UK shopper confidence falls sharply in September

Good morning. We’ve updates beneath on the Center East disaster and the way markets reacted after the Federal Reserve’s bumper fee reduce, whereas in the present day’s featured learn appears to be like at Amazon’s hardline stance on in-person work.

However first, we flip to the UK, the place shopper confidence has fallen sharply as households anticipate what Sir Keir Starmer has warned shall be a “painful” Finances.

The GfK shopper confidence index — a measure of how folks view their private funds and broader financial prospects — fell seven factors to minus 20, taking it again to January’s degree. The month-on-month fall was additionally the biggest since October final 12 months and comes regardless of the supply of cheaper house loans, rising actual wages and the retreat of inflation.

A big drop in shopper morale will reinforce issues that the prime minister and his chancellor, Rachel Reeves, have been too downbeat in regards to the economic system, with one analyst saying: “If they persist in this pessimistic tone, there’s a danger it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

And right here’s what I’m protecting tabs on in the present day and over the weekend:

• Financial information: The UK has August public sector funds and retail gross sales figures in the present day, whereas the US publishes labour information for a similar month.

• UK politics: Nigel Farage will converse on the Reform UK convention in Birmingham after he instructed the Monetary Instances he would surrender his possession of the social gathering. The Labour social gathering’s convention begins in Liverpool on Sunday.

• Quad summit: US President Joe Biden hosts the leaders of India, Japan and Australia tomorrow in his house state of Delaware.

5 extra high tales

1. The S&P 500 closed at a file excessive yesterday as traders guess the Federal Reserve’s jumbo half-point rate of interest reduce would assist ship a tender touchdown for the US economic system. The US positive factors capped a worldwide rally that additionally featured robust positive factors in European and Asian markets. Learn the total markets replace.

2. Israeli forces struck targets alongside Lebanon’s southern border yesterday as Hizbollah’s chief mentioned Israel had crossed “all red lines” with this week’s mass detonations of communication gadgets. Hassan Nasrallah known as the assaults, which killed 32 folks and injured hundreds, a “major security and military blow”.

3. Robert Jenrick has accused the UK Treasury of “gaslighting” the British public over the advantages of migration. In an interview with the FT, the frontrunner within the Tory management contest mentioned the “economic consensus” of the previous quarter century about mass migration was “fundamentally broken”.

4. Nike chief govt John Donahoe will step down subsequent month in an abrupt management change on the world’s largest sportswear maker. The transfer punctuates a interval of dour monetary efficiency, together with a dramatic inventory sell-off after the firm lowered its steerage in June. Right here’s who will exchange him.

5. John Paulson has brushed apart Wall Avenue worries that Donald Trump’s plans to boost tariffs will hurt the economic system, whereas calling for the US to “decouple” from China. In a shift from his earlier criticism of the previous president’s commerce coverage, the billionaire hedge fund supervisor instructed the FT that tariffs might assist “level” the taking part in discipline, saying: “We’re not in the period of free trade.”

How nicely did you retain up with the information this week? Take our quiz.

Information in-depth

This week, Amazon instructed greater than 300,000 of its company workers that they need to return to the workplace 5 days per week from the beginning of 2025. By doing so, chief govt Andy Jassy joins leaders together with Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase and Elon Musk at Tesla in pushing for a full return to the workplace. It additionally places Amazon at odds with the softer strategy taken by most of its tech rivals.

We’re additionally studying . . . 

• Lord Waheed Alli: The tycoon has had a knack for backing winners, however his current donations to Labour leaders have tarnished the federal government’s picture.

• Degrowth: Latest opinions say the sphere, which requires radical financial change to save lots of the planet, gives few tenable coverage options, writes Soumaya Keynes.

• Publish Workplace: The corporate with one of many UK’s worst reputations must reduce prices and provide higher rewards to develop into an honest enterprise, writes John Gapper.

• Cricket: The Indian Premier League is reworking the game, inspiring a flurry of fast-paced competitions geared toward untapped audiences. Can all of them survive?

Chart of the day

Expectations of fast rate of interest cuts by the Federal Reserve have been the primary driver of gold’s big rally this 12 months, in line with analysts. Decrease borrowing prices improve the attraction of property with no yield, resembling bullion, and are additionally prone to weigh on the greenback, wherein gold is denominated. However robust demand from jewellers and central banks have additionally helped buoy costs.

Take a break from the information

Because of a wave of nostalgia, demand for traditional soccer kits is hovering — and so are the costs. HTSI’s Alexander Tyndall appears to be like on the rise of the soccer shirt, and why a Holland ’88 package may cost a little you £900.

Extra contributions from Gordon Smith and Benjamin Wilhelm