Closing summary
Global stocks are drifting, as traders await news from the Ukraine talks, and clues on central bank policy from the US Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole symposium later this week.
Guardian exclusive:
The Treasury is considering a new tax on the sale of homes worth more than £500,000 as a step towards a radical overhaul of stamp duty and council tax, the Guardian has been told.
As Rachel Reeves prepares the ground for tax rises in this autumn’s budget, senior ministers have tasked officials to study how a new “proportional” property tax could be implemented and model its impact before reporting back to ministers, who have been briefed on the proposals.
Officials are initially examining a potential national property tax, which would replace stamp duty on owner-occupied homes, sources said. They are also studying whether, after the national tax, a local property tax could then replace council tax in the medium term in an effort to repair battered local authority finances.
No final decisions have been made. A national tax could be implemented during this parliament, while it is understood an overhaul of council tax would take longer, at least requiring Labour to win a second term in office.
The members’ club chain Soho House has agreed a $2.7bn (£2bn) deal to take it private after a tricky four years listed on the New York stock exchange.
New York-based MCR Hotels will lead new equity investors in the chain of clubs as part of a deal that will involve it ditching its stock market listing.
Actor turned startup investor Ashton Kutcher – who is thought to have been a longstanding member – will also join Soho House’s board of directors, while the MCR chief executive, Tyler Morse, will be vice-chair.
Train fares in England could rise by as much as 5.6% next year, as campaigners said passengers could be priced off the railway.
Increases in train ticket prices are calculated using the inflation reading for July, which will be announced on Wednesday.
UK metals companies have threatened to take legal action against the government over tariffs on raw steel imports from Asia which they claim have caused a “tsunami” of problems for the industry.
Earlier this summer, the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, reduced the amount of raw steel from Vietnam and South Korea that can be imported tariff-free in a move designed to protect UK raw steel makers, which face competition from cheap imports.
Thank you for reading. We’ll be back tomorrow with the latest news on business and markets. Take care! – JK
Updated
Wall Street flat, European shares and oil prices dip
Wall Street has opened flat, while European shares have dipped as markets nervously await news from the Ukraine peace talks at the Oval Office in Washington between Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders.
British officials said the leaders planned to use the meeting to flesh out details of the Nato-style guarantees which were promised over the weekend by Steve Witkoff, the president’s Ukraine envoy.
You can read more on our live blog here:
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones was less than 5 points higher. Over here, the FTSE 100 index edged 8 points higher to 9,146. The German and italian markets dipped 0.1% while the French bourse lost 0.6%.
Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, is down by 0.4% at $65.6 a barrel while spot gold is now flat at $3,337 an ounce.
Updated
