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The Ford engine plant near Bridgend in South Wales. Photography: Jacob King / PA
Hello and welcome to our slippery coverage of the global economy, financial markets, the eurozone and businesses.
The auto industry is in shock from a double dose of bad news this morning.
In the UK, workers at Ford's Bridgend engine plant go to work to find out about the future of their factory – and the omens are not good.
Ford officials took the plane from America to attend a business meeting and are expected to announce the closure of the factory. It employs more than 1,500 people, with many more jobs in the local economy and supply chains also dependent on them.
Bridgend's future has been in doubt for some time – Ford cut back on investment last year and recently launched a voluntary layoff program.
The loss of a key engine contract for the supply of engines to Jaguar Land Rover was another blow, while uncertainties about future relations between Britain and the EU also hurt the sector.
My colleague Jasper Jolly explain what's wrong:
The UK car industry is facing a series of difficulties, including a sharp drop in demand for diesel vehicles and a decline in sales in China, which was previously a fast-growing market. At the same time, the uncertainty surrounding Brexit has weighed on the industry, with the threat of tariffs on cars and parts traveling to and from the UK.
And in another car turn, the merger project between the American-Italian Fiat Chrysler and its French rival Renault has just collapsed.
Fiat-Chrysler blamed French politicians (Renault's biggest shareholder) for thwarting the deal.
It says:
It has become clear that the political conditions in France do not currently exist for this combination to be successful.
The merger would have created a powerful new force in the auto industry at a time of dramatic and volatile change. This would have allowed both companies to share the costs of developing advanced technologies such as autonomous vehicles and electric cars.
More soon….
Also coming today
It is a busy day in the business world: the European Central Bank sets interest rates, publishes new economic forecasts and questions what it can do to support the economy. economy of the euro area.
The governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, will speak in Toyko in a few hours at the spring meeting of the Institute of International Finance.
Trade tensions and geopolitics will also be the focus of Chinese President Xi's visit to Russia. America is also publishing new trade figures, which could indicate whether recently imposed tariffs have hurt demand.
We will also have an eye on Arcadia, after Sir Philip Green was forced to postpone the vote of creditors after some owners refused to support his bailout.
L & # 39; s calendar
- TSB 10h: Euro area GDP for the first quarter of 2019 (second estimate)
- 10am: BST: Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, speaking in Tokyo
- 12:00 PM: Chinese President Xi Jinping Speaks at St. Petersburg International Economic Forum
- 12.45 BST: European Central Bank decision on interest rates
- 1:30 pm (Paris time): US trade statistics for April
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