Oil prices softened on Tuesday, with markets weighing reports of mediation efforts between the U.S. and Iran against an exchange of fresh attacks between the two and threats of a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia by Yemen’s Houthis.

Brent crude futures eased 35 cents, or 0.4%, to $88.87 per barrel by 0052 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude ‌for September ⁠delivery was ⁠steady at $82.47 a barrel. Both contracts were trading below their highest levels in more than a month hit in the previous session.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said on Monday they would impose a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, opening a potential new front against the U.S. in its war on Iran and raising the threat to global energy supplies and trade beyond the Gulf.

“The threats of a naval ⁠blockade on ‌Saudi Arabia by the Houthis are significant because they raise the risk of disruption to another major oil exporter,” said Tim Waterer, chief ⁠market analyst at KCM Trade.

Separately, a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran had received a proposal from mediators for a 10-day ceasefire in efforts to salvage an interim deal signed on June 17, intended to pave the way for a lasting agreement to end the war that began on February 28 with U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran.

The diplomatic push followed another night of U.S. strikes on Iranian cities and attacks by Iran’s ‌Revolutionary Guards on U.S. military assets across the region. Later on Monday, U.S. Central Command said it had begun another round of strikes on Iran.
“(Oil) has come a ⁠long way already and it certainly has the potential to go higher again. However, in the short term the overnight talk of de-escalation and peace talks appears to be capping the upside for the time being. Whether anything comes from those peace talks remains to be seen,” IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said in a note. U.S. crude oil stockpiles were expected to have fallen last week alongside gasoline, while distillate stocks likely rose, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Monday.[EIA/S]

John Healey, the minister who walked out of Sir Keir Starmer’s cabinet in a row over defence spending, has been handed the nation’s chequebook. Andy Burnham has named him chancellor of the exchequer in the first major appointment of his premiership.

The choice will surprise business owners as much as it did Westminster. After weeks of deliberation over who would run the Treasury, the smart money had settled on Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, or Ed Miliband, the energy secretary. Healey’s name was, at best, an outside bet.

Yet the new chancellor is no stranger to the building. He served as economic secretary to the Treasury between 2002 and 2005, while Gordon Brown was chancellor under Tony Blair’s Labour government.

Nor is he a stranger to a fight over money. Healey resigned as defence secretary last month, accusing the prime minister of being “unable” and the Treasury of being “unwilling” to properly fund the defence investment plan. He now inherits the very department he condemned, along with every bill he once demanded it pay.

For the UK’s small and medium-sized firms, the reaction that matters arrived quickly, and it came with a warning attached. Louise Hellem, chief economist at the CBI, congratulated Healey on his appointment but made clear that a new name on the door changes little else.

“Business will be conscious that whilst there is now a new occupant at No. 11 Downing Street, the same challenges to unlock growth remain,” she said. “Maintaining business and investor confidence will be critical to delivering the growth needed to raise living standards and strengthen prosperity across the UK.”

Her prescription was specific. “That means staying committed to established fiscal rules, protecting capital investment, progressing the EU-UK reset and retaining a single fiscal event each year. At the same time, we must move quickly to accelerate key Industrial and Infrastructure Strategy commitments and deliver the Mansion House reforms.”

Those Mansion House reforms, the pension consolidation programme launched by Rachel Reeves, could unlock around £80 billion of investment for growing businesses and infrastructure. Delivering them now falls to Healey.

For smaller employers, the sharpest lines were on costs. “High energy costs and rising employment costs continue to act as a brake on growth, and we encourage the new administration to engage with the CBI’s proposals to tackle these issues,” Hellem said. The lobby group has already urged Burnham to make stripping green levies from business energy bills a day-one priority, with its joint blueprint with Energy UK arguing the move would cut bills by a fifth.

“Firms will also be looking for a review of the tax and regulatory system to ensure that it rewards investment and growth, rather than simply mounts further costs on hard-pressed businesses,” Hellem added. “The acid test for every major economic decision in the months ahead should be simple: will it make it easier for businesses to invest, hire, innovate and grow?”

She finished with the argument business has been making since Starmer’s exit prompted demands for an end to “drift and delay”: “Ultimately, tackling the cost-of-living crisis goes hand in hand with tackling the cost of doing business. If the government wants higher employment, lower inactivity and stronger public finances, it must create the conditions that give firms confidence to invest, expand and create jobs.”

Healey once quit because the Treasury would not spend. Business owners will soon discover what he does now that the chequebook is his.

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Mumbai: Japan’s SOMPO Insurance is in discussions to raise its stake in Universal SOMPO General Insurance to 51% from the current 34.61% by acquiring shares from existing Indian shareholders, people familiar with the talks told ET. Karnataka Bank and Dabur Investment Corp are among the other Universal stockholders in talks with the Japanese insurer, they said.

The proposed transaction would give SOMPO majority control of the joint venture, multiple sources said. “The discussions are still at an early stage. No structure has been finalised and it will depend on the willingness of existing shareholders to dilute,” said one of the people cited above.

Emails sent to SOMPO, Dabur Investment and Karnataka Bank seeking their comments remained unanswered until the publication of this report.

Besides SOMPO, Indian Bank owns 28.52%, Indian Overseas Bank 18.06%, Dabur Investments 12.81% and Karnataka Bank 6% in Universal SOMPO. SOMPO’s immediate objective is to cross the 51% ownership threshold, said people privy to the development.

The move comes as global insurers reassess their India strategy after the government liberalised foreign direct investment (FDI) norms in the insurance sector.

The new framework allows overseas insurers to fully own Indian insurance businesses, removing the earlier requirement of having a domestic joint venture partner.
While the regulatory change has made India more attractive for global insurers, securing additional stakes in existing ventures remains challenging as most domestic partners are strategic investors and the business has been performing well. Universal SOMPO has emerged as one of the faster-growing mid-sized general insurers in recent years.The company has expanded its gross written premium from around ₹2,500 crore six years ago to over ₹6,000 crore, while remaining profitable for the past five years and paying dividends for the last four. Its earnings before tax have also improved sharply over the period. The insurer has grown at 18% in FY26, growing faster than the industry, which grew at 9%.

The insurer requires additional capital over the next few years to support growth, maintain solvency and invest in technology and new product development as it expands its motor, health and commercial insurance businesses.

For SOMPO, increasing its ownership would provide greater operational flexibility and strengthen its position in one of the world’s fastest-growing insurance markets.

Asian equities advanced after three days of losses as a selloff in chip stocks eased ahead of megacap tech earnings this week.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.5%, with the Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbing 1.5% as trading resumed after a holiday Monday. Stocks in South Korea erased earlier losses to edge 0.2% higher. Earlier, a gauge of chip stocks in the US rebounded from last week’s selloff.

Elsewhere, the Canadian dollar held steady after the Trump administration vowed to impose a fresh 50% tariff on some of the country’s goods. The pound held its losses from the previous session as UK’s new prime minister Andy Burnham named former Defense Secretary John Healey to be his Chancellor of the Exchequer in a surprise move.

Brent crude fell 0.3% to about $89 a barrel as traders watched for disruptions to Saudi Arabian exports after Houthi rebels threatened to blockade a key export route through the Red Sea. Worries that higher energy costs could boost inflation spurred bond losses in the last session.

Elevated oil prices and escalating Middle East tensions are giving investors another reason for caution, adding to the rotation out of technology stocks after this year’s blistering rally. Focus is now shifting to megacap earnings later this week for clues on whether the AI-driven advance can be sustained.

“The Iran situation continues to roil markets,” said veteran strategist Louis Navellier. “This is holding back the stock gains that should be expected given the strong earnings trends.”
This week brings the first results from the US megacaps, and pressure is building for the companies to justify AI investments. Tesla Inc. and Alphabet Inc. kick off big tech’s reporting season Wednesday. Then, Microsoft Corp., Meta Platforms Inc., Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. hit the following week.In geopolitical news, UK gilts declined after Burnham unnerved investors over his approach to the country’s finances. The selloff on Monday pushed yields on long-dated gilts to their highest since late May after Burnham said he will seek “any flexibility” while following the government’s borrowing and spending rules.

Tariff concerns resurfaced after the Trump administration vowed to impose a fresh 50% levy on some Canadian goods, citing what it called unfair treatment of American alcohol, cars and dairy products, further inflaming trade tensions between the two neighbors.

If Trump follows through with the levies, which are set to take effect in 30 days, the move would mark one of the most severe trade actions he’s taken against the US’s second-largest trading partner.

Attention, however, remains firmly on the Middle East as US forces struck Iranian targets after President Donald Trump vowed Tehran “will pay” for killing three US soldiers.

On Monday, the Iran-backed Houthis said they would impose a ban on maritime traffic from Saudi Arabia, threatening the Red Sea route that has allowed the kingdom to export millions of barrels of crude a day via its cross-country pipeline bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.

Saudi Arabia said it would take all necessary measures to protect its ships following the threats by the Tehran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen.

“For stocks to rebound, we need some solid earnings from the key tech names this week, and de-escalation in Iran wouldn’t hurt,” said Tom Essaye at The Sevens Report.

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Mookie Betts has already influenced young players with his play over the years, and now they will be able to wear his glove.

Betts’ glove company, LGND, announced Monday a landmark partnership with Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, naming its glove the official glove of Perfect Game. The partnership will officially launch on July 27.

Betts told FOX Business that “it means a lot” that Perfect Game believed in him and his company.

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“It means a lot, man. It shows the belief that they have in my team, me, myself and the team, and what they have obviously, I think it’s really going to affect the young people coming up, cause they can show their personalities,” Betts told FOX Business in a recent interview.  

“They can look and see that hopefully, one day all the big league guys that have the different models and they can aspire to be them.”

Perfect Game Chairman Rick Thurman said the partnership is everything that represents what the youth baseball company is trying to be. 

“This partnership represents everything Perfect Game strives to deliver to athletes, which is access, authenticity and products shaped by the needs of players,” Thurman said in a news release. 

WORLD SERIES CHAMPION MOOKIE BETTS SAYS ATHLETES SHOULDN’T BE SEEN AS POLITICAL FIGURES: ‘WE GO OUT AND PLAY’

“Mookie is one of the most accomplished and respected players in baseball, but beyond that, he understands what young athletes value. LGND was built with those athletes in mind, and we believe this will redefine expectations for baseball equipment partnerships.”

The launch features premium glove lines, both of which were developed with player performance and feedback in mind. 

The “Mook Series” features Betts’ signature stamped in the palm, his game-worn colorway and the iconic 50 Tri-Star logo embroidered on the thumb, giving players an authentic connection to a future Hall of Famer.

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The “MVRK Series” delivers the same premium Japanese leather construction and craftsmanship in a collection designed for players who want professional-level performance with distinctive styling and versatility across multiple positions.

Betts said he has been using the glove all year and said the integrity of the glove has held up. His goal with LGND is to allow young kids to express themselves through a glove, while also ensuring it is well-crafted.

Betts is a four-time World Series champion, American League MVP winner, an eight-time All-Star, a seven-time Silver Slugger and a six-time Gold Glove winner. 

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Ollie Priestley is not just doing any mechanical apprenticeship.

Working at specialist car restoration business Tolman, Priestley, 29, has embarked on a “heritage vehicle technician” apprenticeship. He’s learning the skills to work on modern classic cars that need a mix of traditional and new techniques to restore.

New technologies are enabling those techniques – from computer-aided design (CAD) for new vehicle components, to 3D printing them, as well as learning the intricacies of a car’s electronic control units.

“I wanted to develop the skills that allowed me to work on the cars that I love and excite me, like the Peugeot 205 GTi,” says Leicestershire-based Priestley.

“Getting to know how to make things keeps me focused and engaged. I’ve just fabricated a gearbox mount for a classic BMW. It’s cool to know that the things I create will bring the car back to life.”

Tolman founder Chris Tolman says what Priestley is learning sets him apart from apprentices in mainstream car dealerships, who, due to digital tools, are increasingly becoming “just fitters”.

“The computer identifies the issue and they swap the part. For specialist car businesses, our technicians need to identify and understand a problem, and then be creative and innovative to find the answer,” says Tolman, who is based in Warwickshire.

Tolman’s point highlights an important question hanging over how trade apprentices are being taught today, as technology plays an increasingly bigger role.

As a result, apprenticeships are moving up the education value chain.

For example, Priestley’s three-year apprenticeship, which he is doing through the Heritage Skills Academy in Bicester (HSA), was introduced in 2018 to incorporate 3D printing and CAD amongst other digital skills, alongside essential skills like welding and glazing.

It is a level three apprenticeship offering the equivalent of three A-levels. It replaces the previous level two and three “classic vehicle framework” apprenticeship.

HSA managing director John Pitchforth says it’s “radically improved” as it combines “modern technology with engineering fundamentals”.

Government apprenticeship data also shows that the number of people starting level two intermediate apprenticeships have fallen by nearly a quarter over the past year, in favour of people starting higher level apprenticeships – level four to seven.

Level six and seven respectively equate to bachelors and masters degrees. Level three apprenticeship numbers have remained stable.

But with tech having a growing influence over the curriculum, are apprentices now just learning how to run computer software, at the expense of the actual skills of a specific trade?

HSA’s Pitchforth argues that the organisation’s apprentices come out highly skilled – perhaps more so than those from other programmes.

“When modern engineers come to us to transfer into our sector, they often lack the basic engineering principles and are unable to diagnose and repair vehicle systems without a computer telling them what’s wrong,” he says.

Did you get to see the 2024 film Civil War, with its dystopian depiction of a present day USA in the midst of a violent meltdown?

What made it such an effective thriller was that it all seemed so frighteningly real. Although the two sides in that civil war were fictitious, it hit a raw nerve precisely because of the very obvious divides that scar modern day America.

But interestingly it was actually written and directed by a British film-maker, Alex Garland, and he expressed worries about his home country, as well as the US. In both countries, he told the Guardian, “there’s a lot to be very concerned about”.

He’s not alone. If you are an avid user of social media, you could almost believe that we are a nation disunited enough to have a full-on civil war of our own. And even away from the exaggerated adversarialism online, there are plenty of people worried that Britain is gripped by uncontrollable rage.

It’s a sense of discord that Britain’s new prime minister, Andy Burnham, seems to recognise. Since announcing his run for the Makerfield seat in May, he’s repeatedly urged Britons to forget about party labels or factional identities and instead unite around pride in their local area. “Place first, not party first”, is how he puts it.

And as he entered Downing Street on Monday, he called for a “new national sense of unity, of common purpose and positivity”.

But it’s worth asking: just how divided really is Britain?

Jonathan Reynolds has been appointed secretary of state for business, innovation, science and trade, returning to the department he led at the start of Sir Keir Starmer’s government, as new prime minister Andy Burnham scraps the standalone science and technology department just three years after its creation.

The appointment hands Reynolds a substantially enlarged empire. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), created under Rishi Sunak in 2023, has been abolished, with the bulk of its responsibilities folded into the new super-ministry. According to the Financial Times, officials had been asked to move remaining functions to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, with oversight of AI in the public sector passing to cabinet secretary Antonia Romeo rather than a minister.

Reynolds held the business and trade brief from July 2024 until last September, when he handed the role to Peter Kyle and became chief whip, a job he made little secret of not enjoying. His first spell was defined by trade agreement negotiations and the emergency legislation that secured the future of British Steel’s blast furnaces, and he built strong relationships with employers and trade unions along the way.

For business owners, the return of a known quantity will be welcome. The manner of his arrival is another matter. Scrapping DSIT sparked a revolt among tech founders and investors within hours of the plans emerging, and the row now lands squarely on Reynolds’ desk.

The practical stakes are considerable. DSIT sponsored UKRI, the research funding body that sits above Innovate UK grants, as well as the Government Digital Service. All of that machinery now goes into flux just as firms are being urged to adopt AI and invest in innovation.

Julian Harris, chief executive of techUK, and Dom Hallas, executive director of Startup Coalition, called the proposal “the wrong change at the wrong time” in a letter to the new prime minister when the plans first surfaced.

Matt Clifford, who served as Starmer’s AI opportunities adviser, was blunter still. “This would be a big mistake,” he wrote on X. “Right now is a critical moment for tech as an economic and national security issue. Tying up our most senior science and tech officials in a reorg wastes time and energy that’s desperately needed for the actual substance.”

Burnham’s calculation is that a single, muscular business department serves his reindustrialisation agenda better than a separate science ministry. “I will be a pro-business leader of the Labour Party as I was a pro-business mayor of Greater Manchester,” he said in his first speech as Labour leader. One Labour figure told the FT the enlarged department could eventually be rebranded a “Ministry of Industry”.

Business groups are prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt, up to a point. Rain Newton-Smith, chief executive of the CBI, said: “We want Andy Burnham and his team to succeed. ‘Manchesterism’ provides a coherent theory of growth… The challenge is execution.”

That word, execution, is the one for SME owners to hold on to. Sentiment towards the new administration is fragile, with just 13 per cent of firms expecting taxes to fall under Labour’s new leadership. Reynolds inherits goodwill from his first stint, but also a department mid-rewiring, a tech sector in open dissent and a grants system that thousands of growing firms need to keep functioning while the nameplates change.

His first job is proving that a bigger department means a stronger champion for business, not a slower one.

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