting to put her in No 10 as revenge for his sacking by Starmer's ruthless right-hand man?
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Little wonder, then, that she indulged in raucous celebrations hours before the Chancellor addressed the Commons, reviving memories of when she was photographed belting out songs behind the DJ's desk in an Ibiza nightclub last summer. When Rayner, 45, took her place on the benches for the Spending Review, many thought she looked somewhat jaded. The same was said of Blackpool South MP Chris Webb, who was at the party and is one of her closest friends. A source told me: 'They were celebrating the fact that Ange had won her deal on the Spending Review. She is feeling on top of the world. The settlement showed that Ange is a serious player. Tarry, 42, has never got over being sacked as a shadow minister in July 2022 for giving a TV interview while on a picket line during a rail strike 'It may look insensitive but it was a private party for a small group of friends and supporters. These party guests will run an Angela Rayner leadership campaign if and when the time comes.' 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Later that year, he was deselected as the MP for Ilford South. Tarry, who was part of Jeremy Corbyn's leadership team, blames his downfall on Starmer's all-powerful chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, who wants to purge the party of Left-wingers. Revenge is a dish best served cold, they say, and Tarry is pushing for Rayner to be the first elected woman leader of the Labour Party. In the run-up to the election, Rayner ruled out a tilt at the top job because she knew Labour was destined to win big and assumed that Starmer would be a fixture in No 10 for years. Since he became PM, however, support for Labour has collapsed faster than that of any newly elected governing party in the past 40 years. Starmer's personal rating is a woeful minus 46 per cent. And Rayner is popular where it counts – with party members. 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3 hours ago
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Three union leaders included in King's Birthday Honours
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Times
4 hours ago
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HMRC can't be bothered to send letters (unless you owe it money)
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