Wizz Air issues profits warning due to Middle East crisis; China ‘tells refiners to halt diesel and gasoline exports’ – business live
The travel disruption, the higher oil price and the fall in the euro caused by the Iran war has prompted low-cost airline Wizz Air to issue a profits warning,Wizz Air warned investors last night that it believes the current crisis in the Middle East will wipe €50m off its profits this financial years,Wizz had previously predicted that earnings would fall within a profit of €25m to a loss of €25m, so today’s warning means it expects a loss for the year,The company told the City:double quotation markIn terms of the expected impact, approximately one third is a result of the cessation of certain scheduled services to the Middle East, with the remainder from the adverse movement in macroeconomic factors as a result of the Iran conflict,Our assessment of the impact of these macroeconomic factors is based on jet fuel and US$/€ rates as of today, and assumes that these rates will remain at current levels for rest of Fiscal Year 2026.
The US-Israel war with Iran could disrupt supplies of key semiconductor manufacturing materials, a South Korean ruling party lawmaker said on Thursday.South Korea’s chip industry – which supplies around two-thirds of global memory chips – was also concerned that a prolonged conflict in Iran would lead to higher energy costs and prices, Kim Young-bae said after meeting executives from companies such as Samsung Electronics and trade groups.“Officials raised a possibility that semiconductor production could be disrupted if some of these key materials cannot be sourced from the Middle East,” he said at a press briefing cited by Reuters.He added that South Korean firms sourced some key chip-making materials such as helium from the Middle East.Our Middle East crisis liveblog has more details:The oil price is rising again this morning.
Brent crude is up 2.75% at $83.68 a barrel, approaching the 19-month high hit on Monday.Deutsche Bank analysts say oil is rising because there are no signs of de-escalation yet in the Middle East conflict, telling clients:double quotation markThat comes as the IRGC said they would intensify and expand strikes in the coming days, while the US confirmed it had sunk an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka.There was also little clarity over the war’s potential length, with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saying “it could be six, it could be eight, it could be three” weeks.
There’s also uncertainty on when shipping will resume through the Strait of Hormuz, and we’ve seen signs of oil importers beginning to adjust behaviour.For example, Bloomberg reported overnight that China had told the biggest oil refiners to suspend exports of diesel and gasoline.Bloomberg are reporting that China’s government has told the country’s largest oil refiners to suspend exports of diesel and gasoline, due to disruption to crude supplies.It’s a sign that the slowdown in oil shipments out of the Middle East this week is starting to impact Asia-Pacific economies.Bloomberg report:double quotation markOfficials from the National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s top economic planner, met refinery executives and verbally called for a temporary suspension of refined product shipments that would begin immediately, according to people familiar with the matter.
The refiners were asked to stop signing new contracts and to negotiate the cancellation of already-agreed shipments.The travel disruption, the higher oil price and the fall in the euro caused by the Iran war has prompted low-cost airline Wizz Air to issue a profits warning.Wizz Air warned investors last night that it believes the current crisis in the Middle East will wipe €50m off its profits this financial years.Wizz had previously predicted that earnings would fall within a profit of €25m to a loss of €25m, so today’s warning means it expects a loss for the year.The company told the City:double quotation markIn terms of the expected impact, approximately one third is a result of the cessation of certain scheduled services to the Middle East, with the remainder from the adverse movement in macroeconomic factors as a result of the Iran conflict.
Our assessment of the impact of these macroeconomic factors is based on jet fuel and US$/€ rates as of today, and assumes that these rates will remain at current levels for rest of Fiscal Year 2026.Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.The Middle East conflict continues to grip the markets.After heavy losses earlier this week, Asia-Pacific stocks have bounced back today.MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan jumped by 3.
9% today.South Korea’s KOSPI, which posted its biggest ever fall on Tuesday (-12%), has surged by almost 10% today.Japan’s Nikkei is up 1.9%.Markets are looking calmer, and more positive, reports Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone.
double quotation markThat news flow has leaned net positive over the last day or so, although kinetic action continues in the Middle East, not only with President Trump having touted insurance guarantees, and potential navy escorts for tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, but also amid reporting (which was later denied) that Iran had reached out to the US via various back-channels to engage in discussions regarding an end to the war,Airline shares are among the risers, as more flights take off from the Middle East,Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways is up 1,34% in late trading, while Australia’s Qantas Airways has gained 1%,9am GMT: UK car sales for February9.
30am GMT: UK construction PMI for February1,30pm GMT: US initial jobless claims
Rachel Reeves should scrap the North Sea windfall tax now
The chancellor’s failure to reform or remove the energy profits levy (EPL) – AKA the North Sea windfall tax – in her spring forecast was a case of “political expediency and more to do with putting one byelection result before the economic needs of the country”. Who said that? Some Tory or Reform politician being opportunist as war in Iran puts the UK’s energy import dependency in the spotlight?Actually, no, it was the general secretary of the GMB union, Gary Smith, on Wednesday, demonstrating once again that views on the North Sea oil and gas do not fit neatly into a left-right divide. He has been making the principled case for an orderly transition in energy for ages, warning that decarbonising via deindustrialising costs jobs and will end up pushing voters rightwards.As it happens, one suspects Rachel Reeves’ silence on the EPL in her statement – despite heavy Westminster rumours that something was in the offing – was probably also motivated by war in Iran and spikes in the prices of oil and gas. It is harder, politically speaking, to reform a windfall tax if there is a chance that windfall conditions are returning
How will war in the Middle East affect your finances?
The war in the Middle East is thousands of miles away, but gyrations in financial markets and surging energy prices threaten a new cost of living crisis in the UK.Here is how it could affect your finances.Mortgage holders benefited from cheaper home loans in recent months after the Bank of England cut interest rates four times in 2025 to bring the base rate down to 3.75%. But that could be about to change
South West Water admits criminal offence over Devon parasite outbreak
A major utility company has admitted supplying water unfit for human consumption after a parasite outbreak in Devon made almost 150 people sick.South West Water (SWW) pleaded guilty to the criminal offence relating to the cryptosporidiosis outbreak in Brixham, Devon, which affected 2,500 homes.Almost 150 cases of illness were confirmed in spring 2024, with some people needing hospital treatment, and many residents say the impacts of the outbreak are still being felt.During an hour-long hearing at Exeter magistrates court, the company pleaded guilty to an offence under the Water Industry Act 1991. It will be sentenced in June and faces a fine of hundreds of thousands of pounds
UK motor fuel prices rise since Middle East conflict began, and energy bills could jump 10% in July – as it happened
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.The dust is settling after Rachel Reeves’s spring forecast statement yesterday, which showed that growth will be weaker than hoped this year while unemployment will be higher.While the chancellor claimed the UK could ‘beat the forecasts again’, economists are concerned that the ongoing Middle East crisis will hurt the economy, and household finances, badly.The Resolution Foundation have just released their overnight analysis of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecast.The good news? The UK is set for a “decent”, one-off increase in living standards this year, and a bumper rise for lower-income families
War in Middle East ‘could wipe out growth in UK living standards’
The Middle East crisis could trigger an energy price shock that more than wipes out the £300 rise in living standards a typical working-age household could otherwise expect this year, a leading thinktank has warned.The Resolution Foundation said a “decent” one-off increase in average living standards in 2026 and a bumper rise for lower-income households could be reversed by rising oil and gas prices as the Iran conflict disrupts supplies.However, if the recent jump in energy prices persists, the foundation said all the gains could be wiped out.While the effect may not be as large as the increase caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which sent the cost of food, oil and gas soaring, a rise this year in oil and gas prices could add a percentage point to UK inflation and £500 on typical annual energy bills, it said.The UK’s reliance on gas from the Middle East makes it especially vulnerable to an effective blockade of the strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world’s liquid natural gas is transported
European stock markets rally after report of ‘secret outreach’ by Iran to try to end war
European stock markets have rallied on a report claiming Iran is engaging in a “secret outreach” to end the war in the Middle East, after several days of heavy losses on indices around the world.The New York Times reported that a day after the attacks began, operatives from Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence indirectly contacted the CIA with an offer to discuss terms for ending the conflict.Officials briefed on the backchanneling are, however, sceptical – at least in the short-term – that either the Trump administration or Iran is really ready for an off-ramp, the report said. There are also questions over whether any Iranian officials could negotiate a ceasefire agreement, as Israeli strikes have taken out many senior figures.The report helped push up the UK’s FTSE 100 share index by nearly 70 points, or 0
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