Crypto News: The London Rush: Starmer dines with Trump

Hi, I'm Louise from Bloomberg UK's breaking news team, catching you up on this morning's business stories.

It's been a busy few days for Keir Starmer in New York, courting Donald Trump and persuading US business chiefs to invest in Britain.

Over a two-hour dinner at Trump Tower, the PM tried to move past his previous criticism of the former president and improve relations.

The roadshow didn't stop there. Starmer had also sat down with chiefs from the likes of Blackstone and Citigroup; and held one-on-ones with the heads of Microsoft and BlackRock, and toured the Nasdaq.

Companies are still willing to put their cash into the UK. In one example, Blackstone is set to pump £10 billion of investment into northeast England, creating one of Europe's largest AI hubs.

That kind of money (and backing) is needed. Labour's negative messaging over a gloomy economy and touting of a tough October budget has backfired. Confidence has dipped and wealthy elite are vacating Blighty to avoid a rise in non-dom taxes.

In the latest case study, tech investor Christian Angermayer moved earlier this month to Lugano, a Swiss crypto hub, after a decade in the UK.

"Every non-dom I know has left or is about to leave," he told Bloomberg. Something for the Prime Minister to think about on the journey home.

What's your take? Ping me on X, LinkedIn or drop me an email at lmoon13@bloomberg.net. Oh, and do subscribe to Bloomberg.com for unlimited access to trusted business journalism on the UK, and beyond.

Pork (and hummus and olives) supplier Cranswick expects strong full year figures on "robust" growth in its UK food unit and expanding pig farm operations. That's despite continued caution over the macro and geopolitical environment. Shares rose 3.6%.

British Land will replace Darktrace in the FTSE 100 from October, as the cyber security company is taken private by Thoma Bravo for $5.3 billion. British Land's slot in the FTSE 250 will be taken by another cyber security firm, NCC Group.

Arm rebuffed by Intel after asking to buy the chipmaker's product unit.
Hurricane Helene slams Florida and threatens flooding across states.
Ukraine's military supplies at risk as allies struggle to secure funding.

Here's your daily snap analysis from Bloomberg UK's Markets Today blog:

This week looks set to end with a further rally in global stocks thanks to China's efforts to stimulate its economy.

Risk appetite across financial markets got another boost today from the country's latest measures, propelling Asian stocks to January highs with European index futures pointing higher across the board at the time of writing.

That tends to be good news for certain elements of the UK stock market — namely, financial companies with Asian exposure, miners (just take a look at iron ore prices) and luxury retailers.

But yesterday we saw the FTSE 100 underperform its European peers, as well as the domestically-focused UK midcap index, the FTSE 250.

Why? Well, while it has a strong showing from miners, other heavy weights include oil exploration and production companies BP and Shell. Oil is on course for a substantial weekly decline thanks to the prospect of more supply from OPEC member Saudia Arabia and Libya.

The FTSE 100 also lacks exposure to the other source of yesterday's rally in Europe coming over from the US — tech — and specifically AI momentum.
The FTSE 250 meanwhile was able to enjoy a boost from China-exposed luxury fashion house Burberry, without the oil drag. It also tends to be more sensitive to macroeconomic sentiment and the outlook for interest rates.

Over the last six months the mid-cap index has returned 6.1% compared with 4.5% for the FTSE 100 and it's fared particularly well since the start of the summer as the economic outlook has picked up.

— Morwenna Coniam

Check Bloomberg UK's Markets Today blog for updates all day.

Watch out for a big old data week: GDP, Nationwide house prices and mortgage approvals on Monday, followed by PMIs on Tuesday and Thursday.

In terms of earnings, better-known names include Tesco, Playtech, Greggs, JD Sports, Boohoo and SSP.

Settle in: the national giant vegetables championship starts today in Worcestershire. Eight world records were set last year, with the heaviest broad bean coming in at a formidable 192g.

How much prize money will the winner in the heaviest cantaloupe melon category reap for their horticultural efforts this year?

[Yesterday's answer: Facebook-parent Meta has enlisted Dame Judi Dench and her dulcet tones to voice its AI chatbot, alongside other celebrities.]

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