Good morning. Is the tide finally turning for London’s ailing stock market? We have new data that could shed some light, as well as updates on Kamala Harris’s campaign.
But first, we begin with the latest company results as earnings season gets into full swing, starting with Tesla. Profits at the electric-vehicle maker missed estimates, slumping 45 per cent in the second quarter as it faced slower sales, soaring costs from employee lay-offs and ever-greater investments in its artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Chief executive Elon Musk also used yesterday’s earnings announcement to officially postpone the planned launch of Tesla’s first self-driving “robotaxis”. Shares fell more than 8 per cent in after-hours trading.
Alphabet’s results were rosier. Google’s parent company reported that revenues jumped 14 per cent in the second quarter, with double-digit growth in advertising suggesting that AI chatbots such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT had yet to make a dent in queries on its dominant search engine.
And here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on today:
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Economic data: S&P Global releases a UK flash purchasing managers’ index.
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Joe Biden: The US president will deliver a national address from the Oval Office this evening on his decision to abandon his bid for re-election.
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Netanyahu in the US: The Israeli prime minister will address Congress ahead of meetings with Biden tomorrow and Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Friday.
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Results: Reckitt is under pressure to revisit a sale of its nutrition business as the conglomerate reports half-year earnings. Banco Santander, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, easyJet and IBM also report.
Five more top stories
1. Big investors are positioning themselves for “a turning of the tide” for London’s unloved stock market, hoping that an improving economy, lower interest rates and political stability will boost cheap British shares. BlackRock and Allianz have joined British fund houses such as Ruffer and Rathbones in raising exposure to UK-listed stocks in recent months. Read the full story.
2. Emmanuel Macron has said he will not name a new government until after the Olympic Games to avoid creating “disorder”. The French president said it was important that the current caretaker government and ministers stayed in place since they had been instrumental in planning the event. Here’s more on Macron’s “Olympic political truce”.
3. Exclusive: Three swing-state Democrats are now the frontrunners to become Kamala Harris’s running mate: Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, Arizona senator Mark Kelly and governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina. Big Democratic donors close to the vice-president said the men were being vetted by Barack Obama’s former attorney-general. Here’s what we know about the contenders.
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Path to victory: Pollsters expect a bump in Harris’s approval ratings in the short term, but will that enthusiasm hold over her three-month sprint to defeat Donald Trump?
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Harris’s legitimacy: Democrats fear a contest for their party’s nomination could cause “chaos”, but deference to established candidates has cost them in the past, writes Janan Ganesh.
4. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer are planning to meet within weeks to drive a “reset” in post-Brexit EU-UK relations. The leaders are working on a late August or early September meeting, officials said. Here’s what could be on the agenda.
5. Exclusive: Wegovy prescriptions by Britain’s public health service have been held back by a lack of weight-loss clinics, a Financial Times analysis of NHS England data shows. The popular drug was prescribed just 3,300 times since September, far below the 13,500 patients the UK’s healthcare spending watchdog expects will receive the drug in its first year of use. Clara Murray and Ian Johnston have more details.
The Big Read
The world’s oceans have absorbed 90 per cent of excess heat and about a quarter of human-caused carbon dioxide emitted during the industrial era. In the past 15 months, global sea surface temperatures have reached and stayed at record levels, fuelling heatwaves and melting sea ice. As scientists investigate whether the world’s seas will cool again, there are worries that our oceans may be reaching their limits in the vital role they play in protecting the planet against the worst extremes of climate change.
We’re also reading . . .
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Private equity: Our latest visual story explores how the sector’s sprawling web of debt has entangled banks and could pose a threat to the global economy.
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Rupert Murdoch: Was the 93-year-old media mogul’s rare visit to attend the Republican convention a sign of his waning influence?
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Venezuelan politics: With an election looming, even Hugo Chávez’s hometown has had enough of his revolution and is turning against his successor, Nicolás Maduro.
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Diamonds: The market for rough diamonds for jewellery is suffering one of its worst downturns, but some forecast a recovery as prices of factory-made stones have fallen too far.
Chart of the day
The number of unwanted Paris Olympics tickets available for resale has hit more than a quarter of a million, just days before Friday’s opening ceremony. Poor demand has increased concerns that many athletes will compete against a backdrop of empty seats.
Take a break from the news
When it comes to bespoke menswear, one might think of London’s Savile Row or Italy — but not Paris. The city’s family ateliers are broadening their appeal to younger clients with more affordable alternatives, such as made-to-measure offerings.
Additional contributions from Benjamin Wilhelm and David Hindley
