Closing post: G7 hit Russia with tariffs; UK GDP rises
Time to wrap up - here are today’s main stories:
Western governments have announced plans to impose punitive tariffs on Russian trade to further isolate Moscow from the global economy after the invasion of Ukraine.
In a development aimed at ratcheting up the pressure on Vladimir Putin, the G7 group of wealthy nations said it would strip Russia of “most favoured nation” (MFN) status under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.
Setting out tougher measures in response to Putin’s military aggression in a joint statement on Friday, the G7 said a “broad coalition” of WTO members were preparing to revoke important benefits of Russia’s membership.
The G7 is formed of the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, and says:
“We are united in our determination to hold President Putin and his regime accountable for this unjustified and unprovoked war that has already isolated Russia in the world,”
The 10-strong board of directors of Evraz, the steel and mining group in which Roman Abramovich controls a 29% stake, have resigned after sanctions were imposed on the Russian oligarch and shares in the company were suspended.
Evraz’s 10 remaining non-executive directors – which include the former Ford executive Stephen Odell and Sir Michael Peat, a former private secretary to Prince Charles and whose family name is the p in KPMG – have now all resigned.
Canada is imposing sanctions on five individuals including Abramovich, and also barring 32 Russian companies and government entities from receiving defense equipment or supplies from Canada.
Cigarette group BAT is pulling out of Russia, just two days after deciding to keep producing tobacco products there.
The UK economy made a better-than-expected recovery from the disruption of the Omicron variant.
UK GDP rose 0.8% in January, beating forecasts, with a return to dining out boosting the services sector. Construction and production also grew, despite ongoing supply chain problems.
However, several economists predicted that growth would weaken this year due to rising inflation and the Ukraine war.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is creating “significant economic uncertainty” - as he weighs up whether to offer more support in this month’s spring statement.
The UK and EU have launched an investigation into whether Google and Meta colluded in the online display advertising space.
UK farmers have warned that soaring gas costs could force producers to cut output, adding to concerns over shortage and rising prices.
Minette Batters, the president of the NFU, said the war had “focused attention on the importance and fragility of food security, both at home and abroad”.
Batters said:
“There are some clear short and long-term actions that government can take to maintain confidence and stability across the UK’s food producing businesses.
We have shared these with government and we want to stress that we stand ready to take these forward together, in order to navigate the extreme volatility we see today and expect to grow in the coming months.”
The founder of the housebuilder Redrow has promised to pay for 1,000 Ukrainian refugees to come to the UK.
Steve Morgan also criticised the government for its slow response to the humanitarian crisis created by Russia’s invasion.
US private equity group Apollo is considering launching a takeover offer for educational publisher Pearson, after two approaches were rebuffed:
Heathrow is to hire 12,000 staff to handle an expected summer holiday boom, the UK’s busiest airport has said, as it warned the recovery in the aviation industry is “being overshadowed by war and Covid”.
Uber fares across the UK are set to rise sharply from Monday night when VAT of 20% will be applied to rides booked via the app.
Goodnight. GW
European stock markets also closed higher, led by a 1.4% rise on Germany’s DAX share index.
📊 Fechamento da Europa:
— MyCAP Investimentos (@mycapinvest) March 11, 2022
🇪🇺 STOXX 600 0,95%
🇬🇧 FTSE 100 0,8%
🇮🇹 FTSE MIB 0,68%
🇪🇸 IBEX 35 0,9%
🇵🇹 PSI 20 1,51%
🇫🇷 CAC 40 0,85%
🇩🇪 DAX 1,38%
Reports that Russia’s president Vladimir Putin has said there were “certain positive shifts” in negotiations with Ukraine (without giving details), may have cheered markets.
But any optimism seems out of kilter with fears Moscow could use chemical and biological weapons, and the US’s push to remove Russia’s “most favoured nation” trading status.
As Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, puts it:
“Investors might find that trying to build a rally on comments from Vladimir Putin is a bit of a fool’s errand, but that has been the theme of the day,”
Updated
