Trump meets Zelenskiy, says Putin wants war to end, mulls trilateral talks
Investing.com -- British stocks slipped in Monday afternoon trading as investors awaited talks in Washington between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, his European allies, and U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump is set to host Zelensky and several European leaders to discuss terms of a potential peace deal, following his meeting with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Alaska last Friday.
Trump said Sunday that Zelensky could bring the war to a swift end if he accepted Moscow’s terms.
As of 1117 GMT, the blue-chip indexFTSE 100 dropped 0.07% and the British pound fell 0.05% against the dollar to above 1.35.
DAX index in Germany fell 0.4%, the CAC 40 in France dropped 0.8%.
U.K. suspends new border checks on EU animal imports
Britain is suspending the planned introduction of additional border checks on live animal imports from the European Union, the U.K.. government announced Monday.
The decision aims to ease trade ahead of implementing a deal agreed in May that is designed to reduce friction at borders.
As part of this suspension, the U.K. government confirmed that extra border checks on certain animal and plant goods imported from Ireland will also be halted.
Tesla offers 40% discounts to U.K. leasing firms amid sales slump
{{13994|Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)}} is offering discounts of up to 40% to car leasing firms in the U.K. as the electric vehicle maker tries to boost declining sales and address storage space issues, The Times reported on Monday.
The discounts are being passed on to customers through reduced monthly payment plans, according to industry sources cited by the newspaper.
This move comes as Elon Musk’s company faces a rapidly shrinking market share globally.
U.K. extends electric van and truck grants
In other UK news, the government announced it will extend discounts for electric vans and trucks through at least 2027.
Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood confirmed the continuation of the plug-in van and truck grant program in a statement released Monday.
U.K. housing market sees biggest summer price drop
Meanwhile, the UK housing market is seeing significant price drops, with property website Rightmove (LON:RMV) reporting that house prices are almost £11,000 cheaper than three months ago.
While summer price declines are normal, the drops in June and July were larger than usual, partly due to an increase in stamp duty that pushed demand to the first part of the year.
Lower asking prices and cheaper borrowing costs have contributed to July seeing the largest number of homes changing hands since 2020, up 8% from last year.