British Steel is expected to announce 300 job losses today as it faces soaring energy costs alongside high inflation and a global economic downturn.
The expected cuts, first reported by the BBC, follows recent reports that the company has been considering 800 job cuts at its Scunthorpe flagship plant.
5 things to start your day
1) Outdated planning laws stopped millions of homes being built | Britain’s house building rates have fallen behind the rest of Europe
2) Hydrogen not a realistic replacement for natural gas, warn Lords | Ministers told to focus on promoting heat pumps in sharply-critical report
3) Bentley scraps flagship 12-cylinder engine | Gas-guzzling W12 sacrificed in electric push
4) This absurd four-day week ‘study’ should convince nobody | At this rate, people will soon be objecting to the very concept of work itself
5) Jeremy Hunt rules out tax cuts in upcoming Budget | Decision comes despite surprise £5.4bn surplus and plunge in energy prices
What happened overnight
Asian shares declined after stocks tumbled on Wall Street as worries persist about higher interest rates and their tightening squeeze on the global economy.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.3pc to 7,314.50. South Korea’s Kospi dropped 1.6pc to 2,419.15. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.3pc to 20,461.32, while the Shanghai Composite shed 0.6pc to 3,287.64.
Tokyo stocks fell as US bond yields climbed, with investors spooked by the prospect of yet more rate hikes.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index dropped 1.4pc at 27,104.32, while the broader Topix index lost 1.1pc to 1,975.25.
US Treasury yields rose sharply as investors price in higher interest rates.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which helps set rates for mortgages and other important loans, leaped further to 3.95pc from 3.82pc late Friday.
The two-year yield, which moves more on expectations for the Fed, rose to 4.72pc from 4.62pc. It’s close to its highest level since 2007.
Wall Street’s major equity indexes amid selloffs in technology, consumer discretionary, industrials and financial stocks.
The S&P 500 fell 2pc to 3,997.34 on Tuesday for its sharpest drop since the market was selling off in December.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 697 points, or 2.1pc, to 33,129.59 while the Nasdaq Composite sank 2.5pc to 11,492.30.
