Business news live: FTSE 100 on the rise, UK car production falls to 70-year low

Strikes at Heathrow by around 800 workers employed by James Wilson to aid passengers with restricted mobility have been ended after union body United announced a 12.5 per cent pay increase.

Pay will increase backdated to January by 7.5 per cent, with a further 5 per cent to come from April 2026.

An extra day’s leave, free airport parking and enhanced sick pay are also in the deal.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This is what trade unionism in action looks like: Wilson James’ Heathrow staff stood together in solidarity to achieve fair pay and won a huge victory. As the union for the UK’s airport and airline staff, Unite is relentless in delivering better jobs, pay and conditions for our members.”

The Nasdaq is projected to open 0.48 per cent higher and the S&P 500 0.43 per cent up, when markets begin for trading in the US this afternoon.

After a session pushing higher on Thursday, it’s notable that investors are heading back into risk-on assets.

A further indication of that can be seen in VIX futures, which have dropped more than 7 per cent.

VIX is an index monitoring expected near-term volatility and when it drops lower, it suggests investors are positive. It is sometimes referred to as the fear index as a result: when it’s up, fear of volatility (and potential to lose money) is high.

All eyes have been on oil prices over much of the last couple of weeks but they appear to be holding firm, comfortably below $70 for now.

Brent Crude has been bouncing between $67 and $68 for most of this week and is at the latter for now.

Gold, meanwhile, has slipped 2 per cent this week and is a little over 1 per cent down today at $3,295.

Technical analysts foresee potential downside to $3,200 support levels if it doesn’t hold around this price.

China’s Ministry of Commerce confirmed on Friday that a trade deal has been agreed with the US, though details remain scarce.

Meanwhile, US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said the country is all but ready to announce 10 major trading partners and trade agreements with them.

That has all combined to see investors aggressively bullish on Friday.

The former boss of Centrica, Sam Laidlaw, was reportedly in the running to take over from Helge Lund as the new chairman of BP next year.

However, the FT say he has told associates he withdrew from consideration after believing the company would either be sold off or be in need of massive restructuring.

BP said: “Our search to name a new chair — led by Amanda Blanc — is moving at pace and we have high-quality individuals in the process. It would be inappropriate to give a running commentary. As Amanda said at our AGM, we recognise that it is in everyone’s interest that an appointment is as swift as possible, without compromising the rigour of the process.”

Good news for FTSE 100 investors today with the index on the rise.

It’s 0.45 per cent to the good this morning, with JD Sports still leading the way despite giving up some of its initial gains, still up 6.5 per cent.

The FTSE 250 is up 0.6 per cent too and in Europe there is green all over:

• Germany – DAX +0.7pc
• Spain – Ibex 35 +0.51pc
• France – CAC 40 +1.27pc
• Netherlands – AEX +0.71pc
• Euro Stoxx 50 +0.88pc

Is bitcoin now just a business plan? Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, explains how more and more firms are looking to hold it (or hodl it perhaps) and how that may be a consideration for British investors.

“Ten companies on the UK stock market have announced a change in strategy in the past month that involves buying bitcoin, with a further three UK-listed companies having already started this journey since last November. The trend is also in play in the US,” Mr Coatsworth said.

“In many cases, share prices have soared on the news as investors speculate these companies could be ‘the next MicroStrategy’. This is a US-listed data analytics company that has continuously raised money over the past few years to buy bitcoin, with its holding now worth $63.2 billion. Its share price has gone bananas, up 1,081% since June 2023.

“UK investors are not permitted to hold bitcoin directly in an ISA or SIPP (self-invested personal pension), so they’ve looked at alternative ways to get exposure, hence why MicroStrategy – or Strategy as it is now known – has come onto their radar.”

British car production has sunk to the lowest level since 1949 amid tariff trade concerns.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) released data showing fewer than 50,000 cars and vans were produced in May, 33 per cent down year on year and other than the 2020 Covid shutdowns, the worst performance in 76 years.

Exports to the US fell 55 per cent and to the EU by 22.5 per cent.

The Dutch government have announced plans to build an AI facility in Groningen, pledging 70m euro (£59.6m) and asking the EU for a similar amount.

There are no major details over what the factory will be used for at present but European nations as a whole plan to invest 200bn euro in the InvestAI initiative.

That includes funds for research, building gigafactories and pushing innovation and development.

Nike reported better than expected earnings last night but said tariff charges will add $1bn to its costs.

About 16 per cent of the total shoes Nike import into the US come from China, the company said, with plans to reduce that number to “high single figures” by moving production elsewhere.

Price hikes were also detailed previously to offset some of the costs.

Shares in Nike are up more than 9.5 per cent in pre trading on the news, but are down more than a third over the last year.