Eurogroup urges Greece to do more to unlock bailout funds
Greek PM hosts fellow Med leaders in Athens
Tesco former executives charged with fraud
UK trade deficit narrows in July as exports rise
ECB disappointment weighs on European markets
Sports Direct meets investor pressure group
Surprise fall in German exports raises growth concerns
3.01pm BST
Before closing up for the day, here is a summary of events on what has been a busy day.
The main event was the Eurogroup meeting in Bratislava, where eurozone finance ministers gathered to discuss Greece’s progress on reform. Athens is hoping to secure a €2.8bn tranche of bailout money, but it is dependent on a programme of 15 reforms.
2.35pm BST
US markets have opened down:
2.18pm BST
There is a live feed on the margins of the Ecofin meeting in Bratislava, where Mario Monti, Italy’s former prime minister, will soon be speaking.
Happening NOW @ #ECOFIN margins: What next for #EU economic governance. Watch LIVE - https://t.co/ZQ8pjmmVfi - w/@VazilHudak @SenatoreMonti
2.13pm BST
Wall Street is expected to open lower. North Korea’s most power nuclear test to date is likely to unnerve investors.
US Opening Calls:#DOW 18394 -0.45%#SPX 2170 -0.50%#NASDAQ 4779 -0.51%#IGOpeningCall
Fed's Rosengren warns low rates are raising the chance of overheating the US economy https://t.co/sHCqsN80XX
2.02pm BST
Brent crude oil is down 2.4% at $48.77 a barrel.
However, prices are still on course for the first weekly gain in three weeks after oil producers Russia and Saudi Arabia agreed to work together to rebalance the markets.
1.56pm BST
The Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras has been addressing leaders of southern European countries who are in Athens for a (Club Med) summit:
Our countries have in recent years been disproportionately affected by the economic crisis... and are on the front line of migratory flows. We were on the front line of the parallel crises which have tested Europe.
In such a debate, Europe’s Mediterranean countries can and must raise their voice. The way to have a bigger say is to seek a common approach and common positions.
1.41pm BST
Here in the UK, the Eurosceptic chairman of the Wetherspoon’s pub chain has blasted Britain’s establishment stance over the Brexit vote.
In the run-up to, and the aftermath of, the recent referendum, the overwhelming majority of FTSE 100 companies, the employers’ organisation CBI, the IMF, the OECD, the Treasury, the leaders of all the main political parties and almost all representatives of British universities forecast trouble, often in lurid terms, for the economy, in the event of the leave vote.
City voices such as PwC and Goldman Sachs, and the great preponderance of banks and other institutions, also leant weight to this negative view.
‘Scare Story 2’ is that failure to agree on a trade deal with the EU will have devastating consequences.
Common sense suggests that the worst approach for the UK is to insist on the necessity of a ‘deal’ – we don’t need one and the fact that EU countries sell us twice as much as we sell them creates a hugely powerful negotiating position.”
1.28pm BST
The party continues in Bratislava, where the Eurogroup meeting has ended but the broader Ecofin meeting of EU finance ministers is underway.
Top of the agenda is “the future of the EU economic policies”.
Ministers will assess whether the existing framework is sufficient for the current unprecedented challenges such as migration, Brexit or security challenges.
The aim is to draw a lesson from previous mistakes and gradually design tools enabling us to avoid or at least to mitigate possible future crises.
... informal #Ecofin in #Bratislava is on ... lot of things to discuss with fellow finance ministers. @eu2016sk pic.twitter.com/qB66hBu1r5
1.04pm BST
Eurogroup has published a list of its “main results”, here.
Specifically on Greece, it says:
The institutions and the Greek minister for finance, Euclid Tsakalotos, briefed the Eurogroup on the state of play of the implementation of Greece’s economic adjustment programme.
The Greek authorities intend to complete the milestones, agreed in the context of the programme’s first review in a timely manner.
12.56pm BST
Markets in Europe are still in gloomy mood, with all major indices down this afternoon:
12.47pm BST
Tesco has commented since the news broke that the SFO has charged three former executives with fraud.
The retailer said in a statement:
We note the decision of the SFO to bring a prosecution against former colleagues in relation to historic issues and acknowledge the investigation into the company is ongoing.
Tesco continues to cooperate with the SFO’s investigation. The last two years have seen an extensive programme of change at Tesco, but given this is an ongoing legal matter, we are unable to provide any further comment at this time.
12.37pm BST
As a reminder, here is the background to the Serious Fraud Office investigation into accounting practices at Tesco, which led to a £263m profit overstatement:
Related: Criminal investigation launched into Tesco’s accounting
12.13pm BST
Related: Serious Fraud Office charges former Tesco directors with fraud
12.11pm BST
The basic message today from eurozone finance ministers in Bratislava to Greece:
Strongly encourages #Greece to pick up the speed of implementation of remaining issues #Eurogroup
12.00pm BST
Britain’s Serious Fraud Office has charged three senior former executives at Tesco with fraud, as part of its investigation into an accounting scandal at the supermarket chain.
The alleged activity occurred between February 2014 and September 2014.
The above-named individuals have been requisitioned to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 22 September 2016.
11.51am BST
Greece’s prime minister Alexis Tsipras is meeting French president Francois Hollande, Italy’s Matteo Renzi and the leaders of Portugal, Malta and Cyprus in Athens today for a four-hour conclave aimed at winning backing for a southern European pushback against austerity.
Tsipras wants a joint stance on the need to ease fiscal rules with Europe’s other six Mediterranean countries – Spain’s acting PM, Mario Rajoy, was invited but is too busy trying to form a government at home – ahead of the EU summit on 16 September (without Britain) in Bratislava.
11.48am BST
Away from Bratislava and in Athens itself, the Greek Prime Minister is hosting a meeting of leaders from Europe’s other Mediterranean countries, aimed at finding common ground.
#EUMedSummit purpose is to address common challenges in economy, migration and security, and to contribute to shaping a new vision for #EU.
11.35am BST
Pierre Moscovici, European commissioner for economic and financial affairs is giving a bit more detail on Greek reforms.
The 13 others are not on track or underway. There is progress, but this needs to be completed.
[We] insist that the job is done, it is necessary. And the Greek authorities must know that we are waiting for them, for the matter of trust and efficiency.
11.25am BST
The European Central Bank’s Benoît Cœuré is pitching in. He is going over the central bank’s decision on Thursday not to introduce more monetary stimulus at this time.
[Nothing new here.]
Related: ECB keeps interest rates at 0%
11.16am BST
#Eurogroup presser underway. LIVE - https://t.co/21Jbd2Sd6O. @J_Dijsselbloem @pierremoscovici @ecb @ESM_Press pic.twitter.com/33oh4NdViG
11.15am BST
Here is the official statement from the Eurogroup meeting, which is focused on spending reviews and public finances across eurozone countries.
11.04am BST
Dijsselbloem says there was a general signal from ministers that Greece must speed up progress on reforms:
Today we discussed first of all the state of affairs in Greece. We took stock of the progress. There are number of milestones still pending to fully complete the first review and coupled with those are further disbursements. So we took stock of those and heard a little about the issues at stake.
There was a general feeling that we must not lose time - the time scale that was drawn up and agreed in May 2016 - so more progress is needed and we strongly encouraged the Greek government as a whole to speed up the implementation of the remaining milestones.
11.02am BST
Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem kicks off by saying there are positive signs in the eurozone:
There are many challenges ahead. The economic recovery is progressing, growth returned to almost all of our countries and there are positive signs throughout the eurozone.
11.00am BST
The Eurogroup press conference is coming up here...
10.59am BST
The proportion of British people who think the Bank of England will raise interest rates over the next year has fallen to a record low.
The Bank said 21% of people surveyed in August expected it to raise interest rates in the next 12 months, down sharply from 41% in May. It was the lowest level since the survey began in 1999.
10.50am BST
Sir Philip Green, the former owner of collapsed retailer BHS, has denied dragging his feet over reaching a settlement for the firm’s 20,000 pensioners.
Mr Field suggested in the House of Commons on Wednesday there was a lack of willingness on my part to reach a settlement with regard to the pension fund. This is untrue, totally inaccurate and unhelpful in solving this issue.
There have also been suggestions in the press that I have tried to pressurise the regulator, or, as was stated on the front page of one newspaper, ‘blackmail’ it. This is wholly untrue. I am not in control of the process. I am following the process which has been set down by the regulator.
Related: Sir Philip Green: I am working every day on BHS pension crisis
10.39am BST
Sticking with Dijsselbloem, he has given the best soundbite on Greece from Bratislava so far today:
The pressure is back on. The summer is over. Pack up the camping gear, get back to work.
Today is 9 September, so there is still time for Greece.
It’s not new that, with Greece, we see the implementation of the measures that have been agreed towards the final phase of the agreed time frame.
10.23am BST
Jeroen Dijsselbloem, president of the group of eurozone finance ministers has offered some thoughts on the Brexit thoughts.
Speaking in Bratislava before ministers got down to business on Greek bailout talks, he said Britain must make up its mind on the start of formal divorce proceedings:
For the Brexit process, it really is up to the British to make up their minds, in terms of when to start and how to get it on the road.
I think, in the end, it will be the British economy that is damaged most, which I don’t hope for but, I mean, this is my concern.
10.09am BST
Here is our full story on Sports Direct, whose biggest investors have met with the board and are demanding an independent review of working practices and governance:
Related: Sports Direct's biggest investors want independent review
10.04am BST
Construction output was steady in July, faring better than expected a month after the Brexit vote.
The latest post-referendum official figures indicated that the construction sector held up better than expected in July, and the trade deficit narrowed, continuing the recent trend of relatively upbeat data.
The upshot is that while it is still early days, the latest figures give us little reason to alter our view that the immediate impact of the vote to leave the EU will be less severe than many had anticipated.
9.44am BST
Britain’s trade in goods deficit narrowed to £11.8bn in July, down £1.2bn compared with a year earlier.
9.25am BST
Figures published in Germany earlier revealed a surprise fall in exports in July, brining down the country’s trade surplus.
Exports fell by 2.6% over the month, following a downwardly revised 0.2% increase in June. It was the sharpest fall in almost and year, and well below economists’ expectations of a 0.25% increase.
Forget July. The month of July was clearly not a good month for Germany. Not only did July see the German national soccer team leave the European Championships after the semi-final, it saw industrial and trade data taking a deep nosedive.
Today’s data confirm the picture already painted by earlier industrial data: the former powerful engine of the German economy –industry – is stuttering.
9.09am BST
The pound is up against both the dollar and the euro this morning, as we await the latest official UK data on trade and construction.
9.01am BST
There will be a press conference from Bratislava at 12pm local time (11am UK time). There should be a live stream here. The heat is on Athens:
"Pressure is back on Greece. Summer is over. Pack away the camping gear." @J_Dijsselbloem at Eurogroup in Bratislava
8.54am BST
Investors are in a downbeat mood this morning, disappointed by Mario Draghi who failed to unleash any further monetary ammunition on Thursday.
The FTSE 100 is down 13 points or 0.2%.
8.42am BST
Sports Direct, the under pressure retailer founded by Mike Ashley, has met with shareholder pressure group the Investor Forum about a way forward.
Independent shareholders have sent a clear message to the Board of Sports Direct through their votes at the AGM and in their public statements.
We are encouraged by Sports Direct’s recent open approach, publishing the working practices report and hosting an open day. These, however, are only the first steps in a long journey towards rebuilding trust and shareholder value.
Related: Sports Direct's open day at notorious warehouse is not quite glasnost
8.10am BST
The agenda for today’s Eurogroup meeting can be found here.
Here is the outline for discussion on Greece:
The Eurogroup will discuss the state of play of the macroeconomic adjustment programme to Greece. In particular, the Ministers are expected to be informed by the institutions and the Greek authorities on the implementation of the milestones and progress with arrears clearance, as defined in the Eurogroup statement on Greece of 25 May, as well as the next steps for the second review.
The Eurogroup statement of 25 May indicates that the additional disbursement after the summer under the second tranche will be subject to the completion of milestones related to privatization, including the new Privatization and Investment Fund, bank governance, revenue agency and energy sector reforms as well as progress in clearing of net arrears.
8.07am BST
The tough words have begun in Bratislava, with a declaration Austria’s finance minister Hans Jörg Schelling that Athens has not fulfilled its side of the bargain:
#Eurogroup Schelling: delay in reforms implemntation by #Greece "not a good thing", we can't release tranches without fulfillment of agrmnts
8.03am BST
Oil prices are also likely to influence equities this morning according to the Jasper Lawler from CMC Markets:
Stocks in Europe look set for a lower open as investors continue to digest disappointment from the latest ECB meeting while a big drawdown in US oil inventories has sent Brent crude back towards $50 per barrel.
Oil prices gained nearly 5% in 24 hours in response to American Petroleum Institute and Department of Energy inventory weekly figures.
7.58am BST
European markets are expected to open lower this morning.
Investors were disappointed that Mario Draghi and his colleagues at the European Central Bank failed to announce more stimulus for the eurozone economy when they met yesterday.
Our European opening calls:$FTSE 6849 down 10
$DAX 10654 down 21
$CAC 4535 down 7$IBEX 9072 down 29$MIB 17347 down 29
7.55am BST
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business.
All eyes are on Greece again as eurozone finance ministers meet to discuss whether or not to hand over to Athens the next trance of emergency funding.
Continue reading...