Our US team writes:

Amazon (AMZN) appears to have gotten itself on the wrong side of the Trump administration over a report that the e-commerce giant will begin showing tariff-related price increases on its website next to a product's cost.

When asked about the news, which was first reported by Punchbowl News, on Tuesday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called it "a hostile and political act."

Shares of Amazon were off more than 1% in early trading.

On Monday, Reuters reported that some Amazon merchants were planning to pare back their participation in the company's Prime Day even this summer as a result of tariff uncertainty.

"Why didn't Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?" Leavitt said. "And I would also add that it's not a surprise because, as Reuters recently wrote, Amazon has partnered with a Chinese propaganda arm."

HMT has said:

— New laws will provide new rules for firms offering crypto services to UK-based customers and crypto exchanges and dealers.

— Follows discussions with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

— There will also be a new regulatory working group.

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) consumer research found that around 12% of UK adults owned crypto in 2024, up from 4% in 2021.

BP (BP.L) profits almost halved as the energy giant came under pressure from a plunge in oil prices since Donald Trump launched his global trade war.

The company reported an underlying replacement cost profit – a key metric used as a proxy for net profit – of $1.38bn (£1bn), falling short of the $1.53bn forecast by analysts polled by LSEG. The figure also marks a 49% decline from the $2.7bn posted in the same period last year.

BP attributed the earnings shortfall to “weak” trading in its gas division. Natural gas prices have come under pressure amid growing fears that a global trade war could dent energy demand.

Despite the earnings miss, the company proceeded with a $750m share buyback in the first quarter, at the lower end of its guided range, and announced plans to repurchase an additional $750m worth of shares in the second quarter.

Read more on Yahoo Finance UK

Oil prices fell on Tuesday morning as fears about the impact of a US-China trade war on demand for fuel persisted.

Brent crude futures dropped 1.5% to $63.84 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was down 1.4% to $61.18 a barrel.

US officials had struck a more positive tone on Monday about potential deals with trading partners, with Treasury secretary Scott Bessent saying that "many countries come forward and present some very good proposals".

However, there was still uncertainty stemming from the trade spat between the US and China, as Bessent said he believed that it's "up to China to de-escalate".

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "There’s a lack of clarity over how the China-US negotiations will unfold. It appears both sides are waiting for the other to take the initiative."

"Amid the standoff, worries about the effect on global growth are lingering, and it’s showing up in oil prices, with brent crude falling back by around 1% as projections for energy demand are scaled back."

Porsche (P911.DE) slashed its full-year outlook after reporting a sharp fall in first-quarter profits, citing a toxic mix of waning demand in China, rising supply chain costs and disruptive US tariffs that are shaking the global car industry.

The company said its profit after tax plunged 44% to €518m and earnings per share slid 44.5% to €0.56. Furthermore, the revenue outlook for 2025 was cut from the €39bn-€40bn range to €37bn-€38bn and return on sales guidance was lowered from 10%-12% to 6.5%-8.5%.

“The introduction of US import tariffs leads to negative impacts for the months of April and May 2025 which are included in the adjusted forecast. However, the adjusted forecast does not take into account further effects of the introduction of US import tariffs,” the company said in a statement.

“Currently it is not yet possible to make a reliable assessment of the effects for the financial year,” it added.

The tariffs, part of a wider escalation in global trade tensions, are expected to increase the price of imported vehicles by thousands of dollars, weakening demand in a market already grappling with a slowing shift to electric vehicles.

Porsche is also contending with softening demand in its largest market, China, particularly for its all-electric models.

Read more on Yahoo Finance UK

UK rental prices have reached new heights, with London leading the way at a record-breaking £2,698 per month. This marks the 14th consecutive month of new rent records for the capital.

Outside of London, the average advertised rent has also surged, climbing to £1,349 per month, another new high.

The figures from property site Rightmove (RMV.L) showed that the average advertised rent in London is now 2.5% higher than this time last year, despite an increase in the supply of rental homes. In March, the number of new properties coming onto the market was 11% higher than last year, while the total availability of rental homes is 18% above 2024 levels. Yet, the number of prospective tenants seeking to move is 7% lower than at the same time last year.

Chippenham in Wiltshire has emerged as the country's rental price hotspot, with rents up 16.4% from £930 to £1,082. Stockport, Greater Manchester, has also seen significant rent increases, up 16.1% from £982 to £1,141.

Read more on Yahoo Finance UK

Yahoo Finance UK's Pedro Goncalves writes:

Rachel Reeves has been warned that “tough trade-offs” await her at this summer’s spending review, with think tank Resolution Foundation urging the chancellor to focus spending on health and housing if she aims to increase living standards.

Reeves has pledged a £100bn-plus boost to capital budgets over the course of the parliament (2024-25 to 2029-30), and the country should know more details at this summer’s spending review. Capital spending refers to money allocated for projects such as new hospitals or road schemes instead of day-to-day running costs like salaries.

“The chancellor must balance new growth-boosting infrastructure projects with the need to rebuild Britain’s dilapidated hospitals and social housing when she sets out the details of the £100bn-plus boost to capital budgets at the Spending Review,” Resolution Foundation said in a new report.

The Treasury is conducting the review, which will set budgets for government departments for the next three years regarding day-to-day spending. The process will determine budgets for so-called unprotected departments, including local government, justice, transport, and culture. Protected departments include defence, the NHS (health), and schools within the education envelope.

Read more on Yahoo Finance UK

UK food inflation jumped 2.6% year-on-year in April, according to new figures, building on increases of 2.4% in March and heading above the three-month average of 2.4%.

The moves higher pushed food price increases to an 11-month high, according to data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), with everyday essentials including bread, meat, and fish feeling the squeeze.

The increases come as retailers grapple with a rise in employment costs in the form of higher employer national insurance contributions and increased national living wage.

“Despite price competition heating up, retailers are unable to absorb the total impact of these £5bn of employment costs and the additional £2bn costs when the new packaging tax comes into effect in October," said Helen Dickinson, CEO of the BRC.

"It is crucial that poor implementation of the upcoming Employment Rights Bill does not add further pressure to costs — pushing prices further up, and job numbers further down.”

Read more on Yahoo Finance UK

Shares rose as markets opened in London

Yahoo Finance UK's Vicky McKeever writes:

HSBC (HSBA.L) posted a drop in pre-tax profits for the first quarter, but announced a share buyback programme of up to $3bn (£2.23bn).

The bank said profits before tax fell by $3.2bn to $9.5bn in the first quarter, compared with the same period last year, though this was well ahead of expectations of $7.8bn, according to Reuters.

HSBC said this was primarily due to the net impact in the first quarter of last year of business disposals in Canada and Argentina. The bank said that contributors to profits in the latest quarter included strong performance in its wealth business, as well as in foreign exchange (forex), debt and equity markets.

Profits after tax were down $3.3bn to $7.6bn in the first three months of its fiscal year.

Net interest income (NII) – the gap between what it pays out to savers and receives from borrowers in interest – fell by $0.4bn to $8.3bn. Revenue fell by $3.1bn, or 15%, year-on-year to $17.6bn.

HSBC said its board had approved a first interim dividend of $0.10 per share and planned to launch a share buyback of up to $3bn, which it expected to begin shortly after its annual general meeting on 2 May and complete before its interim results announcement.

Read more on Yahoo Finance UK

Aaron Hill, chief analyst at FP Markets, writes:

Our US team writes:

US stock futures inched upwards as Wall Street geared up for a packed week of key earnings reports and economic data.

Futures attached to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) and the benchmark S&P 500 (ES=F) ticked up 0.1%. Futures attached to the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (NQ=F) climbed 0.1%.

On Monday, stocks closed mixed after rebounding last week. President Trump's upbeat tone on trade negotiations, particularly with China, and softened stance toward the Federal Reserve fueled the rally.

Trump's tariffs and whether companies are exposed or sheltered from their impact will remain top of mind for investors as critical earnings reports roll out this week.

On Tuesday, General Motors (GM) and Spotify (SPOT) are among the closely watched companies reporting before the bell, whereas Starbucks (SBUX) will release its results after the market closes.

Hi there. It's Lucy Harley-McKeown. If you've just logged on, the major news of the day is that former Bank of England governor Mark Carney has clinched election victory in Canada for the Liberal party.

The former central banker secured a win that would have seemed unlikely at the beginning of the year, before Justin Trudeau stepped down. The Liberals were behind in the polls, but clawed back ground on a pro-Canada, anti-Trump tariff slate. What's still unsure is whether Carney's party will have a majority in the Canadian parliament.

Elsewhere today, banking giant HSBC (HSBA.L) releases results. As does Primark owner Associated British Foods (ABF.L), AstraZeneca (AZN.L), BP (BP.L) and Coca-Cola (KO).

The British Retail Consortium's shop price index is out and we'll be watching out for German inflation figures, too.

Let's get to it.