Tesla chair denies Musk successor seek; Bank of Japan cuts forecasts on tariff surprise
Good morning, and welcome to our reside protection of industrial, economics and monetary markets.
Tesla’s chair has denied that the electrical automotive corporate is in search of a alternative for Elon Musk, after the billionaire spent a number of months specializing in serving Donald Trump even because the carmaker’s income slumped.
The US producer posted a observation on X, the social community owned via Musk, from chair Robyn Denholm announcing the corporate was once “highly confident in his ability to continue executing on the exciting growth plan ahead”, and claiming a document on imaginable successors was once “erroneous”.
It got here after a document via the Wall Street Journal that stated that “Board members reached out to several executive search firms to work on a formal process for finding Tesla’s next chief executive, according to people familiar with the discussions.” The document stated that the board individuals contacted the quest companies a month in the past, amid turmoil in Washington.
After Tesla reported a 9% drop in gross sales within the first quarter of 2025, Musk introduced that he would scale back his time main the so-called Department of Government Efficiency to concentrate on the carmaker.
Note a small however vital discrepancy between Denholm’s denial and the WSJ document: Denholm stated that it was once “absolutely false” that the “Tesla board had contacted recruitment firms”. The WSJ document recommended that “board members” made the contacts.
Bank of Japan cuts expansion forecasts on Trump price lists
Donald Trump’s tariff chaos will minimize financial expansion in Japan, the sector’s fourth-largest economic system, in keeping with new forecasts from its central financial institution.
The Bank of Japan minimize its financial expansion forecast for the fiscal 12 months finishing March 2026 to 0.5%, down from 1.1% projected 3 months in the past. It additionally slashed its expansion forecast to a 0.7% enlargement for the next fiscal 12 months from 1.0% in January, in keeping with Reuters. The Bank stated:
Japan’s financial expansion is more likely to average as industry and different insurance policies in every jurisdiction sluggish out of the country expansion and weigh on company income. Thereafter, Japan’s economic system will see expansion boost up as out of the country economies resume a average expansion trail.

The financial institution’s inflation forecast recommended that client costs would hit its goal of 2% annual expansion in opposition to the top of 2026, down from 3.6% in March 2025.
The time table
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9:30am BST: UK client credit score borrowing (March; earlier: £1.36bn; consensus: £1.2bn)
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9:30am BST: UK loan approvals (March; prev.: 65,481; cons.: 64,800)
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9:30am BST: US preliminary jobless claims (March; prev.: 222,000; cons.: 224,000)
Key occasions
‘No hurt’ in China attractive with White House industry manner, says Chinese state media
China could be open to talks on price lists with the USA after the White House approached it, in keeping with Chinese state media on social media.
Yuyuan Tantian, an account affiliated to CCTV, a state broadcaster, stated there was once “no harm” to China attractive with the USA, in keeping with a put up on Chinese social community Weibo. It cited nameless assets, announcing:
The US has proactively reached out to China via a couple of channels, hoping to carry discussions at the tariff factor.
Some warning over the document is also warranted. Reuters explains:
Yuyuan Tantian isn’t amongst China’s maximum authoritative state media retailers. The Global Times, which is owned via the newspaper of the governing Communist Party, People’s Daily, has ceaselessly been first to document China’s subsequent steps in industry disagreements during the last few years.
Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for China’s international ministry, on Wednesday stated: “as far as I know, there have been no consultations or negotiations between China and the U.S. on tariffs”.
What is obvious, alternatively, is that Donald Trump desires talks. His technique, reminiscent of it’s, seems to were hitting nations with large price lists with the intention to drive them right into a rushed negotiation. Trump stated the day prior to this there was once a “very good chance” of a handle China.
National Grid, the FTSE 100 corporate that owns the United Kingdom’s electrical energy community, has appointed Shell oil govt Zoë Yujnovich as leader govt after the retirement of John Pettigrew.
Yujnovich was once till just lately operating at FTSE 100 oil corporate Shell, the place she was once director of built-in gasoline and upstream (oil manufacturing) and a member of the manager committee. She in the past led the Iron Ore corporate of Canada, a part of Rio Tinto.
Pettigrew intends to retire after serving as leader govt for almost a decade.
Spain and Portugal’s large energy blackout on Monday have thrust public consideration on one thing that the power trade has been caution for a very long time: electrical energy grids want large funding to lead them to able for the transition clear of fossil fuels.
Yujnovich stated:
I firmly imagine within the essential serve as power firms play in using exchange and growing price. On either side of the Atlantic National Grid has an crucial function to play in making power protected, reasonably priced and dependable for our shoppers and communities. I’m fascinated with main National Grid because it delivers at the expansion alternatives forward.
Guess365 house owners believe £9bn sale of playing empire
The billionaire Coates circle of relatives in the back of Guess365 are weighing up a sale in their on-line playing empire that would price the industry at £9bn, the Guardian has discovered.
The corporate, headed via Denise Coates, has held talks with Wall Street banks and US advisers in contemporary weeks a couple of complete or partial sale, assets aware of the topic stated.
Informal discussions explored choices for a possible sale, together with a medium-term plan to go with the flow the industry on a US inventory change.
One possibility at the desk features a partial sale to a personal fairness investor, with the Coates circle of relatives maintaining a stake prior to an eventual list. It may just additionally see a spin-off of a part of the industry, fairly than a complete list of the Stoke-on-Trent-based company.
A 2d supply stated they have been additionally conscious about discussions with personal fairness teams about taking a pre-float stake.
One individual with wisdom of the talks stated Guess365 had reached the “beauty parade” degree, the place firms sound out banks they suspect may just lend a hand them extract most price from any deal.
Guess365 didn’t go back requests for remark.
You can learn the whole tale right here:
The FTSE 100 has fallen via a light 0.2% to 8,479 issues within the opening trades on Thursday.
Tesla chair denies Musk successor seek; Bank of Japan cuts forecasts on tariff surprise
Good morning, and welcome to our reside protection of industrial, economics and monetary markets.
Tesla’s chair has denied that the electrical automotive corporate is in search of a alternative for Elon Musk, after the billionaire spent a number of months specializing in serving Donald Trump even because the carmaker’s income slumped.
The US producer posted a observation on X, the social community owned via Musk, from chair Robyn Denholm announcing the corporate was once “highly confident in his ability to continue executing on the exciting growth plan ahead”, and claiming a document on imaginable successors was once “erroneous”.
It got here after a document via the Wall Street Journal that stated that “Board members reached out to several executive search firms to work on a formal process for finding Tesla’s next chief executive, according to people familiar with the discussions.” The document stated that the board individuals contacted the quest companies a month in the past, amid turmoil in Washington.
After Tesla reported a 9% drop in gross sales within the first quarter of 2025, Musk introduced that he would scale back his time main the so-called Department of Government Efficiency to concentrate on the carmaker.
Note a small however vital discrepancy between Denholm’s denial and the WSJ document: Denholm stated that it was once “absolutely false” that the “Tesla board had contacted recruitment firms”. The WSJ document recommended that “board members” made the contacts.
Bank of Japan cuts expansion forecasts on Trump price lists
Donald Trump’s tariff chaos will minimize financial expansion in Japan, the sector’s fourth-largest economic system, in keeping with new forecasts from its central financial institution.
The Bank of Japan minimize its financial expansion forecast for the fiscal 12 months finishing March 2026 to 0.5%, down from 1.1% projected 3 months in the past. It additionally slashed its expansion forecast to a 0.7% enlargement for the next fiscal 12 months from 1.0% in January, in keeping with Reuters. The Bank stated:
Japan’s financial expansion is more likely to average as industry and different insurance policies in every jurisdiction sluggish out of the country expansion and weigh on company income. Thereafter, Japan’s economic system will see expansion boost up as out of the country economies resume a average expansion trail.
The financial institution’s inflation forecast recommended that client costs would hit its goal of 2% annual expansion in opposition to the top of 2026, down from 3.6% in March 2025.
The time table
-
9:30am BST: UK client credit score borrowing (March; earlier: £1.36bn; consensus: £1.2bn)
-
9:30am BST: UK loan approvals (March; prev.: 65,481; cons.: 64,800)
-
9:30am BST: US preliminary jobless claims (March; prev.: 222,000; cons.: 224,000)