Business live: 24 April 2015

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Harley-Davidson is recalling almost 46,000 motorcycles in the US because of potentially faulty clutches. The problem was found through customer complaints. Harley reported 27 crashes and four minor injuries.

Trader Navinder Singh Sarao, who is accused of illegally manipulating the stock market in the US and contributing to the 2010 Wall Street 'flash crash', hasn't paid bail, and will therefore be remanded in custody over the weekend, according to Westminster Magistrates Court.

Shareholders at HSBC's annual general meeting were divided on whether the bank should move its headquarters. "I would prefer them to stay here really," said Gesila Wright. Another shareholder, Dr Diamond, said he was in favour of a move as it may save the bank money and would "teach the politicians that you can't keep hitting the bankers every time you need additional taxation."

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Mary Barra, the chief executive of General Motors, had a pay package of $15.8m (£10.8m) in 2014, according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Ms Barra became GM's boss on 15 January. Almost immediately, the firm was hit with a series of safety recalls that led to congressional hearings, a Justice Department investigation, and a $35m fine from US safety regulators. The recalls included 2.6 million small cars with defective ignition switches that caused numerous crashes. So far, the company has agreed to pay compensation in 87 death cases and for 157 injuries.

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she hopes that Greece can reach a deal quickly. "On the German side, we are prepared to provide all the support that is asked of us. But of course reforms must be done," Ms Merkel said at a campaign event.

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While Jeroen Dijsselbloem said Greece's finance minister Yanis Varoufakis (pictured) had come in for criticism at today's latest round of debt talk, Mr Varoufakis sought to portray the discussions in a more positive light. We look at the last few weeks and what we see is convergence," he said, noting progress on issues such as privatisation, tax reform, the judiciary, bureaucracy and product markets. A deal will happen, he added, "and will happen quickly as it's the only option we have." Mr Varoufakis said the main sticking points related to pensions and the level of the budget surplus Athens has to post after debt and interest payments are stripped out.

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World Business Report has an interview with model and entrepreneur Lily Cole who talks about the challenges to business in constructing ethical supply chains.

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Greece's finance minister Yanis Varoufakis came in for criticism from Euro area finance ministers at a meeting in the Latvian capital of Riga, with no deal yet hammered out between Greece and its EU and IMF creditors. "It was a very critical discussion," said Jeroen Dijsselbloem (pictured left), the eurozone's top official, after the meeting. Other eurozone finance ministers spoke of being "tired" and "annoyed" with the way the talks are going. The next possible date for a deal could be May 11, only one day before Greece owes a €750m (£536m) payment to the IMF.

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Tesco shares have fallen after ratings agency Fitch downgraded the supermarket giant's long-term rating to BB+ from BBB-. "The downgrade reflects a weakening outlook for the group's near term profitability in its core UK operations relative to our prior expectations," the agency said. Tesco shares have fallen more than 1% since the beginning of the day.

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American Airlines Group expects its passenger unit revenue (which is passenger revenue divided by available seat miles) to fall between 4% and 6% this quarter, chief financial officer Derek Kerr has said in an investor call, with the largest drops in the Pacific and Latin America. But the airline's first quarter results today beat analyst expectations, with earnings of $932m (£615m), nearly double its profit compared with the same period a year earlier.

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The US Department of Justice has said that the collapse of the proposed merger between Comcast and Time Warned Cable is "a victory". "This is a victory not only for the Department of Justice, but also for providers of content and streaming services who work to bring innovative products to consumers across America and around the world," said US attorney general Eric Holder. "The Department of Justice will continue to fight for fair access and free competition in every industry and every market," he added.

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HSBC considering moving its headquarters out of the UK is a "clear warning to politicians" according to Richard Buxton, head of equities at Old Mutual Global Investors, who have shares in HSBC. "It's signalling that the ever increasing bank levy on all the UK banks... really can't just continue to ratchet up year in year out without having some impact on a really big bank like HSBC."

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The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has said that Comcast abandoned its plans to acquire Time Warner Cable after the DoJ raised concerns that Comcast would become "an unavoidable gatekeeper for internet-based services". "The companies' decision to abandon this deal is the best outcome for American consumers," said US attorney general Eric Holder.

Business Update with Russell Padmore on World Service has heard from a Kenyan inventor, whose innovative software allows Africans using mobile phones to swap credit easily between SIM cards. Samuel Wangi's application is called Chura, the Swahili word for frog. We also hear Mercedes Benz claiming xenophobic attacks on foreign businesses will not affect its investment in South Africa.

HSBC's shareholders heard bosses stress how far they had streamlined the bank since taking over four years ago. It has sold or shut 77 businesses and could get rid of sizeable operations in Brazil or Turkey. This kind of approach did not please one shareholder, who suggested the bank had become timid and was missing major opportunities - such as taking over Asian insurance giant, AIA.

Comcast says its $45bn (£30bn) merger agreement with Time Warner Cable has "been terminated". Comcast Chairman Brian L. Roberts says: "Today, we move on. Of course, we would have liked to bring our great products to new cities, but we structured this deal so that if the government didn't agree, we could walk away." No finger-pointing, then.

HSBC shares remain strong after the shareholders' meeting. They're up 3.15%. Still with banks, Lloyds is up 0.24% at 79.18p after news of the government's further disposal of holdings.

Early doors for the US markets but market watchers are - boldly - suggesting today might see another record for the Nasdaq. Late results Thursday from Google, Amazon and Microsoft should give it a push up.

DILBERTCopyright: DILBERT

He's back. And he's on form.

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Fun facts: of the $1.35 trillion the bank holds in customer deposits, $439bn, or about a third, is from the UK. It's also the single largest home for workers at HSBC, with 48,000 of them. UK revenue was $14.4bn in 2014, a rise of more than $1bn from 2013. Although that's before all the charges for payment protection insurance and the like.

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Regular readers will know Friday can bring with it a special treat: the Financial Times's How To Spend It magazine. No prices are associated with the above advert's outfit. But we feel the amount necessary to buy it is nonetheless made clear.

Was listening to the shareholders' meeting. The boss pointed out that HSBC employs 7,000 people in compliance. That many to try to make sure the bank keeps to the rules.

More news from Latvia: Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis says the government can't accept pension cuts but there may be a deal soon on privatisations.

News from Latvia: The eurozone's top official says Greece needs to make "significantly more progress'' on its reform plans if it's going to get more money. Speaking in the Latvian capital of Riga at the conclusion of the eurozone finance minister's meeting, Jeroen Dijsselbloem said time is running out for Greece. He said there are still "wide differences'' between the two sides.

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Reasons to be moving. Part three. Or part anything. The UK's banking tax, which is linked to the size of banks' balance sheets, cost the £750m last year. The banking levy hits HSBC harder than other banks because of its large size. The tax has risen as corporation tax has been cut, in order to ensure banks don't get a tax cut following the financial crisis. While £750m is a fair chunk of money, HSBC Bank plc, which contains the UK and European businesses, made £1.39bn in 2014 and £2.5bn in 2013.

tweets: "HSBC mulls move of its HQ out of UK. More: Parallels with pre-#indyref position of RBS and Standard Life?"

• The FTSE 100 is up 0.36% at 7,079.06
• The Dax is up 0.7% at 11,805.72
• The Cac 40 is up 0.54% at 5,206.81
• Top gainer on the Footsie is HSBC - now up 4%. BAE Systems is another good gainer - up 3% after it said it might sell a US business. Worst is AstraZeneca after a performance statement failed to wow. That is down 3%.

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Shares in Athens have jumped 4.5% on hopes for progress on bailout funds. Greece's Yanis Varoufakis is meeting his fellow eurozone finance ministers in Riga in Latvia. Nice.

Regulatory pressure, political attacks following revelations of errant behaviour and hefty new taxes have sparked the decision. HSBC has also said that uncertainty over Britain's future in the European Union is weighing on its future as well as new rules which oblige banks to split their retail and investment banking activities - the ring-fence.

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The Sunday Times Rich List is back this weekend, a right gag-fest. Alex Cheatle, from concierge business Ten Group, tells Wake Up to Money: "One client wanted a Barney the dinosaur outfit for his son. We had to get it from the middle of the UK but it was needed in Dubai the next day. We had to get a guy on the plane with a Barney the Dinosaur outfit in his hand luggage - that cost a few thousands pounds."

German business confidence is at its highest in almost a year, says the widely-watched IFO survey. Its business climate index, which questions 7,000 firms, was at 108.6 in April, after 107.9 in March.

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Wake Up to Money's Mickey Clark reveals - apropos the lifestyle of those on the Rich List - that he doesn't iron. No one who knows him finds this surprising. In any case, he has no need to wield one since his style is "Golf Fabulous", which tends to comprise garments of a synthetic nature that do not need an iron run over them.

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HSBC - originally called the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation - was founded in 1865, in Hong Kong. It moved its HQ to London in 1992 after buying Midland Bank. It employs 266,000 people worldwide. We will return to HSBC after 11:00, which is when its annual shareholder meeting starts.

Private rental prices paid by tenants in Great Britain rose by 2.1% in the 12 months to March 2015, says the Office for National Statistics. Rental prices increased the most in London, of course, a 3.2% gain.

Business editor Kamal Ahmed told the News Channel HSBC could consider selling its UK retail banking business. Early days though. Investors, for what it's worth, have the shares up 3%.

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The big question is where HSBC would go? Europe's largest bank has assets (loans, among other things) of $2.63 trillion (£1.74tn). So the bank would have to find a new regulator willing to take on the task of making sure all is well with those loans. And if the worst came to the worst, a country with an economy large enough to withstand another banking crisis, should one present itself. Does that make its original home of Hong Kong, for instance, too small?

Last time this storm really blew up was in 2011 after a particularly bad set of results. It said at the time it reviews its domicile every three years. A formality, generally. But then, for the first time, the bank was considering the matter far more seriously. The UK has been tightening its rules for banks after the crisis, demanding more capital to be held and more onerous punishments for misdemeanours.

HSBC says it will review whether it stays in London: "As part of the broader strategic review taking place, the Board has therefore now asked management to commence work to look at where the best place is for HSBC to be headquartered in this new environment." HSBC moved to the UK from Hong Kong shortly after buying Midland bank in 1992.

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French Connection shares have reacted in style - bad style - to its profit warning. Down 22%. Double decimation.

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Up. 2.3% higher after its statement implying interest in its US service division.

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"Hygiene - strong in DvM, driven by Dettol and Harpic penetration programmes," says Reckitt Benckiser. Slightly sinister choice of language...

Reckitt Benckiser releases quarterly results. They're headed "Good Start for Q1 2015". Business Live welcomes this rare outbreak of clarity in a results release - and also finds it rather sweet. Like for like sales of its products, which include stuff like Lysol and Airwick were up 5%.

Statement from BAE Systems: "The US-based manpower and services businesses of the Group's US Intelligence and Security (I&S) sector, which span technical, mission and IT support services and predominantly serve the US government, have generated external interest and a number of enquiries. As a result, BAE Systems has engaged external advisors to support a strategic assessment of these businesses." We'll see what investors make of that when the market opens.

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"Demand to use Heathrow continues to rise, with traffic up 2.0% to 16.4 million passengers," the airport says in its report for the first three months of the year. Pre-tax profit was £71m compared with a £10m loss a year ago. It is particularly pleased it has poached Vietnam Airlines from rival airport Gatwick.

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Profit warning from retailers French Connection: "The challenging conditions in our retail trading reported at the year end have continued through the completion of the Easter period. [First half] retail sales performance is now forecast to be materially lower than expected."

Market-watcher Brenda Kelly is unpicking the markets' latest insouciance towards the threat of a Greek default on Today. "I don't think a default on Greek debt is the same as Greece leaving the eurozone, but it does possibly set the stage for an exit from the eurozone", she says. Central government has asked local authorities for all their spare money. "Many of the administration officials are pressing for some kind of deal by the end of this week," she says.

Greek government departments are being asked to hand over any spare cash to the central bank. Not a prospect relished by George Papanikolaou, Mayor of the Glyfada municipality in Athens and a former MEP. He tells Wake Up to Money: "This happened with no discussions with the government... We have this fear that somehow many municipalities will come to a dead end, there will be no ability to meet our everyday needs."

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Europe's largest bank, HSBC, has its AGM today. Peter Hahn, a lecturer at Cass business school tells the Today programme "HSBC and many of Europe's other banks are concerned with finding the right business model... what are you good at and what can you earn a good return at?" Will HSBC leave the UK, as banks occasionally threaten? "There's a lot of incentive to move but I doubt whether HSBC is capable of that now."

Wake Up to Money has a look at this ahead of that meeting later Friday. Could there finally be a chink of light in negotiations between the Greek government and its creditors, it asks? A meeting between Greek PM Alexis Tsipras and German leader Angela Merkel yesterday a deal over reform for cash is closer. Tsipras told reporters that he was 'optimistic'.

Wake Up to Money is discussing the fine levied on Deutsche Bank of $2.5bn for attempting to manipulate interest rates. Measures put in place include spying on staff and physically separating some departments. Veteran City hack Mickey Clark dismisses this as "just another version of the Chinese Walls" that were introduced in the 1980s.

The main items on the diary: eurozone finance ministers meet on Greece. Private rental data from the Office for National Statistics, and HSBC shareholders meet - a gathering that could be feisty.

Friday morning... Business Live bids you welcome. Stand by for all the news nuggets from the business world.