Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy,The number of British billionaires has fallen, as the super-rich are hit by stock market turbulence and the end of tax breaks for non-doms,The Sunday Times’s annual totting-up of Britain’s richest people, just published shows that the number of billionaires slid to 156 this year from 165 in 2024,That’s the sharpest decline in the Rich List’s 37-year-history,The Sunday Times reports that “falling fortunes” have led many to drop off the list, while others are no longer eligible, having “fled Britain after Labour’s non-dom crackdown”.

Robert Watts, compiler of the Rich List, says:“Our billionaire count is down and the combined wealth of those who feature in our research is falling.“We are also finding fewer of the world’s super rich are coming to live in the UK.”In March 2024, then-chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced plans to axe the UK’s tax breaks for non-doms, which allowed foreign nationals who live in the UK to avoid paying UK tax on their overseas income and gains.One London-based billionaire non-dom left the UK for good on the day of Hunt’s announcement, a tax advisor revealed.Rachel Reeves tightened the policy in her first budget, before then softening the changes in an attempt to woo the rich.

The Sunday Times has calculated that the combined wealth of the 350 entries on the Rich List has dropped by 3% over the last year, to £772.8bn, the third consecutive drop in collective value.The entry level flatlines at £350m.For the fourth successive year, the list is topped by Indian-born industrialist Gopi Hinduja, 85, and family with a fortune of £35.3bn, down from £37.

1bn in 2024 due to the drop in the value of their stock market-listed companies,Overall, the Hinduja’s companies operate in automotive, oil and speciality chemicals, banking and finance, IT, cybersecurity, healthcare, trading, infrastructure project development, media and entertainment, power, and real estate,David and Simon Reuben and family have risen to second place, with £26,8bn (up from £25bn last year) overtaking Sir Leonard Blavatnik, whose wealth has dropped to £25,725bn (from £29.

2bn) due to a drop in his stake in Warner Music Group,There are some eye-catching fallers on the list too, including businessman Sir Jim Ratcliffe.He’s dropped from 4th to 7th, after his wealth declined to £17bn from £23,5bn in 2024.Britain’s billionaires will have gained wealth in the last few weeks as global stock markets recovered from their plunge in early April, when Donald Trump launched his global trade war.9.30am BST: Hong Kong GDP report for Q1 202510am BST: Eurozone trade balance report for March1.

30pm BST: US building permits and housing starts data for April3pm BST: University of Michigan survey of US consumer sentiment for May (flash estimate)Time to recapUS consumer sentiment has fallen again as fears over tariffs drive up inflation expectations,The University of Michigan’s preliminary May sentiment index has declined to 50,8 from 52,2 a month earlier, weaker than forecast, as trade war fears hit the US economy,Economists are hopeful that sentiment will improve, though, now that the US and China have paused their trade war.

In the UK, King Charles’s personal fortune increased to £640m in the past year, making him as wealthy as the former prime minister Rishi Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, according to the Sunday Times rich list.The 76-year-old monarch, who acceded to the throne in 2022, recorded a £30m increase in wealth and ranks joint 238th on the list of the UK’s wealthiest people and families.The estimate of the king’s wealth is based on personal assets, including the investment portfolio he inherited from his late mother and private estates at Sandringham and Balmoral, and does not include the crown estate.According to the list, there are 156 UK-based billionaires, down from 165 last year, marking the third year in a row the number has fallen.The fall was blamed on recent market turbulence, and the crackdown on non-doms.

The biggest drop in wealth was felt by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the founder of Ineos and a part-owner of Manchester United, whose fortune fell by about £6bn.There were protests in London today, calling for a wealth tax to help fund better public services.In other news:The eurozone’s trade surplus with the US has surgedThe CEO of Novo Nordisk boss is stepping down, under pressure over its falling share priceMicrosoft has offered to sell its Office product without Teams at a lower price than Office with Teams, to placate EU antitrust regulatorsJapan’s economy has shrunk for the first time in a yearThe UK stock market has ended the week in a sunnier mood.The FTSE 100 share index has closed 51 points higher at 8684 points, up 0.6% today, its highest closing level since the last week of March.

Alexandra Brown, North America economist at Capital Economics, is hopeful that US consumer sentiment should soon rebound, now the US and China have paused their trade war.Brown explains:The weaker-than-expected May print of the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index was driven by a further increase in inflation expectations and suggests households remain wary about the tariff outlook.Nevertheless, given the recent big de-escalation with China, we expect a marked rebound in sentiment next month.Sentiment among US consumers has continued to deteriorate this month, as people worry that Donald Trump’s trade war will drive up prices.US consumer confidence has dropped again in May, according to the latest sentiment gauge from the University of Michigan.

The survey found that inflation expectations have jumped and that Americans are concerned that their personal finances will suffer from weakening incomes,Here’s the details:The index of Consumer Sentiment: fell to 50,8 this month, down from 52,2 in April, and down 26% year-on-yearA measure of Current Economic Conditions fell to 57,6, down from 59.

8, and down 17.2% year-on-yearThe Index of Consumer Expectations fell to 46.5, down from 47.3, and down -32.4% year-on-yearUniversity of Michigan preliminary results for May 2025.

Consumer sentiment down 30% since January, and a 26,5% drop in consumer since May 2024,Consumer expectations down 32,4% compared to last year,No summer vacation/travel bumps.

Consumers anticipate rising unemployment.pic.twitter.com/5GiWciuV5eSurveys of Consumers director Joanne Hsu explains:Tariffs were spontaneously mentioned by nearly three-quarters of consumers, up from almost 60% in April; uncertainty over trade policy continues to dominate consumers’ thinking about the economy.Note that interviews for this release were conducted between April 22 and May 13, closing two days after the announcement of a pause on some tariffs on imports from China.

Many survey measures showed some signs of improvement following the temporary reduction of China tariffs, but these initial upticks were too small to alter the overall picture – consumers continue to express somber views about the economy.Hsu adds:Year-ahead inflation expectations surged from 6.5% last month to 7.3% this month.This month’s rise was seen among Democrats and Republicans alike.

Long-run inflation expectations lifted from 4,4% in April to 4,6% in May, reflecting a particularly large monthly jump among Republicans,Shares in space tourism firm Virgin Galactic have jumped by a quarter in early trading, as investors hail its latest results,Virgin Galactic reported last night that it is “keeping pace” with its plans to begin commercial spaceflight in 2026.

The company reported:First spaceflight with new SpaceShip carrying research payloads planned for summer 2026.Private astronaut spaceflights planned for fall 2026.Midway through feasibility study to potentially develop second spaceport in Italy.Marketwatch reports that Virgin Galactic also suggested its ticket prices could be higher than expected:Speaking during a conference call to discuss the results, Virgin Galactic Chief Executive Michael Colglazier said that the company expects to open the first wave of spaceflight reservations in the first quarter of 2026.Specific pricing has not been set, according to Colglazier, although Virgin Galactic expects that this will increase relative to the company’s last price of $600,000.

The company’s shares are up 26% at $4,29, which still leaves them down 98% over the last five years…,Over in New York, the stock market has opened a little higher, adding to this week’s gains,The S&P 500 share index is up 3 points, or 0,05%, at 5,920 points.

It has gained almost 2% over the last five days, on relief after the US and China agreed a pause in their trade war that cut tariffs for 90 days.Just in: there are signs that Donald Trump’s flurry of tariffs may have cooled the US housing market.U.S.single-family homebuilding fell in April by 2.

1%, new data shows, to an annual rate of 927,000.That may show that tariffs on imported materials dampened demand, along with high mortgage rates.Overall housing starts in April rose by 1.6%, though.But, applications for building permits – to allow future construction, dropped by 4.

7% on a monthly basis in April, and were 3.2% lower than in April 2024.🚨 US housing starts increased 1.6% MoM to 1.361 million in April, slightly below expectations.

US building permits fell -4,7% MoM to 1,412 million, a bigger miss below the 1,450 million expected,#realestate pic.

twitter.com/4StbvtEalUThere’s drama in the pharmaceuticals world, where the boss of Denmark’s Novo Nordisk has unexpectedly resigned.Novo Nordisk, which produces the weight loss drug Wegovy and the diabetes medication Ozempic, says Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen is stepping down “as per mutual agreement” with the company’s board.Jørgensen appears to be leaving in response to rising competion in the weight loss drug market, which has led to Novo Nordisk’s share price more than halving over the last year.The company says that Novo Nordisk Foundation Board recently “initiated a dialogue with the Novo Nordisk Board on the merits of an accelerated CEO succession”, adding:Considering the recent market challenges, the share price decline, and the wish from the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Novo Nordisk Board and Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen have jointly concluded that initiating a CEO succession is in the best interest of the company and its shareholders.

Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen has agreed to continue as CEO for a period to support a smooth transition to new leadership,Just last week, Novo Nordisk cut its annual revenue and profit forecasts, as it faced rising competition from US rival Eli Lilly, which makes the diabetes and obesity drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound,Donald Trump’s trade war has taken another twist,The US president has revealed today that his administration will write to trading partners telling them their new tariff rates “over the next two to three weeks,”That’s something of a u-turn, given Trump has previously spoken about cutting new trade deals with other countries.

He appears to have realised that agreeing over one hundred new deals in just a few months is not practical.Trump said today that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick “will be sending letters out essentially telling people” what “they’ll be paying to do business in the United States.”During a meeting with business executives in the United Arab Emirates, Trump said:“I think we’re going to be very fair.But it’s not possible to meet the number of people that want to see us.”Trump announced new tariffs on imports from a swathe of countries on 2 April, only to pause them for 90 days a week later after the financial markets tumbled