BP braced for $4.5bn hit from green write-down

Good morning,

BP expects to take a $4.5bn hit following a write-down of its energy transition unit. This follows growing pressure from activist investor Elliott Management to double down on fossil fuels, and a turbulent time for the energy giant which earlier this year ousted its former chair Albert Manifold.

Meanwhile, the IMF has warned that Britain is set to suffer the second highest inflation in the G7. This will pile further pressure on John Healey to priorise bringing down energy prices and borrowing.

PLUS: Our deputy Life&Style editor gives his verdict on the new Sam Altman biopic ‘Artificial’.

So, here’s everything you need to know this morning. We’ll be back in your inbox at noon with Midday Markets.

Matt

Andy Burnham earned his spurs as a great communicator on the back of a few summer TikToks, but is the shine coming off just a couple of months into the new job?

While some people still appreciate the supposedly down to earth ‘tell it like it is’ approach, there can be no denying that the PM’s loose lips have got him into hot water in recent weeks. Labour sources concede that Burnham’s tendency to “shoot from the hip” is becoming a problem, writes City AM Editor-in-Chief Christian May.

The FTSE 100 energy giant told markets on Tuesday its third quarter update – set for the end of the month – would include a post-tax impairment charge in the range of $3bn to $4.5bn.

“These charges are primarily attributable to transition businesses in the gas & low carbon energy segment,” BP said.

It follows a massive scale back on green ambitions from the oil and gas major, which slashed its planned transition capital expenditure by more than $5bn annually earlier this year to a target of up to $2bn.

In its latest report published today, the global finance body has said that inflation will remain above the Bank of England’s target two per cent rate for the seventh year running.

The fund’s officials said inflation would average at 3.3 per cent in 2026 and 2.8 per cent in 2027, remaining above almost all the world’s dominant economies.

The blue-chip index is set to make gains on Tuesday morning, following Monday’s strong showing. In a busy morning for market updates, FTSE 100 Premier Inn owner Whitbread is set to unveil its half-year figures, amid a campaign by a major investor to gain a seat on its board.

The Battersea Power Station Development Company secured the new loan from the group of lenders which have backed the project since it began in 2012, including London-listed Standard Chartered, Malaysian bank CIMB, Singaporean financial services firm OCBC and Maybank, Malaysia’s largest bank.

The new financial backing comes as the west-London development project enters its final phase. Last month, developers submitted plans for the site’s 16 remaining acres. 

It isn’t typically a film’s duty to push a political agenda, but with Artificial, the biopic of OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman, there is a clear call to action. It is inevitable that people will ask: ‘What can this film do?’ 

A decade ago that would have been the stuff of science fiction movies, but in autumn 2026, Artificial feels terrifyingly prescient.

Rugby league has one of the most watchable products in British sport. It is fast, physical, easy to understand and packed with elite athletes. Yet once again, as its biggest international tournament approaches, it’s trapped inside its own bubble.

The issue is not the quality of the sport. It’s the distribution and storytelling.

Senior central bankers warn that while emergency interventions can buy time during market liquidity crises, long-term financial stability ultimately depends on governments taking decisive political action, says Helen Thomas.

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