Markets latest: Australian rival to buy Britishvolt in boost for UK electric battery factory ambitions
The collapsed electric battery maker Britishvolt has been bought out of administration by an Australian company championed by Lord Botham.
Recharge Industries will now work towards building the UK’s first gigafactory.
Lord Botham, the England cricketing legend and a UK-Australia trade envoy, had assisted the company in making its bid.
5 things to start your day
1) Amazon to sublet UK warehouses as growth plans go awry – Review of operations comes as tech giant suffers worst annual loss since going public
2) Mortgage demand to hit 12-year low as high interest rates hammer borrowers – Stretched affordability could cause an increasing number of borrowers to default
3) Working from home is fuelling fraud epidemic, warn managers – Remote practices risk exposing staff to ‘social engineering’ tactics used by scammers
4) Hunt’s misguided policies will harm economy, warns ex-Tory business minister – Decision to slash tax credits for research is based on faulty data, says Greg Clark
5) Crispin Odey: ‘It will take a Labour government for the Tories to realise Liz Truss was right all along’ – Comments come as Truss breaks silence to defend her economic agenda
What happened overnight
Stocks in Asia retreated as an unexpectedly strong US jobs report raised the prospect of more rate hikes from the Federal Reserve, while concern over US-China geopolitical tensions also weighed on sentiment.
The dollar climbed for a third day after a gauge of its strength rose more than 1pc Friday, when figures showed a surge in payrolls and unemployment at a 53-year low.
This points to persistent US inflation and bolsters the case for more rate increases. South Korean stocks and contracts for US equities also declined.
Shares fell in Hong Kong and mainland China, with the Hang Seng Index on course for the lowest close in a month.
US-listed Chinese stocks slipped Friday after the Biden administration decided to postpone Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s upcoming trip to China in light of an alleged Chinese spy balloon, that was later shot down.
Tokyo stocks ended higher after a report about the Bank of Japan’s next governor fuelled speculation that the institution would stick to its ultra-loose monetary policies.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.7pc to end at 27,693.65, while the broader Topix index added 0.5pc to 1,979.22.
