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Bitcoin (BTC-USD) rallied more than 4% on Wednesday to hit a new all-time high of $109,468 per coin, according to Yahoo Finance data.

The world's largest cryptocurrency extended gains on Wednesday as investors digested growing trade tensions between the US and China while looming concerns over the US debt crisis boiled as well.

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Shoe Zone (SHOE.L) has tipped to a loss and reported lower sales after shutting more than 30 shops over the past year.

Shares in the retailer plunged by a fifth on Wednesday after the update to investors.

The company, which sells a range of branded and own-label footwear, said it made a pre-tax loss of £2.3 million in the six months to March 29, compared with a profit of £2.6 million a year ago.

Revenues dipped by 6.5% to £71.5 million over the period, partly due to the retailer trading out of fewer stores than it was a year ago, while digital sales rose by 6.4%.

Shoe Zone has 278 shops across the UK, which is 31 fewer than a year ago.

It closed 21 shops in the first half of the financial year alone – while opening two new stores, and expanding two existing ones.

The company said it is planning to spend about £6 million this year on renovating shops that it wants to convert to a newer format – with the aim of running 260 shops in total.

Consumer confidence continues to be low, Shoe Zone said, indicating that shoppers have continued to cut back spending amid tougher economic conditions.

Meanwhile, the company is expecting to face higher business costs over the second half of its financial year due to national insurance contributions increasing from April and national living wage costs going up.

Nevertheless, the chain reported sings of improved conditions in more recent months, with shipping costs coming down and the value of the pound strengthening against the US dollar.

It is expecting to report a pre-tax profit of £5 million for the year – having previously been slashed from a forecast of £10 million.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said:

US stock index futures were all in the red in early trade this morning, following a weaker session on Tuesday which saw most of the US majors close lower.

David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation, said:

Oil prices surged in response to reports that Israel is preparing to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, putting the deal that US president Donald Trump has been pursuing with Tehran at risk.

Brent crude futures (BZ=F) climbed 0.8% to $65.89 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate futures (CL=F) climbed 0.9% to $62.55 a barrel.

CNN reported that, according to several US intelligence officers, Israeli leaders were considering striking Iran, in a move that would squeeze supply and spark further unrest in the region.

The Middle East supplies around a third of the world’s crude oil. Nuclear talks between the US and Iran could pave the way for more barrels being released, however Israel’s plans have thrown this into question.

"Such an escalation would not only put Iranian supply at risk, but also (put supply at risk) in large parts of the broader region," ING commodities strategists said.

Considering Iran exports more than 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd), fears of supply disruptions have helped to drive prices higher, said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

The prospect of higher oil prices will also add to worries over inflation in the UK.

Bloomberg, the financial data service used by traders around the world, was hit by an outage on Wednesday, briefly disrupting an auction of UK government debt.

AFP has the details:

The Bloomberg terminal is the crown jewel of the media empire founded by US billionaire Michael Bloomberg in 1981 and counts some 350,000 users worldwide.

The service, which costs subscribers tens of thousands of dollars a year, is ubiquitous in trading rooms, providing live pricing of company stocks, currencies, commodities, bonds and other financial instruments.

Traders and investors also use it for its news content and analytics and to exchange messages with peers around the world.

But several of its functions stopped working or came to a crawl on Wednesday.

"Our systems are returning to normal operations and Terminal functionality has been restored following a service disruption earlier today," Bloomberg spokesman Ty Trippet said in a statement.

The company's help desk had told AFP at around 0900 GMT that a "technical issue" was affecting multiple clients and technicians were working to resolve the problem.

The service started working again but slower at around 1000 GMT.

Average private rents climbed by 7.4% in the year to April, down from 7.7% growth in March.

Rents increased to £1,390, up 7.5%, in England; £795, up 8.7%, in Wales; and £999, up 5.1%, in Scotland, in the 12 months to April. In Northern Ireland, average rents increased by 7.8% to £843 (7.8%) in the 12 months to February.

In England, private rent increases were highest in the North East (9.4%), and lowest in Yorkshire and The Humber (4.0%).

Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, said:

The Trades Union Congress (TUC), a federation of 48 trade unions and represents 5.5 million workers, has called on the Bank of England to stay the course on interest rates.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said:

Sterling jumped this morning after UK inflation surprised to the upside, coming in at 3.5% higher.

Prem Raja, head of trading floor at Currencies 4 You said:

The average UK house price increased by 6.4% annually in March, accelerating from 5.5% annual growth in February, according to official figures.

This took the average UK house price in March to £271,000, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

The ending of a stamp duty holiday from April onwards sparked a stampede of home-buyers in the run-up. Stamp duty applies in England and Northern Ireland.

The figures were released as statistics showed UK inflation surged to its highest level for more than a year last month.

Money markets are betting that the Bank of England will cut interest rates just once more this year after inflation surged to its highest point since early 2024.

Traders believe it is likely there will be just one quarter-point cut from the Bank after higher-than-expected inflation raised concerns this morning.

There is now a 50% chance of a cut to rates in August, down from 60% before the inflation data. The pound rose by 0.6% to its strongest level since February 2022 on the back of the news.

Sanjay Raja, chief economist at Deutsche Bank, said: “This will almost certainly be the death knell for a June rate cut, however. While August still seems likely in our view, it certainly has become a lot more interesting and balanced.”

Luke Bartholomew, deputy chief economist at Aberdeen, added: “We think a quarterly profile of rate cuts remains appropriate, but the chance of the easing cycle speeding up any time soon has fallen.”

Rachel Reeves and US treasury secretary Scott Bessent are set to hold talks this week in a bid to discuss tariffs imposed by president Donald Trump.

The talks will take place at the G7 finance ministers’ meeting in Canada, and will be Reeves’ first in-person discussions with Bessent since the US and the UK agreed a trade deal earlier this month.

The deal cut tariffs on Britain’s car and steel industries but left a 10% baseline charge on other goods.

Trump hailed the agreement as a “full and comprehensive”.

Over half (53%) of UK finance leaders cite geopolitical instability as the single greatest threat to business in 2025, according to new research from Coupa.

This was more than any of their peers in the US or EU, its annual Strategic CFO Report revealed.

UK finance chiefs are facing heightened risk amid economic volatility, marked by trade tariffs, sticky inflation, and supply chain disruptions.

Today, 70% of businesses are concerned about hitting their end-of-year financial goals in 2025, sparking a shift in mindset from growth-at-all costs to operational discipline.

Unlike in previous downturns, workforce reductions appear to be a last resort, with only 2% of businesses citing reducing headcount as a cost-cutting priority for 2025. Instead, 37% are turning to price increases as a primary lever to sustain growth and profitability, alongside smarter spend strategies (32%), renegotiating supplier contracts (22%) and consolidating their technology stacks (14%).

Among the most cited threats to business performance are rising market competition (52%), ongoing supply chain disruption (43%) and exposure to tariffs (43%). In response, UK businesses are increasingly turning to hedging strategies – adopted by 22% – as they pivot towards more risk-averse, defensive tactics in the face of sustained volatility.

This shift is echoed in other reactive mitigation efforts, including supply chain restructures (22%) and stockpiling of inventory (17%), signalling a broader move to safeguard operations against prolonged external pressures.

CFOs are ramping up investments in automation and AI to navigate financial uncertainty, with 53% of UK finance leaders planning to automate manual processes. For UK businesses, increasing investment in AI (25%) is a top strategic priority and the highest compared to the US (13%), Germany (16%) and France (22%).

However, despite the urgency, 70% of UK CFOs say they remain concerned about their ability to successfully implement AI strategies – highlighting a critical confidence gap. With AI set to play a defining role in competitive advantage, the research suggests that early adoption, effective governance, and the right tools will be key differentiators.

The Bank of England’s (BoE) chief economist has warned it has been cutting rates too quickly, given the inflation outlook, but added that the path for interest rates remained “downward”.

Huw Pill, who voted against the BoE’s decision earlier this month to lower the base rate by 25 basis points to 4.25%, said: “In my view, that withdrawal of policy restriction has been running a little too fast of late, given the progress achieved thus far with returning inflation to target on a lasting basis.”

“I remain concerned about upside risks to the achievement of the inflation target.”

In a speech entitled 'The courage not to act' at a briefing hosted by Barclays (BARC.L), Pill said he remained concerned about ongoing risks to the inflation target and questioned the appropriateness of the Bank’s recent policy stance.

“I remain very concerned that the structural changes in price and wage-setting behaviour have increased the intrinsic persistence of the UK inflation process.

“That not only makes inflation higher for longer in the aftermath of the pandemic and invasion-induced inflationary shocks than would otherwise have been the case. It also influences the appropriate bank rate response in pursuit of lasting achievement of the inflation target," he added.

A procession of black-tie guests is expected to arrive at Trump National Golf Club in Washington, DC on Wednesday – not traditional political donors, but cryptocurrency holders whose anonymous digital wallets filled with memecoins have secured them access to an exclusive gala dinner with the US president himself.

The guest list consists of the top 220 holders of the Official Trump memecoin trump-official (TRUMP-OFFICIAL-USD), who collectively spent an estimated $148m (£110.72m) acquiring the token in the hope of securing face time with Donald Trump.

The event has stirred controversy over claims of crypto-fuelled political influence, with critics calling it “pay-to-play 2.0” and watchdogs demanding federal scrutiny.

But for those attending, the question remains: What are they gaining in return?

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Marks & Spencer (MKS.L) has said that its online services will continue to be disrupted until July after last month's cyber-attack.

It comes as customers have been unable to order online for almost a month.

The retailer said:

It estimates that the cyber-attack will hit this year's profits by around £300m, more than analysts had expected and the equivalent to a third of its profit.

The attack took place over the Easter weekend, initially affecting click-and-collect and contactless payments. A few days later M&S put a note on its website apologising that online ordering was unavailable.

The same group behind the attack is believed to have also hit Co-op and Harrods.

In a statement this morning, shadow chancellor Mel Stride said the jump in inflation to its highest level since February 2024 "is worrying for families".

Liberal Democrats deputy leader Daisy Cooper said the government cannot allow inflation "to spiral as it did under the Conservatives", but warns that it risks "repeating their record" as long as the employer's national insurance hike remains in place.

On the back of today's ONS data, chancellor Rachel Reeves said:

UK inflation rose more sharply than expected in April, driven by a surge in energy and transport costs, pushing the headline rate well above 3% and raising fresh questions for the Bank of England.

Consumer prices increased by 3.5% in the year to April, up from 2.6% in March, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Wednesday. It marks the highest annual rate since February 2024 and sits near the top of economists’ forecasts.

The ONS said the largest upward contributions came from housing and household services, transport, and recreation and culture. Clothing and footwear, meanwhile, were the biggest drag on prices.

ONS acting director general Grant Fitzner said:

Core inflation, which excludes more volatile energy, food, alcohol and tobacco prices, rose by 3.8% in the year to April, up from 3.4% in the 12 months to March.

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