UK GDP shrinks by 0.5%
UK GDP fell by 0.5% in July, faster than expected, as bad weather held the economy back.
A decline had been widely expected, with economists projecting GDP to shrink by 0.2%.
The contraction, combined with early indictators suggesting further weakness in August, may put the UK on watch for a possible recession to end 2023, which is typically defined as back-to-back quarters of shrinking GDP.
Morning refresh: What you need to know to start the day
Good morning from the City desk of the Evening Standard.
The FTSE 100 unexpectedly lost another one of its CEOs last night. The news hit our inboxes shortly before 8pm that BP boss Bernard Looney had quit the firm over ‘relationships with colleagues’.
The oil supermajor said it had investigated his past relationships with colleagues, initially finding no breach of its code of conduct, but further claims emerged, which prompted Looney to admit he had not been fully transparent with the board.
Read the full story here.
Across the pond, Apple finally caved under EU pressure and ditched its bespoke lightening port on its new iPhones in favour of the USB-C connection already used by Samsung and Google, which it conceded “has become a universally accepted standard.” See more key announcements from the US tech giant here.
Here’s a summary of our other top headlines from yesterday:
Today we’re expecting results from Tullow Oil. Over in the US, in the afternoon we’ll get the full picture on Arm’s IPO price range before shares begin trading tomorrow.
Bernard Looney has resigned as BP chief executive (Aaron Chown/PA)
/ PA Archive