UK car sales jump in April as two millionth EV registered; Rachel Reeves ‘clashed with Scott Bessent’ over Iran war criticism – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

• HSBC profits fall amid $400m fraud-related charge and Iran war

• Australia hikes interest rates to 4.35% in blow to mortgage holders

Those credit losses have “overshadowed” HSBC’s results in the last quarter, reports Will Howlett, financials analyst at Quilter Cheviot:

HSBC’s quarter was dominated by a sharp and unexpected jump in credit losses, which took the shine off otherwise solid trading and pushed profits just below expectations. A $400m fraud-related loss in the UK drove a marked rise in bad loan charges and has put fresh focus on the risks sitting within more complex lending, even as the rest of the loan book remains stable.

Profits were broadly flat on last year, as higher income was absorbed by rising costs and credit charges. Revenues grew 4%, slightly ahead of expectations, helped mainly by fees rather than interest income. Wealth management continued to perform well, though growth has slowed from last year’s pace.

“HSBC’s results always bring more of an international flavour than its UK peers. Unfortunately that means the Hormuz crisis looms large in the results, casting a shadow over an otherwise solid set of numbers.

The theme is grimly familiar to investors; were it not for the crisis, earnings outlooks would be much rosier. The warnings around the economic impact will only continue to grow the longer the situation remains unresolved.” Continue reading...