Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news
- Stoxx 600’s eighth daily gain in a row
- FTSE 100 closes at 16-month high
- US retail sales dropped in May
- Full story: UK unemployment rate drops again as firms hire more staff
- 7am: UK jobless rate drops to 4.7% in February-April
- Vacancies up…. but… youth employment fears
Time to wrap up
European stock markets have racked up their longest winning streak since April 2019, as optimism over the economic recovery continues to lift shares.
People always ask me what is going on in the markets. It is simple. Greatest Speculative Bubble of All Time in All Things. By two orders of magnitude. #FlyingPigs360
Related: UK unemployment rate drops again as firms hire more staff
Related: UK should put its celebrations on hold over Covid jobless rate
Tariffs will be cut on Australian products such as Jacob’s Creek and Hardys wines, as well as on beef, lamb, swimwear and confectionary. However, by the government’s own admission, the savings add up to £34m a year – little more than a pound each per household.
Scotch whisky, biscuits and ceramics will be cheaper to sell into Australia, aiming to help UK industries that employ 3.5 million people. Still, the government admits that its deal will only boost UK GDP by up to 0.02% after 15 years, barely a rounding error for a £2tn economy.
Related: UK-Australia trade treaty is the ‘new dawn’ you may never notice
Related: UK regulator investigates Apple and Google’s dominance of mobile platforms
Related: Ryanair boss: airlines must fly over rogue states despite Belarus ‘hijacking’
Related: Brands pull ads from GB News TV channel over content concerns
Related: Summer 2022 holiday bookings surging, says online travel agent On The Beach
Related: Less than 1% of UK travel insurance policies offer full Covid cover, says Which?
Related: Boohoo reports strong clothes sales amid online shopping boom
Related: Rail employers and unions agree to talks over £2bn of cuts and job losses
Related: Morgan Stanley boss tells US staff to be back in office in September
Investor Michael Burry — most famous for his role in The Big Short — has warned that the markets are currently in the greatest speculative bubble ever.
Burry returned to Twitter this week for the first time since February, and tweeted a new warning about rampant speculation, saying:
“People always ask me what is going on in the markets.
It is simple. Greatest Speculative Bubble of All Time in All Things. By two orders of magnitude. #FlyingPigs360.”
People always ask me what is going on in the markets. It is simple. Greatest Speculative Bubble of All Time in All Things. By two orders of magnitude. #FlyingPigs360
The hashtag was likely a reference to a famous saying in investing: “Bulls make money, bears make money, but pigs get slaughtered.” Burry has repeatedly told investors that they’re being too greedy, speculating wildly, shouldering too much risk, and chasing unrealistic returns.
The Scion Asset Management chief deleted his Twitter profile in early April after sounding the alarm on Tesla stock – which he’s short – as well as GameStop, bitcoin, dogecoin, Robinhood, SPACs, inflation, and the broader stock market. He resumed tweeting on Monday.