10 things you need to know in markets today
Britain's economy will grind to a near standstill over the coming months as post-referendum uncertainty triggers a slump in business investment, a leading business group has warned as it slashed its growth forecasts. The Guardian reports that the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) on Monday more than halved its GDP growth prediction for next year from 2.3% to 1.0% in its first set of forecasts since the vote to leave the EU.
Online money exchange platform TransferWise is assessing whether to launch a card linked to customer accounts, according to multiple sources. Four sources within the foreign exchange and payments industry told BI that TransferWise is looking at the possibility of launching a card after a flood of new entrants into the market over the last year.
The price of oil is sliding amid projections that US data is set to show a big rebound in crude inventories. Brent is down 1.42% to $47.33 at the time of writing (6.20 a.m. BST/1.20 a.m. ET), while US crude is down 1.59% to $45.15.
Asian shares are getting slammed. The benchmark Shanghai Composite stock market is down 2.33% at the time of writing (6.20 a.m. BST/1.20 a.m. ET), Japan's Nikkei is off 1.92%, and the Hong Kong Hang Seng is 2.75% lower. Investors are rattled by rising bond yields and talk that the Federal Reserve might be serious about lifting US. interest rates as early as next week.
Shares in Samsung Electronics are dropping hard on the back of the recall of its new smartphone Galaxy Note 7. Shares were down 5.4% to 1.49 million won ($A1780) on Monday. Billions were wiped from the company's market cap on Friday. The company last week told Galaxy Note 7 users to return their devices after faulty batteries caused the smartphone to catch fire
EU chief executive Jean-Claude Juncker has launched an unprecedented ethics investigation into his predecessor, Jose Manuel Barroso, questioning whether he broke EU law by taking a job at Goldman Sachs. In a letter released on Sunday by the European Ombudsman, who has been pressuring Juncker to inquire into how Barroso plans to help the US investment bank deal with Brexit, European Commission President Juncker said he was formally asking the former Portuguese premier to "clarify" his role at Goldman.
Volkswagen's luxury car unit Audi has agreed to deepen collaboration with Chinese internet technology groups to offer more digital services in the world's largest car market. Audi and FAW-Volkswagen, VW's joint venture with FAW Car Co, have signed letters of intent with Alibaba, Baidu, and Tencent, Audi said on Sunday. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Morrisons is beefing up its relationship with Amazon as the supermarket chain gears up to deliver its best half- year sales performance in four years. The Telegraph reports that the Bradford-based supermarket chain is strengthening its ties with the US online giant by rolling out Amazon lockers across hundreds of stores in the hope of luring in more shoppers.
KKR, the private-equity dealmaker that inspired Barbarians at the Gate, has a new love. The company's executives are wooing early-stage startups in the US, Europe, and Israel, targeting those in the corporate enterprise, fintech, and artificial-intelligence industries.
Hundreds of businesses are threatening the City regulator with legal action because of delays to a long-awaited report into the activities of Royal Bank of Scotland's restructuring unit. The Times reports that lawyers acting for more than 400 companies, which claim they were mistreated by RBS's Global Restructuring Group, have written to the Financial Conduct Authority saying that they plan to launch a judicial review into the handling of the issue.