Thanks for joining me. The pound dipped to a two-month low as Sir Keir Starmer is on the brink of resigning as prime minister. Here is what you need to know.
5 things to start your day
1) Chancellor Yvette Cooper? City traders seek reassurance in leadership turmoil | Foreign Secretary could alleviate fears of lurch to the Left if Andy Burnham becomes prime minister
2) Water boss receives £270,000 bonus despite parasite outbreak | Former chief executive, who claimed to suffer from ‘sleepless nights’ during scandal, accepts payout
3) The 27-year-old building Britain’s Trump-proof AI | The US blocked access to Anthropic’s powerful models – but a UK start-up may have the answer
4) The hidden reality behind Britain’s homegrown nuclear age | Rolls-Royce’s contract to build small modular reactors may not always mean manufacturing jobs in the UK
5) AI risks triggering ‘catastrophic’ phone network blackouts | Ofcom raises alarm over risks linked to use of automation technology for monitoring networks
What happened overnight
Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that Keir Starmer “will resign as Prime Minister of The United Kingdom”.
The US President said: “He failed badly on two very important subjects- IMMIGRATION AND ENERGY (OPEN NORTH SEA OIL!). I wish him well!”
The US and Iran held high stakes talks on the war in the Middle East in Switzerland. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said the discussions were focused on ending the conflict and providing sanctions relief to Iran.
Asian stocks were mixed, while oil prices edged lower on fresh optimism over the progress in the negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.6pc to 72,364.82, after reaching a new all-time record of 72,831.73 during intraday trading, helped by technology stocks that were fueled by excitement over the global artificial intelligence boom.
Japan’s SoftBank, the multinational investment holding company with a strong AI focus, rose 2.4pc. Chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron was up 2.3pc.
South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.4pc to 9,084.37 and was trading near its record high levels, led by AI-related shares. Memory chip maker SK Hynix surged 4.7pc.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1pc to 23,690.86, while the Shanghai Composite index was 0.2pc higher at 4,098.01.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.1pc to 8,822.80.
Taiwan’s Taiex rose 2.8pc. India’s Sensex was up 0.6pc.
Oil prices fell as talks progressed over a permanent end to the Iran war. Brent crude, the international standard, was trading 1.4% lower to $79.42 per barrel. It was at roughly $70 a barrel before the start of the war in late February.
