Seven days in the Square Mile

Oil and commodity prices spiked sharply after a container ship got stuck in the Suez Canal ( see page 51), leading to a pile-up of global cargo traffic. Brent crude rose more than 4% to $64.50/ barrel. Traders breathed a sigh of relief when the ship was freed – the blockage threatened to impact manufacturing supply chains as well as oil supplies. But uncertainty surrounding this week’s Opec oil cartel meeting kept the oil price high. The yield on benchmark ten-year US Treasuries hit its highest level since the early days of the Covid crisis, after a brutal quarter for government bonds. Shares in Credit Suisse and Nomura – the two banks worst hit by the implosion of the Wall Street investment fund Archegos Capital – plummeted on fears about their financial exposure. Nomura said it faced a possible $2bn loss; Credit Suisse, which has also taken a heavy hit in the Greensill affair, was reported to be facing losses of between $3bn-$4bn. London and Brussels struck a deal to cooperate over financial services: the two sides have agreed to create a forum for regulatory discussions and to start separate talks over “equivalence”. Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama voted on whether to form a union, in a case that has split the country. Analysts at Kantar calculated that UK sales of Easter eggs have soared almost 50% to £153m year-on-year, and shoppers have spent £37m on hot cross buns. “There are signs of people making a special, even symbolic, effort this year.”