Good morning. The UK economy grew faster than expected in the second quarter. Apple’s AI plans include robots and a lifelike Siri. And start getting excited for a third Top Gun movie. Listen to the day’s top stories.
Donald Trump warned he would impose “very severe consequences” if Vladimir Putin didn’t agree to a ceasefire at tomorrow’s summit in Alaska. Trump also said he hoped to set up a quick second meeting that includes Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Bitcoin hit an all-time high as investors pushed deeper into risk-taking territory across world markets. Equities took a breather from the recent rally. JPMorgan strategists retained a bullish view on the euro, saying the currency may test $1.22 on slowing US growth concerns.
Check out our Markets Today live blog for all the latest news and analysis relevant to UK assets.
Short sellers are betting against Greggs at levels not seen since the global financial crisis, as the UK bakery chain struggles to convince investors that opening more shops will boost lackluster sales.
Greggs stock out on loan—an indication of short interest—reached 9% of shares outstanding as of Tuesday. That’s the highest since March 2008, with the bulk of this year’s activity occurring in the past four months.
“Short interest is ramping up,” said Jules Hull, founder of the short-focused equity research firm Dragoneye Research. “The business is committed to a massive expansion plan, which will likely cause like-for-like sales to deteriorate further.”
Greggs needs to recapture the lower income consumer market, a set of customers that have been trading up, according to Peel Hunt analyst Ruben Pathmanathan.
It also can’t increase its prices much further without the risk of meeting resistance, he said. The price of its well-known pork sausage roll recently hit £1.30, up 30% from 2021.
Londoners love tourists but, like other major cities, visitors shouldn’t get a free ride, Rosa Prince writes. A carefully targeted tourist tax—focused on London and wealthy visitors—will help Rachel Reeves raise around £500 million a year.
Tom Cruise at the UK Premiere of Top Gun: Maverick in 2022. Photographer: Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images Europe for Paramount Pictures
Of Paramount significance. New boss David Ellison wants to make a third Top Gun movie a priority, as well as more from Star Trek. He said he’ll create more content for the Paramount+ streaming service and produce as many as 20 films a year.
