Thanks for joining us today. The bosses of Britain’s biggest banks have been summoned to meet with regulators at the Financial Conduct Authority amid concerns about the lag between savings rates and mortgages.
Executives from HSBC, NatWest, Lloyds and Barclays have been asked to attend the meeting on Thursday amid worries that the major institutions are profiteering from rising interest rates.
5 things to start your day
1) Sunak’s Britcoin ambitions hit by huge public backlash | More than 50,000 responses sent to Bank of England after digital currency consultation
2) Water boss’s bonus linked to sewage reduction | United Utilities will pay more money to Louise Beardmore if she cuts ‘storm overflows’
3) City AM put up for sale as freesheet struggles with Covid legacy | London financial newspaper seeks buyer after remote working becomes embedded
4) Unilever accused of ‘sponsoring war’ over Russia sales | Marmite maker has continued to sell products in Russia despite criticism
5) Bank of England says people of any gender identity can be pregnant | Threadneedle Street pledges to dedicate a floor of its office to gender-neutral lavatories
What happened overnight
Asian stocks rose afternoon after Australia’s central bank held interest rates steady, which helped ease investor worries about over-tightening of policies by central banks.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up by 0.3pc by Tuesday early afternoon, reversing mild losses in the morning.
Australian shares added 0.5pc. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) kept its cash rate at 4.1pc, saying it wanted more time to assess the impact of past hikes.
Japan’s Nikkei share average fell 0.9pc as investors exited some bullish positions after the benchmark index closed at a 33-year high in the previous session.
China’s mainland benchmark was flat and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.6pc, led by tech companies.
Wall Street stock indexes ended Monday’s shortened session up slightly along with Treasury yields.
Most of Wall Street was closed for the US Independence Day public holiday on Tuesday.
