Mark Zuckerberg is expected to appear as a star witness in an unusual $8 billion trial that kicks off this week at which the Meta CEO is accused of operating Facebook as an illegal enterprise that allowed users’ data to be harvested without their consent.
The pound fell, under broad pressure from investor worries about the impact on growth from Trump’s escalating trade war. Sterling fell against the euro even after Trump warned he would slap a 30% tariff on goods imports from the European Union.
The UK’s FTSE 100 closed at a fresh record high as investors grew hopeful of future interest rate cuts by the Bank of England, while AstraZeneca’s shares gained following positive drug trial results.
Oil prices rose over 2% to end last week as the International Energy Agency said the market was tighter than it appears, while U.S. tariffs and possible further sanctions on Russia were also in focus.
President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico and the European Union starting on August 1, after weeks of negotiations with the major U.S. trading partners failed to reach a comprehensive trade deal.
The U.S. dollar rose against major currencies including the euro and the Swiss franc as currency markets largely shrugged off President Donald Trump’s latest tariff missives, except in Brazil where a threatened 50% levy sent the real sliding.
