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New changes to the threshold for self-employed tax returns have been laid out by the government, which will see the minimum limit for filing a tax return increase from £1,000 to £3,000, among other proposals.

In a speech on Tuesday afternoon marking the 20th anniversary of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), tax minister James Murray said the changes are slated to kick in during this parliament.

It will mean around 300,000 people will no longer have to file a tax return for side hustles like creating content online, dog walking or tutoring, the government said.

An estimated 90,000 of those who previously filed tax returns have had no tax to pay and will have no reason to report their trading income to HMRC in the future.

Read more on Yahoo Finance UK

Axel Rudolph, Senior Technical Analyst at online trading platform IG, said:

The act kickstarts a process which could see the US buy $1m in the cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin prices were 1.6% lower on Tuesday, trading around the $81,000 mark.

Oil prices ticked upwards on Tuesday, paring losses made earlier in the week, even as concerns about a US recession rumble and commodities traders look to OPEC+ for its next moves.

The cartel has signalled that it will ramp up production slowly in the coming months, with Russia's deputy prime minister Alexander Novak saying on Friday that a ramp up will start in April, but will ultimately depend on how the market supply and demand shakes out.

Meanwhile, US crude oil stockpiles were expected to have increased last week.

Brent crude futures were more than 1% higher by late-morning, heading above $70-a-barrel. West Texas Intermediate futures were around 1.1% higher, hitting $66.74-a-barrel.

Shares in Volkswagen (VOW3.DE) rose 2% on Tuesday morning, as investors appeared upbeat about the latest results from Europe's top carmaker.

Volkswagen (VOW3.DE) posted revenue of €324.7bn (£273.5bn) for the year, up slightly from €322.3bn in the previous year. However, operating profits were down 15% to €19.1bn, which Volkswagen (VOW3.DE) said was driven by a "significant increase" in fixed costs.

For the year ahead, Volkswagen (VOW3.DE) said it expected sales revenue to grow by 5% and to deliver an operating margin of 5.5% to 6.5%.

Oliver Blume, CEO of Volkswagen Group, said that the company had set out on a "decisive strategic course" in 2024. "As our transformation gains in traction, the new strength of Volkswagen Group comes to life," he said.

Vicky McKeever writes:

Shares in electric vehicle maker Tesla (TSLA) dropped more than 15% on Monday, with the stock a further 3% in the red in pre-market trading on Tuesday morning. The stock has been falling recently amid a backlash against CEO Elon Musk, who is a key adviser to Trump and heads up the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Musk's plans to oversee sweeping cuts in government agencies has led to protests at Tesla facilities across the US. Trump said in a social media post on Tuesday that he would buy a new Tesla to show his support for Musk.

Russ Mould, AJ Bell investment director, said:

The pound climbed 0.4% against the dollar on Tuesday, rallying above the $1.29 mark as markets digest fears of a possible impending US recession.

Traders are becoming increasingly anxious about how president Donald Trump's bevvy of policy decisions will play out in the coming months.

US import tariffs have been top of mind in the last few weeks as Trump signed executive orders to ramp up levies on Canada, Mexico and China, as well as laying out plans for reciprocal tariffs globally.

The shake-up has come as Trump ducked questions about possible inflationary policies or the potential for a recession for the world's largest economy. He warned of a "period of transition".

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies fell 0.5%. Over the last five sessions it has declined nearly 2.2%, and for the year-to-date it is 4.6% lower.

Neil Wilson, analyst at TipRanks writes:

Latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show lagging sales for non-food items. Fashion flopped due, in part, to the gloomy February weather.

Overall, UK retail sales increased by 1.1% year on year in February, the same rate of growth as seen a year prior. This was below the three-month average growth of 2.4% and above the 12-month average growth of 0.8%.

"This weak performance makes many retailers uneasy, especially as they brace for £7bn of new costs from the Budget and packaging levy in 2025, as well as the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill," said Helen Dickinson, CEO of the BRC.

"The industry is already doing all it can to absorb existing costs, but they will be left with little choice but to increase prices or reduce investment in jobs and shops, or both."

Here's the futures chart on Tuesday:

From our US team:

US stock futures inched back upwards after another brutal sell-off rocked Wall Street amid deepening fears about the trajectory of the economy.

Futures attached to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) crept up 0.4% while those attached to the benchmark S&P 500 (ES=F) climbed 0.3%. Nasdaq Composite futures gained 0.2%.

On Monday, the three major indexes built on losses from the previous week, with the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) falling a whopping 4% as "Magnificent Seven" stocks faltered.

The mood on Wall Street has grown increasingly foreboding as president Donald Trump presses on with his fast-moving trade war, undeterred by concerns over the health of the US economy. Goldman Sachs became the latest Wall Street firm to slash economic forecasts amid the tariff turmoil.

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Hello from London. Lucy Harley-McKeown here, bringing you the latest markets news of the day.

Overnight there was some blood letting in the US markets (we'll get into that in a moment). Coming up today:

• Bank of England mortgage data (9.30am)

• Corporate results from housebuilder Persimmon (PSN.L) and Volkswagen (VOW3.DE)

• British Retail Consortium sales figures

• US JOLTS employment survey

Let's get to it.