Business news live: Klarna IPO success compared to Wise struggles, Elon Musk regains richest person tag – but only just – UK Times

Let’s look back again at the Klarna deal – perhaps unsurprisingly after yesterday’s day one surge, pre-market trading has the payments firm down around 3 per cent.

Yet its opening popularity cannot be ignored, particularly in the context of fintech firms picking New York over London, as one expert points out.

“Klarna’s decision to push ahead with an IPO in the US at a valuation of around $15bn (around £11bn), followed by an initial share price pop which saw its market cap balloon to around $19bn before settling around $17bn, highlights exactly why tech stocks are deciding to shun the UK market,” said George Sweeney, investing expert at personal finance site Finder.

“It’s hard not to draw comparisons with what was once the UK’s payment fintech darling, Wise.

“With roots in Estonia, Wise decided on a direct listing of its shares on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) back in July 2021 at a valuation of roughly £8bn. In the four years since then, after plenty of ups and downs, Wise has only managed to add £3.84bn to its market cap for a total valuation of £11.84bn.

“Potentially as a result of lacklustre investor interest, Wise recently made the decision to move its primary listing to the US.

“Contrast that with Klarna, of Swedish origins, who decided to avoid the UK stock market entirely and instead headed to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

“Almost immediately it added $4bn onto its starting IPO valuation, almost achieving as much growth in 4 hours as Wise managed in 4 years.

“Of course, this is just the beginning, and there’s sure to be plenty of volatility for Klarna’s share price and valuation over the coming weeks and months; but it’s clear to see the deep liquidity and investing appetite for US-listed tech stocks makes the UK appear less appealing to up-and-coming companies by the day.”

The FTSE 100 is up 0.41 per cent this morning and it was slightly higher than that an hour ago too.

Such a strong showing in early trading is down to defence stocks being in demand again, BAE Systems leading the way with a 3.4 per cent rise.

“The UK’s FTSE 100 led the charge in Europe as defence and energy stocks were at the top of investors’ buy lists,” said AJ Bell’s Russ Mould.

“Ongoing geopolitical tensions have led investors to have confidence in the defence sector, believing earnings prospects are strong given a fragile backdrop. BAE Systems’ share price has risen by 45% over the past 12 months and up 271% over five years.

“Oil producers Shell and BP were in demand despite oil prices taking a breather from the recent rally. The industry is undertaking a broad cost-cutting exercise, slashing jobs and pausing projects. However, big oil companies are still making profits, and dividends and buybacks are not under threat at current oil price levels, hence ongoing investor interest in the sector.”

Rachel Reeves has been urged not to give consumers more money worries in her November Budget, with Primark’s boss warning customers are already taking the hit for tough business conditions.

George Weston is the chief executive of Associated British Foods (ABF), a £14bn British-listed conglomerate firm which, as well as owning Primark, is the parent of food businesses such as Kingsmill and Twinings, and is one of the biggest sugar producers in the world.

Speaking after ABF’s latest financial results emerged, he warned the chancellor that, while food inflation should be easing from this point onwards, businesses have had no choice but to keep passing on increased costs to customers this year.

The gold price has soared to a new record high amid concerns about the impact of President Trump’s radical trade policies.

This week, the yellow metal’s price reached $3,600 per troy ounce (the unit used to weigh precious metals), up 42 per cent higher from a year ago.

That upward march could continue further, with December futures markets tipping $3,700 already and some experts predicting it could pass $4,000 by next year.

But “buy low, sell high” is the age-old investment advice. So, for those who haven’t yet invested, is it too late?

Let’s preface this post by acknowledging we’re speaking in relative terms: one billion dollars is a hefty amount for you and I.

But for the richest two people on the planet it’s around 0.25 per cent of their total net worth – so think in terms of about £25 if you’ve got ten grand in the bank.

For a long while Tesla’s Elon Musk has been way out in front as richest person – but yesterday’s monster surge on the stock market for Oracle means co-founder Larry Ellison caught him up and, briefly, overtook him.

But despite finishing 36 per cent up for the day, Oracle did pull back on a little of the earlier gains, meaning Ellison’s fortune dipped just enough to put Musk back on top today.

Bloomgberg’s Billionaire Index – widely acknowledged as the authority on net worths – has the two thus, this morning:

1. Elon Musk, $384bn (£284.1bn)
2. Larry Ellison, $383bn (283.3bn)

Next on the list Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg – a full $120bn further back.

The buy now pay later firm Klarna had their first day as a publicly traded company on Wednesday, with last night’s closing price more than 14 per cent up to give it a total market capitalisation value of $17.3bn (£12.8bn).

It marks a wildly successful start for the company on the stock market, with the past few years having been tricky to navigate for firms hoping to go public.

The move has also drawn comparisons with payments transfer firm Wise, who have spoken of an intent to move from London to New York.

The John Lewis Partnership (JLP) has posted an £88 million loss for the past half-year after being hit by increases to national insurance contributions and packaging taxes.

However, the employee-owned group, which runs the John Lewis department store chain and Waitrose grocery business, said it is still “well positioned” to deliver profit growth for the full year.

It said pre-tax losses before exceptional items grew to £34 million for the 26 weeks to July 26.

Whether you’re ordering drinks to your table in a pub or want to pay for car parking, QR codes make life simple.

A quick scan of a black-and-white grid on your mobile phone takes you straight to a website to carry out the transaction.

But that harmless-looking square can now hide a cunning scam.

Morning all – another weekend is fast approaching but there’s a lot to get through before then on the business and money side.

Tomorrow in the UK we’ll get GDP figures of course, but today there’s reaction to Klarna’s successful listing as a public company, the UK government getting hammered by both domestic and overseas companies and plenty more besides.