HSBC hit by $400m UK fraud-related charge; Rachel Reeves ‘clashed with Scott Bessent’ over Iran war criticism – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsAustralia hikes interest rates to 4.35% in blow to mortgage holdersThe oil price has dipped slightly this morning, after a jump on Monday.Brent crude is down almost 1% at $113.41 a barrel, a day after jumping by 5.8% after the US launched an operation to reopen the strait of Hormuz.Earlier yesterday, Iran’s military had warned that the strait remains closed, with reports of a couple of ships coming under attack. London-headquartered bank’s shares slide as it sets aside an extra $300m to cover effects of Middle East conflictBusiness live – latest updatesHSBC has suffered a $1.3bn (£961m) hit to profits, fuelled by the fallout from the US-Israel war on Iran and fraud in the troubled private credit sector.The London-headquartered bank said profits fell 4% in the first three months of the year, dropping $100m to $9.4bn, compared with the same period in 2025.