Pub, leisure stocks help push FTSE higher as England prepares to lift restrictions – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news as businesses in England prepare to reopen on 12 April

• Sunshine shifts' and parasols as English pubs prepare for reopening
• Travel industry frustrated by lack of clarity on road map to reopening

2.57pm BST

We started the day with a warning from Credit Suisse that it will take a 4.4 billion Swiss franc hit (3.4bn) over the Archegos Capital fallout.

Compounded by the crisis surrounding Greensill Capital, the bank said it's now facing a 900m Swiss franc loss (690m) for Q1. Two execs are leaving as a result, bonuses have been scrapped and dividends slashed.

2.34pm BST

US stocks have opened slightly lower, suggesting a more subdued start to trading following Monday's record highs.

U.S. markets open lower https://t.co/CmVLr6OccU pic.twitter.com/v4Z69C5W9K

2.14pm BST

Just days after Deliveroo made its (conditional, yet disappointing) stock market debut last week, its riders are planning a strike.

I'm going on strike for my basic rights and those of all the other riders struggling to get by and support families on Deliveroo poverty pay.

I've seen conditions decline for years and then working through lockdown I contracted Covid-19 and got very little support from Deliveroo.

1.37pm BST

Stronger recoveries from the Covid-19 pandemic in the US, the UK and other rich western countries will result in faster than expected growth for the global economy this year, the International Monetary Fund has predicted.

The Washington-based IMF's half-yearly World Economic Outlook (WEO) said successful vaccine programmes, businesses adapting to the challenges of lockdown and Joe Biden's $1.9tn (1.4tn) stimulus package had been key factors in the upgrade.

The IMF projects the global economy to grow at 6% in 2021 and 4.4% in 2022, following an estimated historic contraction of -3.3% in 2020. More in the just-released April 2021 World Economic Outlook. https://t.co/zMbMuNQBsJ #WEO pic.twitter.com/cycErJy8Bt

It is one year into the Covid-19 pandemic and the global community still confronts extreme social and economic strain as the human toll rises and millions remain unemployed.

Related: Western economies recovering faster than expected from Covid, says IMF

1.32pm BST

Time for a market round-up.

European stocks are all still in positive territory , and the UK's FTSE 100 is still leading the pack:

Oil is rebounding from Monday's selloff despite the front-month WTI contract still below $60/bbl.

Meanwhile, diplomats are gathering in Vienna to discuss resurrecting a nuclear deal but Iranian, and US representatives will not speak directly, which indicates the odds are slim of breakthrough talks, and picking up crude output from Iran in the near team.

1.07pm BST

Multimillioniare Philip Day has backed a deal to keep his Peacocks fashion chain afloat - saving 2,000 jobs and just under half of the chain's 423 stores, our retail correspondent Sarah Butler writes.

The deal comes after more than 200 Peacocks stores closed with the loss of more than 2,000 jobs when the chain called in administrators in November last year.

Related: Retail entrepreneur Philip Day backs deal to keep Peacocks afloat

12.47pm BST

BP has cut its debt faster than expected after a very strong" first quarter, in which it was able to sell off almost $5bn worth of its assets.

BP chief executive Bernard Looney told investors this morning that net debt fell from $38.9bn at the end of 2020 to $35bn, a target BP had hoped to reach by the end of this year or even early next year.

12.21pm BST

Prime minister Boris Johnson has given some fresh comments about the AstraZeneca vaccine and the rollout of vaccine passports.

12.00pm BST

Today marks the launch of the UK government's Covid Recovery Loan Scheme, which replaces a trio of government-backed business loan programmes including the Coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS), its larger counterpart CLBILS, and the 100% state-guaranteed bounce back loan scheme (BBLS).

RLS is nowhere near as generous as the other schemes - particularly bounce back loans, which was aimed at the smallest businesses and came with a 2.5% interest rate cap.

The Recovery Loan Scheme launches today
80% government guarantee and interest rate cap
Runs until 31 December 2021

As we safely reopen parts of our economy, the Recovery Loan Scheme will ensure that businesses can continue to access finance. https://t.co/tMEvlYmvjP pic.twitter.com/gJ04BR2SL0

11.40am BST

John Lewis is reopening its changing rooms in England for the first time in a year when the high street lockdown ends next week.

11.19am BST

Fund manager M&G has announced that its chairman Mike Evans has stepped down to concentrate on his health.

The chairman took a temporary leave of absence at the beginning of the year due to a stress-related illness, but stepped down permanently on 1 April.

While I am making good progress on my recovery, I do not feel that I would be able to return to the business before the end of the year.

I have therefore decided, in the best interests of the company and to ensure good governance, that I step down as chair.

11.00am BST

A weaker pound is helping lift the FTSE 100, since multinational businesses listed on the blue chip index tend to benefit financially when the UK currency is weaker (since it translates into higher revenues).

The pound is down 0.5% against the US dollar at $1.383.

It is the reopening of London this morning that is seeing sterling under some initial pressure, as sellers have returned to take advantage of the rally seen over the last 24 hours or so.

10.48am BST

The last rise in UK leisure stocks has helped push the more domestically-focused FTSE 250 to pre-pandemic levels, with the index now edging towards the all-time high reached at the start of 2020.

The domestically-focused FTSE 250 is up another 1% to above 22,000, moving closer the Jan 2020 all-time high as the UK's economic recovery and exit from lockdown remains on track.

Reopening favourites Cineworld, Carnival and National Express were all up about 5%.

10.35am BST

There may be some profit taking in the US, where the S&P 500 and Dow both hit record highs last night.

US futures are pointing to a lower open on Wall Street this afternoon:

10.26am BST

Speaking to the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 this morning, the UK's vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi confirmed that vaccine passports will not immediately be required as England's economy re-opens but their use is still on the table.

As the Prime Minister, explained yesterday, you're not going to be required to have a certificate to go to the pub garden on Monday, or inside the pub in May.

But I think it's only right and responsible to look at all options available to us to be able to reopen the economy in a safe way as possible, as other countries are doing, [otherwise] I'd have to come to our programme explain why we haven't done this.

Domestically, it does raise a number of ethical issues which is why the Prime Minister has asked Michael Gove to look at and review this and Michael has been consulting with parliamentarians with stakeholders on this issue.

And of course we're gonna run the pilots, the FA Cup Final, the semi final where initially, we will look at testing technology to see whether we can have mass events.

10.10am BST

The FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 are among the best performing indexes across Europe, up 1.4% and 1.2%, respectively.

9.34am BST

My colleague Jasper Jolly has the full story on Credit Suisse:

Credit Suisse has cancelled the bonuses of its directors, slashed its dividend and announced the departure of two senior executives as the bank revealed 3.4bn in losses from the collapse of the Archegos investment fund.

Related: Credit Suisse executives depart after Archegos and Greensill losses

9.21am BST

Credit Suisse shares are down nearly 0.4% but are rapidly recovering as investors digest the news of the dividends cut, the departing executives, bonus cuts and pending Q1 loss linked to Archegos and Greensill.

9.10am BST

Official figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show new car registrations in the UK rose 11.5% in March, compared to a year earlier, totalling 283,964 vehicles.

However, that is still -36.9% lower than the 10-year March average.

The only way is up for new car registrations as showrooms look to reopen

UK new car registrations grow' for first time since August - up 11.5% - but remain -36.9% adrift of 10-year March averagehttps://t.co/ddjZ9u44w9 pic.twitter.com/5tXPOYS37e

The past year has been the toughest in modern history and the automotive sector has, like many others, been hit hard.

However, with showrooms opening in less than a week, there is optimism that consumer confidence - and hence the market - will return.

9.01am BST

Back to Credit Suisse, shareholders are also being asked to shoulder some of the pain of the expected Q1 loss, linked to the collapse of Greensill and the fallout of the failed margin calls on Archegos Capital.

Credit Suisse is now proposing a dividend of just 0.10 Swiss francs per share, compared to previous plans for a 0.29 Swiss franc payout that was due to be distributed on 6 May.

Pain isn't over for Credit Suisse, and it seems like that the bank has many dark days ahead. Several high-level staff departures are announced today, and on top of that, the bank also announced that it would be proposing a dividend cut.

All of this is coming at a very wrong time. This is because now is when the banks should be attracting investors by hiking dividends as regulators have eased off some of the restrictions that they put in place since the financial crisis.

It will be difficult for investors to digest the departure news of two talented high-level staff members, such as the CEO Brian Chin and Chief Risk and Compliance Officer Lara Warner.

But someone had to be held accountable, and a hammer has fallen on these two individuals. Investors certainly do not like to see talent departure, but blunders have been made under the current circumstances, and people need to be held accountable.

8.44am BST

We're waiting for the official print on the SMMT new car registrations for March at 9am BST, but preliminary reports suggest car sales grew 11% last month compared to March 2020.

8.29am BST

AstraZeneca is one of the worst performers on the FTSE 100 this morning:

Will the AstraZeneca vaccine be recommended for only those over 30?

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi tells @LBC the drugs regulator the MHRA looks at things very carefully" and the Govt will do what it recommends.

Related: Report claims watchdog looking into use of AstraZeneca jab for under-30s

8.05am BST

And the belated print from Germany's DAX shows the index hitting a fresh record after opening 1.1% higher at the start of trading

8.02am BST

European stocks are off to a positive start in the first trading day since the Easter long weekend:

7.56am BST

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business.

Credit Suisse has kicked off the morning with a warning it will take a 4.4 billion Swiss franc hit (3.4bn) over the Archegos Capital fallout. It comes after the US hedge fund was forced to liquidate billions of dollars worth of positions after being hit by margin calls just over a week ago.

Following the significant US-based hedge fund matter, Brian Chin, CEO of the Investment Bank is stepping down from his role on the executive board, effective April 30, 2021.

Lara Warner, Chief Risk and Compliance Officer, is stepping down from her role on the executive board, effective April 6. Both of them will leave the bank.

The significant loss in our Prime Services business relating to the failure of a US-based hedge fund is unacceptable. In combination with the recent issues around the supply chain finance funds, I recognise that these cases have caused significant concern amongst all our stakeholders.

Together with the board of directors, we are fully committed to addressing these situations. Serious lessons will be learned. Credit Suisse remains a formidable institution with a rich history.

European Opening Calls:#FTSE 6781 +0.65%#DAX 15295 +1.24%#CAC 6153 +0.81%#AEX 716 +1.03%#MIB 24914 +0.83%#IBEX 8651 +0.85%#OMX 2228 +1.17%#STOXX 3978 +0.82%#IGOpeningCall