\n<\/p>\n
Brent crude has risen above $110 a barrel again, after Donald Trump<\/strong> warned Iran \u201ca whole civilization will die tonight\u201d if Iran does not make an agreement.<\/p>\n Brent, the global oil benchmark, has see-sawed in volatile markets today, and is now up 0.8% at $110.67 a barrel.<\/p>\n Writing on Truth Social, the US president said:<\/p>\n double quotation markA whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don\u2019t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?<\/p>\n We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!<\/p>\n The US has hit Kharg Island again ahead of Trump\u2019s deadline, an AP source has reported.<\/strong><\/p>\n Earlier Iran\u2019s Mehr news agency said US-Israeli strikes had hit the key Iranian oil export terminal.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a010.37 EDT<\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n <\/span>Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Stock markets are falling, while oil prices have increased as Donald Trump<\/strong>\u2019s deadline approaches for Iran to make a deal and reopen the strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n The US president has given Tehran until 8pm in Washington (1am London time), and warned in his latest post on Truth Social today:<\/p>\n double quotation markA whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don\u2019t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?<\/p>\n We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!<\/p>\n Investors are growing increasingly anxious as Trump has stepped up his threats against Iran, demanding that it reopen the key shipping route as part of any deal to stop the war.<\/p>\n Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, was up 0.88% at $110.75 a barrel in mid afternoon trading in Europe, while New York light crude rose 3.8% to $116.66 a barrel.<\/p>\n Wall Street stocks fell at the open, with the Dow Jones down 0.5%, the S&P 500 faling 0.7% and the Nasdaq losing 1%. The FTSE 100 index in London traded 0.8% lower at 10,354, down 81 points. Major European markets declined between 0.6% (CAC, Ibex) and 1.4% (Dax).<\/p>\n The oil and \u200cgas crisis triggered by the blockade of the strait of Hormuz is \u201cmore serious than the ones in 1973, \u200b1979 and 2022 together\u201d, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) has said.<\/strong><\/p>\n Fatih Birol<\/strong>, the executive director of the IEA, told \u2060Le Figaro newspaper that the impact of the Middle East conflict on the oil market was larger than the combined force of the twin oil shocks of the 1970s and the fallout from Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n Birol also said the countries most at risk were developing nations, \u200cwhich \u2060would suffer from higher oil and gas prices, higher food prices and a general acceleration of inflation, while European countries, Japan and Australia would also feel an impact.<\/p>\n Our other main stories :<\/p>\n Thank you for reading. We\u2019ll be back tomorrow. Take care out there! \u2013 JK<\/em><\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a010.46 EDT<\/p>\n Demand for US durable goods declined in February from January, according to delayed data published by the US Commerce Department.<\/strong><\/p>\n Total orders for durable goods, which comprise goods meant to last three years or more, were $315.5bn in February, down 1.4% from January. This was worse than the 1.1% fall expected by economists. The January figure was revised downwards, showing a 0.5% decline from December.<\/p>\n Transportation equipment drove February\u2019s decline, down 5.4%. Excluding transportation, new orders increased by 0.8%, the Commerce Department said.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Wall Street has opened lower, with the Dow Jones falling more than 100 points, or 0.2%, to 46,565, the S&PP 500 losing nearly 19 points, or 0.3%, to 6,593, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq down 93 points, or 0.4%, at 21,903.<\/p>\n Brent crude briefly dipped below $110 a barrel again, and is now trading 0.57% higher at $110.44 a barrel, ahead of Donald Trump\u2019s threat to eliminate \u201ca whole civilization\u201d tonight if Iran does not play ball and reopens the strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Brent crude has risen above $110 a barrel again, after Donald Trump<\/strong> warned Iran \u201ca whole civilization will die tonight\u201d if Iran does not make an agreement.<\/p>\n Brent, the global oil benchmark, has see-sawed in volatile markets today, and is now up 0.8% at $110.67 a barrel.<\/p>\n Writing on Truth Social, the US president said:<\/p>\n double quotation markA whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don\u2019t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?<\/p>\n We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!<\/p>\n The US has hit Kharg Island again ahead of Trump\u2019s deadline, an AP source has reported.<\/strong><\/p>\n Earlier Iran\u2019s Mehr news agency said US-Israeli strikes had hit the key Iranian oil export terminal.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a010.37 EDT<\/p>\n Lauren Almeida<\/span><\/p>\n BP<\/strong> shareholders should vote against its new chair, a major proxy adviser has said, over his decision to exclude a climate resolution from its next annual meeting.<\/p>\n Glass Lewis has advised investors to vote against Albert Manifold<\/strong>, who has been in his post for just six months, according to a note seen by Reuters.<\/p>\n The institution, which advises some of the biggest investors in the world, said its recommendation was based on BP\u2019s decision to exclude a proposal to share its longer-term strategy under scenarios of declining oil and gas demand, according to Reuters.<\/p>\n The resolution was tabled by the climate activist shareholder group Follow This<\/strong>, which would have prompted the company and its shareholders to discuss the issue at BP\u2019s annual general meeting on 23 April.<\/p>\n BP, which is one of the biggest oil majors in the world, is in the process of pivoting its focus back to oil and gas after an ill-received foray into renewables.<\/p>\n Manifold, who previously ran the building material company CRH<\/strong>, joined the business in October with a promise to help the BP \u201creach its full potential\u201d. This month Meg O\u2019Neill, a former executive at the US oil major ExxonMobil, became chief executive of the business \u2013 the fourth boss since 2023, and the first woman to ever fill the role.<\/p>\n Glass Lewis said the board\u2019s decision to exclude the resolution from its upcoming AGM \u201cfurther raises questions about transparency, shareholder communication, and responsiveness to shareholder concerns\u201d, according to Reuters.<\/p>\n Manifold said on BP\u2019s website that the board had concluded the proposal by Follow This was not valid and would be ineffective if it were to pass at the AGM.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Stamp prices in the UK have gone up today, with the cost of a first class stamp jumping by 10p to \u00a31.80.<\/p>\n The price of a second class stamp has risen by 4p to 91p. Any stamps bought before today\u2019s price increases remain valid and can still be used for postage.<\/p>\n The increases come despite Royal Mail<\/strong>\u2019s repeated failures to meet its delivery targets and growing concerns over its service performance. It admitted in February that it had missed delivery targets again in the most recent quarter.<\/p>\n The cost of a first class stamp has now more than doubled in the past six years in eight increases, while a second class stamp has gone up in price six times.<\/p>\n Announcing the decision last month, Royal Mail \u2013 whose owner International Distribution Services<\/strong> (IDS) was bought last June for \u00a33.6bn by Czech billionaire Daniel K\u0159et\u00ednsk\u00fd<\/strong>\u2019s EP Group<\/strong> said the price changes reflected the continued rise in the cost of delivery with letter volumes down and the number of addresses going up.<\/p>\n <\/span>Christmas cards being posted from a red post box in Brighton during the Royal Mail strikes of December 2022 in the UK.<\/span> Photograph: Simon Dack\/Alamy<\/p>\n Richard Travers<\/strong>, managing director of letters at Royal Mail, said:<\/p>\n double quotation markWe always consider price changes very carefully, balancing affordability with the rising cost of delivering mail. The last time Royal Mail met its annual target for delivering first class post on time was in 2019-20. It wants to \u201curgently move forward\u201d with reforms to the service.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.45 EDT<\/p>\n The oil and \u200cgas crisis triggered by Iran\u2019s effective blockade of the strait of Hormuz is \u201cmore serious than the ones in 1973, \u200b1979 and 2022 together\u201d, according to the \u200bhead of the International Energy Agency (IEA).<\/p>\n Fatih Birol<\/strong>, the IEA\u2019s executive director, told France\u2019s \u2060Le Figaro newspaper:<\/p>\n double quotation markThe world has never experienced \u200ba disruption to energy supply of such magnitude.<\/p>\n He said European countries, as \u200bwell Japan, Australia and others will suffer, \u200bbut the countries most at risk are developing nations \u200cwhich \u2060will be hit hard by sharply higher oil and gas prices, higher food prices and a general increase in inflation.<\/p>\n IEA member countries agreed last month to release \u200bpart of \u200btheir strategic \u2060reserves, in a bid to rein in the surge in crude oil prices. Some of this has been released and the process \u200bcontinues, Birol said.<\/p>\n <\/span>Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Fatih Birol.<\/span> Photograph: Yuichi Yamazaki\/EPAShare<\/p>\n New car sales in the UK rose by 6.6% year on year in March, as electric vehicles had their best month ever from orders placed before the Iran war.<\/p>\n However, EV sales will fall far short of the government-mandated target for 2026, industry warned, calling for a review of the government\u2019s energy transition strategy.<\/p>\n Some 380,627 new vehicles were registered in March, which is typically the busiest month of the year because of the number plate change, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). It was the best month overall since 2019.<\/p>\n Growth was driven primarily by private buyers, whose registrations rose 10.1% to 162,470 units. Fleet registrations increased 3.5% to 208,853 units, while the smaller business sector grew 18.8% to 9,304 units.<\/p>\n Electric vehicles accounted for 196,059 registrations. Plug-in hybrid sales rose 46.9% to take a 13% market share, while hybrid electric vehicles increased 7.3% to take 15.8% of the market.<\/p>\n Battery electric vehicles reached a new record, up 24.2% to 86,120 sales. However, with a market share of only 22.6% for the month, and 22.4% year to date, uptake is now even further adrift of the government\u2019s zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate target of 33% for 2026.<\/p>\n Tesla<\/strong>\u2019s sales in the UK rose 20% to 8,599 units, trailing behind Chinese rival BYD<\/strong>, whose sales jumped <\/strong>133% to 15,162 vehicles.<\/p>\n Mike Hawes<\/strong>, the SMMT chief executive, said:<\/p>\n double quotation markThe strongest new car market since 2019, with the highest ever volume of EV registrations, is a boost to the industry and the economy. However, the headlines belie the costs incurred and the challenges involved. Much of March\u2019s performance will be from orders placed before the start of the Iran conflict, which threatens to raise the cost of living, undermining consumer confidence.<\/p>\n Against this backdrop, and with the EV market falling further away from mandated levels despite record levels of incentives, an urgent review of the transition is required to secure a sustainable market, economic growth and the UK\u2019s net zero ambitions.<\/p>\n Despite rising EV volumes, conditions have diverged sharply from those assumed when the mandate was set. At the start of 2026, battery costs were more than 30% higher than expected and industrial energy prices around 80% above 2021 levels, while public charging can cost over 140% more than five years ago.<\/p>\n Future costs and demand are even more uncertain given the Iran crisis, which may spark interest in EVs but risks pushing up energy and supply chain costs, undermining consumer confidence.<\/p>\n While government has sought to support the market, through the introduction of the electric car grant, manufacturers are still forced to shoulder \u201cunsustainable costs to comply with the regulation when natural demand lags ambition,\u201d the SMMT said.<\/p>\n Having invested billions in the technology and products to deliver a choice of more than 160 EV models, manufacturers are relying heavily on discounting to stimulate demand.<\/p>\n <\/span>People look at BYD EV cars on display at a mall roadshow in Singapore on 30 March.<\/span> Photograph: Edgar Su\/ReutersShare<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.38 EDT<\/p>\n Prices at the pump rose further over the Easter weekend, on the back of a surge in oil prices since the start of the Iran war on 28 February.<\/p>\n RAC head of policy Simon Williams<\/strong> said:<\/p>\n double quotation markWhile the four-day Easter weekend will have been a good break for many, it\u2019s proved bad for fuel prices with both petrol and diesel going up significantly yet again.<\/p>\n Over the course of the bank holiday weekend, petrol went up 2.6p a litre to 157.02p and diesel by 4.2p to 189.42p. Diesel looks set to go through the 190p-a-litre mark on Wednesday which would then mean it\u2019s only 9p away from the record high set on 25 June 2022 (199.09p), he said.<\/p>\n double quotation markDrivers \u2013 particularly those who rely on diesel which is up by a third since the start of the conflict \u2013 are facing a torrid time, even with the current 5p-a-litre duty discount in place. Many will no doubt be looking to the government to go further to ease the pain they\u2019re experiencing at the pumps.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Easter delivered a welcome boost for UK retailers, as warmer weather and local events pulled people into towns and cities, especially on Easter Monday.<\/p>\n Despite storm Dave, which brought strong winds, rain and some snow to parts of the UK, visitor numbers rose by 3.4% over the Easter weekend compared with this time last year, according to a report from the real estate software firm mri. The run-up to Easter had been more subdued.<\/p>\n People flocked to high streets where visits jumped 21.1% on Easter Monday alone, and were up 4.1% over the weekend. Retail parks and shopping centres also saw a lift, with visits up by 5.2% and 9% respectively on Easter Monday.<\/p>\n Coastal and historic towns were especially busy, while central London and regional cities also saw solid growth.<\/p>\n However, Clive Black, head of consumer research at Shore Capital, was cautious about the outlook, given the escalating Iran war and surge in energy prices and other costs.<\/strong><\/p>\n double quotation markWhat a difference a year makes, eh? Easter 2025 was wall-to-wall sunshine and so sold-out garden centre bays, full price spring-summer clothes sales whilst the BBQ was well on the go. Spring 2026? Storm Dave in northern Britain blowing the heads off tulips , Glasgow Celtic playing Livingston in snow, whilst BBQs were for only the hardiest.<\/p>\n More to the point, war in Iran, diesel at nearly 200p a litre, the prospect of rising inflation, and a pause in any UK base rate cuts. Tough comparatives and easing discretionary spending capabilities will condition many near-term trading statements, most clearly Tesco with its 16 April preliminary results albeit M&S too in the absence of disruption.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.14 EDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Brent crude back above $110 on latest Trump comments Brent crude has risen above $110 a barrel again, after Donald Trump warned Iran \u201ca whole civilization will die tonight\u201d if Iran does not make an agreement. Brent, the global oil benchmark, has see-sawed in volatile markets today, and is now up 0.8% at $110.67 a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48006,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[303,2257,84,132,2972,2884,268,8321,1748,81,23798],"class_list":{"0":"post-48005","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-deadline","10":"tag-iran","11":"tag-live","12":"tag-looms","13":"tag-markets","14":"tag-oil","15":"tag-reopen","16":"tag-strait","17":"tag-trump","18":"tag-volatile"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=48005"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48005\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/48006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Closing summary<\/h2>\n
Wall Street falls ahead of Trump deadline<\/h2>\n
Brent crude back above $110 on latest Trump comments<\/h2>\n
BP investors urged to vote against new chair<\/h2>\n
UK stamp prices go up despite Royal Mail’s missed delivery targets<\/h2>\n
On average, UK adults now spend just \u00a36.50 each year on stamps and there are 70% fewer letters sent than 20 years ago.
In the meantime, the number of addresses we deliver to has increased by 4m to 32m addresses across the UK.<\/p>\nIEA head: oil and gas crisis ‘more serious than the ones in 1973, \u200b1979 and 2022 together’<\/h2>\n
UK new car sales jump in March driven by electric vehicles<\/h2>\n
UK prices at the pump rise over Easter weekend<\/h2>\n
UK highstreets busy over Easter weekend despite storm Dave<\/h2>\n