Apollo gatecrashes easyJet sale with surprise £5.7bn takeover offer - business live

Key events

Ryanair rider almost sucked retired of shattered model during flight

A rider connected a Ryanair formation was reportedly almost sucked retired of a model aft it shattered successful mid-air during a travel from Greece.

The man was said to person been sucked retired of his spot into nan plane’s slipstream and hung headfirst retired of nan model aft an motor nonaccomplishment resulted successful parts smashing nan acrylic window, according to section reports.

The passenger, said to beryllium a 61-year-old Serbian, was saved from being wholly sucked retired of nan Boeing 737 because his woman “held him by nan legs”.

The incident took spot connected Ryanair formation FR1879, which was scheduled to alert from Thessaloniki successful Greece to Memmingen adjacent Munich successful Germany connected Thursday. It was operated by nan Ryanair subsidiary, Malta Air.

The US banal marketplace is group for a mixed unfastened later this afternoon: futures for nan S&P 500 are down 0.01%, while nan Nasdaq is poised to autumn 0.28%.

Anticipation is building stateside complete nan debut of nan South Korean spot institution SK Hynix on nan Nasdaq. The company, which is already listed successful its location country, became 1 of nan fewer publically listed businesses to execute a marketplace worth of supra $1tn earlier this year.

Road substance could look proviso compression successful coming months, IEA warns

Jillian Ambrose

More crude lipid whitethorn person reached nan world marketplace via nan strait of Hormuz successful caller weeks, but supplies of roadworthy fuels could still go strained successful nan months up because refineries person been slower to respond to nan US-Iran ceasefire, according to nan International Energy Agency.

The world power watchdog warned that substance exports from refineries successful nan Gulf person yet to restart contempt an summation successful lipid and state tankers transiting nan strait of Hormuz since nan US-Iran bid talks began complete 2 weeks ago.

This has been compounded by intensifying Ukrainian attacks connected Russian refineries and export infrastructure, while Asian refineries person besides continued to tally astatine reduced rates, nan Paris-agency said.

The operation of little substance accumulation and nan commencement of nan summertime driving play could mean that concerns complete pitchy substance shortages will soon beryllium replaced by worries astir tightening supplies of ​gasoline and diesel, nan IEA added.

The short-lived reprieve successful hostilities during nan US-Iran bid talks allowed an summation successful crude exports connected committee lipid tankers which had been near stranded successful nan Gulf for months owed to Iran’s effective blockade connected nan strait of Hormuz.

But exports person slowed this week aft nan breakdown of talks led to renewed attacks successful nan region, causing world lipid prices to climb to complete $76.50 connected Friday, putting nan marketplace connected way for play gains of astir 6%.

US President Donald Trump ​has efficaciously kept a lid connected important lipid value gains aft saying he did not deliberation ​the warfare would restart and that “anything that happens is going to beryllium complete very ​quickly“.

UK to modulate unreality providers Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Oracle arsenic 'critical 3rd parties'

The UK’s Treasury has conscionable announced that it will categorize unreality work providers Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Oracle arsenic ‘critical 3rd parties’, bringing them nether nonstop regulatory oversight.

The authorities has said successful a statement:

double quotation markAs banks, insurers and financial marketplace infrastructures go progressively reliant connected unreality services, disruption astatine a awesome supplier could impact aggregate firms astatine nan aforesaid time, perchance impacting services customers dangle on.

The caller position will travel into effect from 13 July, which nan authorities said followed “a play of grounds gathering and collaborative engagement pinch 3rd parties.”

It comes arsenic unreality work providers person go a captious portion of nan regular operations of a integer banking and payments system.

When nan regulatory powers were first introduced, it was hoped that other oversight could thief to avert banking blackouts.

All 4 US tech companies person said that they are committed to complying pinch nan caller requirements.

Now astatine nan midday point, nan FTSE 100 is up by conscionable 0.1% today. St James’s Place is nan worst performer, pinch its shares down 9% aft a study from Financial News that 1 of its biggest partner firms is group to leave.

EU warns Meta complete Facebook and Instagram’s 'addictive' infinite scrolling

Teen boys connected their mobile phones Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

It recovered that features specified arsenic autoplay and infinite scroll “fuel nan user’s impulse to support scrolling and displacement nan encephalon into ‘autopilot mode’, contributing to unhealthy habits and compulsive use.”

double quotation markMoreover, Meta disregarded disposable accusation astir nan clip minors walk connected Instagram aliases Facebook astatine nighttime and really nan optimisation of its different formats - specified arsenic reels and stories - could lead to excessive aliases compulsive usage of nan services.

Henna Virkkunen, executive vice president for tech sovereignty, information and populist astatine nan European Commission, said:

double quotation markProtecting nan beingness and intelligence wellness of Europeans must beryllium a privilege for societal media platforms. The Digital Services Act provides a clear model to clasp platforms accountable for nan addictive creation and effects of their services. We are afloat committed to enforcing our authorities successful Europe.

A spokesperson for Meta told Reuters:

double quotation markWe disagree pinch these preliminary findings, which don’t accurately return into relationship nan important steps we’ve taken to protect teens.

Since this investigation began, we rolled retired Teen Accounts that automatically protect teens and put parents successful power - allowing them to artifact entree to Instagram astatine ‌night and headdress regular surface clip astatine conscionable 15 minutes.

Preliminary findings are nan 2nd measurement successful a Digital Services Act investigation process. If nan findings are confirmed, past Meta could look a good arsenic overmuch arsenic 6% of its world revenue.

Oil prices person slipped today, but are still group to extremity nan week 6% higher arsenic investors turn uneasy astir nan business successful nan Middle East.

Kathleen Brooks, of nan agent XTB, says:

double quotation markThe lipid value is falling owed to 2 factors, firstly, news that nan US will proceed its method talks pinch Iran, and confirmation that nan US remains committed to uncovering a negotiated solution to this crisis, and secondly, reports from nan IEA that lipid request is group for its first yearly diminution since 2020. Global lipid stocks besides posted an summation successful June, their first monthly summation since nan warfare began earlier this year. The UAE besides lifted lipid accumulation to a record, which suggests that lipid proviso is quickly normalizing, and is improbable to get impacted by nan latest flare up successful tensions.

News that lipid request will autumn this twelvemonth is interesting, arsenic it is only having a mild effect connected growth. The IMF lowered its 2026 world maturation forecast to 3%, but maturation is expected to bounce backmost successful 2027 to 3.4%. The ostentation outlook is little rosy, and nan IMF raised its header ostentation forecast by 0.3% to 4.7% for this year, however, ostentation is expected to mean adjacent year.

Thus, if we do not return to a blockade of nan Strait of Hormuz, nan effect from nan warfare successful nan Middle East should not time off a lasting scar connected nan world economy, which is bully news for consequence assets.

Brent crude, nan world benchmark for lipid prices, is down 0.4% to $76.01 a tube this morning.

The FTSE 250 scale – which tracks nan UK’s listed mid-sized companies – is besides rising this morning, nudging up 0.1%

EasyJet is starring nan way, pinch its shares now up 14%. The recruiter Hays is a adjacent second, pinch its shares up almost 13%, aft it reported better-than-expected fees for its 4th fourth and said that its profit is expected to extremity nan twelvemonth astatine nan higher extremity of its forecast range. Shares successful its FTSE 250 rival Page Group have besides risen by 4.5%.

Reeves to motorboat City ‘skills compact’ committing firms to retrain unit successful AI

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is to denote a caller City “skills compact” that will perpetrate firms specified arsenic Barclays and Lloyds to retraining thousands of financial assemblage workers for nan AI revolution.

The financial services skills compact will beryllium launched connected Tuesday, during what is apt to beryllium Reeves’s last Mansion House reside to City bosses earlier Andy Burnham’s expected takeover of No 10. The government-backed inaugural will perpetrate employers to improving workers’ skills and helping them “keep pace” pinch important technological changes that person prompted fears of wide redundancies.

In nan coming weeks, astir 20 first signatories, including nan London Stock Exchange, Nationwide building nine and nan plus head Fidelity, will commencement drafting rolling three-year plans aimed astatine training and certifying their UK unit successful up to 5 captious skills – including AI – that they judge are basal to future-proofing their jobs.

High thoroughfare footfall drops arsenic heatwave pushes group indoors

People locomotion past nutrient traders’ stalls astatine lunchtime astatine Whitecross Street Market, successful eastbound London connected June 26, 2026, during a heatwave Photograph: Carlos Jasso/AFP/Getty Images

It is different baking basking time successful nan UK – and caller information from nan British Retail Consortium shows that heatwaves are hitting precocious thoroughfare footfall, arsenic group activity refuge from nan sun by staying indoors.

Total UK footfall dropped 3.4% successful June compared pinch nan aforesaid play past year, and accelerated from a 2.6% yearly driblet successful May, it found. The autumn was moreover starker connected precocious streets, which dropped 6.2% successful June, down from a driblet of 1.5% successful May.

Scotland was nan only riser, wherever footfall roseate by 1.7% successful June, nan BRC found.

Helen Dickinson, main executive of nan BRC, said:

double quotation markFootfall dropped successful June arsenic nan grounds heatwave kept galore shoppers indoors. High streets saw nan sharpest declines, while air-conditioned shopping centres and unit parks proved much resilient.

While London and nan South East – wherever temperatures were highest – registered nan biggest decline, different regions performed markedly better. Scotland saw footfall rise, buoyed by cooler upwind and nan continued gradual opening of Glasgow City Centre aft March’s devastating Union Corner fire.

The heatwave whitethorn person affected footfall, but retailers look a bigger challenge: rising costs. Businesses are moving difficult to present worth for customers, yet higher taxes and regulatory burdens are making it harder to invest, create jobs and grow. Government action connected business rates and power costs would thief unlock finance to revive our section communities.”

Neso says it will behaviour soul reappraisal complete cover-up allegations

Elsewhere this morning, a head astatine Britain’s grid usability Neso (National Energy Systems Operator) has said it will behaviour an soul reappraisal complete allegations of a cover-up.

Claire Coutinho, nan protector power secretary, has alleged that bosses astatine Neso ordered control-room unit to hide accusation that showed nan grid was not being tally securely.

This allegedly progressive ordering unit not to support imperishable records of operational decisions to guarantee location was nary insubstantial trail.

Julian Leslie, head of strategical power readying astatine Neso, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:

double quotation markWe return each allegations earnestly and we will behaviour our ain soul reappraisal into those allegations to get to nan guidelines origin of those. But what I tin guarantee everybody…is that nan power room is staffed by experienced, master engineers that return existent pridefulness successful their job, that they are authorised to make nan decisions they make and only authorised group tin make those decisions.

In position of signaling information, evidently those engineers successful nan power room are dispatching nan procreation crossed nan federation and that is done done machine systems wherever location is clear records and logs of decisions that person been made, some astatine our extremity of nan machine strategy and astatine nan receiving end. So our investigation will look into each of that. We will get clarity arsenic to what really happened very soon.

European banal markets unfastened higher

European banal markets person opened broadly higher this greeting – nan UK’s bluish spot FTSE 100 scale is up 0.3%, led by a 11.7% emergence successful Vodafone after nan news that nan French billionaire Xavier Niel has bought a £4.4bn liking successful nan business.

The French Cac 40 is broadly flat, while nan German Dax has slipped 0.07%. But nan Stoxx Europe 600, which tracks nan biggest companies crossed nan full continent, is up very somewhat by 0.08%.

EasyJet shares popular 13% aft astonishment £5.7bn takeover deal

Shares successful easyJet person popped 13% this greeting aft astonishment news of a caller £5.7bn takeover woody pinch nan US backstage equity patient Apollo.

Aarin Chiekrie, an equity expert astatine nan agent Hargreaves Lansdown, notes that Castlelake could still travel backmost pinch a higher bid.

double quotation markApollo said that it believes easyJet has important semipermanent maturation imaginable and supports its existing strategy of strengthening its low-cost bearer exemplary by upgrading its fleet to newer, much businesslike planes. This is an costly task for immoderate airline, and easyJet’s ambitions could beryllium sped up by entree to caller superior and nan longer-term strategical readying that’s afforded to backstage companies.

Apollo’s connection is now nan preferred action and nan 1 that easyJet’s guidance would urge to shareholders. But nan deal’s not disconnected nan runway yet, pinch Apollo having until 7 August to determine whether to make a general bid. In that time, rival bidder Castlelake could still travel to nan array pinch improved terms.”

French billionaire becomes biggest investor successful Vodafone pinch £4.4bn stake

French billionaire Xavier Niel arrives astatine nan Élysée Palace successful Paris, France, 29 June 2026 Photograph: Mohammed Badra/EPA

Niel said that Vega, which has been group up solely to location his liking successful Vodafone, intends to beryllium a semipermanent number shareholder successful nan telecoms company.

In caller years Vodafone has restructured its business - including trading its Italian and Spanish operations and its 50% liking successful its Dutch associated task - arsenic good arsenic merging pinch Three to create nan UK’s largest mobile operator.

Niel said Vodafone is now a “compelling finance opportunity”. He said:

double quotation markAs a simpler, much focused business, Vodafone is fresh for a caller shape of maturation and is well-placed to unlock important untapped worth crossed its European and African operations.

We are assured Vodafone tin present sustainable maturation and beardown rate travel procreation complete nan agelong word and – arsenic an anchor investor based successful Europe – we are fresh to lend our heavy assemblage expertise and operational know-how to its early success.”

The abrupt quality of Apollo connected nan segment follows aggregate rounds of talks betwixt easyJet and Castlelake. EasyJet had told investors earlier this week that it had reached an agreement successful rule pinch nan patient astatine £6.90 per share.

Apollo has said coming regarding its chunkier offer:

double quotation markEasyJet management’s operational and commercialized ambitions tin beryllium substantially accelerated via nan entree to incremental superior and longer-term business and strategical readying that a backstage institution mounting affords.

It said easyJet investors will person nan action to rotation their existing banal into a “stub equity alternative”, done which Apollo’s costs would clasp their finance successful nan business.

Introduction: Apollo gatecrashes easyJet waste pinch astonishment £5.7bn takeover offer

Good greeting and invited to our rolling sum of business, nan financial markets and nan world economy.

A astonishment firm twist this morning: nan US backstage equity patient Apollo has agreed to bargain nan hose easyJet in a £5.7bn deal, beating a rival bid for nan institution by Castlelake.

EasyJet has reached an statement successful rule for an connection of £7.15 per share, and has said this greeting that its committee is inclined to urge nan woody to shareholders.

The hose had been group to beryllium taken backstage successful a £5.5bn woody pinch nan US backstage in installments group Castlelake, which had until 3 August to make its general offer.

But easyJet said successful a connection this morning:

double quotation markThe projected rate connection delivers a superior result for easyJet shareholders by providing a higher rate worth than Castlelake’s latest connection of £6.90 per easyJet share, submitted connected 4 July 2026.

Apollo’s connection represents a 22% premium against easyJet’s closing stock value yesterday, and an 81% premium compared pinch its value nan time earlier nan connection play for nan bid from Castlelake.

Apollo besides added that it would work together to return “all basal steps” to fulfill immoderate EU section ownership rules. Current regularisation requires European airlines to beryllium mostly owned by a European entity, Castlelake had planned astir this by intending to bring 2 Irish hose executives connected board.

Elsewhere today, Asian banal markets person been mostly mixed – nan Japanese Nikkei and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng are some up by astir 1%. The South Korean Kospi is yet again nan guidelines out, up by almost 3%. On mainland China however, shares are slipping – nan SSE Composite is down by 0.3%.

The agenda

• 7am BST: EU user value scale and harmonised user value index

• 11am BST: Delta Air Lines earnings