US coordinates with Japan to protect the bond market, BP puts its North Sea business up for sale, and AI pulls up the ladder on the UK jobs market.

Welcome to this week’s Market Pulse, your 5-minute update on key market news and events, with takeaways and insights from the Sidekick Investment Team.

Today, we’re looking at why the US worked with Japan to support the yen, why BP is leaving the North Sea after six decades of production, and how AI is reshaping the UK jobs market.

But first, our number of the week…

£5.7 billion

That’s the price Apollo Global Management agreed to pay for budget airline EasyJet. The deal ends a long-running bidding war over one of Britain’s most valuable airlines.

Sidekick Takeaway: Until Apollo entered the fray, it seemed like rival investment firm Castlelake would be the one to buy EasyJet. The bidding war shows how depressed valuations in UK markets are creating takeover opportunities for private equity firms.

Only have a minute to read? Here’s the TL;DR:

• The US intervened in currency markets for the first time since 2011, coordinating with Japan to prop up the yen after it hit 40-year lows. The intervention was designed to prevent Japan from liquidating US Treasuries and pushing US borrowing costs higher.
• BP has put its entire UK North Sea business up for sale, valued at over $2 billion. BP is now the last supermajor to scale back in the North Sea, where output has fallen roughly 75% since 2000, and operating costs are more than double the global average.
• Evidence from online job postings indicates that AI is splitting the UK labour market in two. Opportunities for experienced workers are growing, but graduate openings have hit their lowest level since 2020. Youth unemployment now stands at 14.8%.

It’s important to note that the content of this Market Pulse is based on current public information which we consider to be reliable and accurate. It represents Sidekick’s view only and does not represent investment advice - investors should not take decisions to trade based on this information.

Yen Justifies the Means: US Coordinates with Japan to Protect Bond Market

Last week, the US Treasury made a historic intervention in the foreign exchange market.

After the yen slid to 40-year lows, US officials worked with Japan to prop up the currency. The episode marks the first time the US has intervened in currency markets since 2011.

According to Donald Trump, the move was a ‘signal of friendship’ – a gesture of goodwill to a long-time ally.

In reality, the intervention was driven by a more pressing concern: protecting the US bond market from foreign creditors.

America’s trillion-dollar vulnerability

Japan is the largest foreign holder of US government debt, and its challenges now pose a direct threat to US borrowing costs:

• Traditionally, when Japan defends its currency, it sells foreign assets to buy yen. Those foreign assets include over $1 trillion in Treasury holdings.
• By selling Treasuries, Japan can push up market yields on US debt. That risks increasing America’s borrowing costs and potentially slowing the US economy.
• To avoid mass Treasury sales, the US sold euros to fund yen purchases. In addition, the Fed allowed Japan to post its Treasury holdings as collateral to borrow dollars.

Rather than goodwill, America’s intervention was motivated by a strategic vulnerability: the ability of foreign creditors to spike US borrowing costs.

Treasury Secretary Bessent has since said the US would not hesitate to intervene again.

Sidekick Takeaway: The US isn’t alone in facing this kind of exposure. About a third of the UK’s government debt is held overseas, making the British bond market similarly vulnerable to international creditors.

Crude Awakening: BP Calls Time on the North Sea

After six decades of production, BP has decided to put its entire UK North Sea business up for sale.

The portfolio still has significant value, estimated at over $2 billion. Yet the decision confirms what the industry has known for years: the North Sea’s best days are behind it.

BP is the last of the supermajors to scale back in the basin. Exxon, Chevron, Shell, TotalEnergies, and Eni have already reduced their North Sea presence.

With the private sector heading for the exit, it’s time for the UK government to think about what comes next.

The North Sea’s strained economics

The North Sea was once one of the world’s most productive oil basins. Today, the numbers are less flattering:

• At the turn of the millennium, the North Sea produced about 4.5 million barrels per day. That’s since fallen to roughly 1 million.
• Operating costs in the basin now average $25.20 per barrel, more than double the global average.
• Decommissioning costs are expected to complicate buyer negotiations. Cleaning up decades of offshore infrastructure is expensive.

Despite environmental concerns, Burnham has offered a ‘pragmatic’ approach to North Sea development.

With the Middle East conflict keeping energy prices elevated, the basin still has a near-term role in UK energy security.

Sidekick Takeaway: Burnham’s pragmatism is the right posture for a declining asset. But it shouldn’t distract from the efforts needed to build out green infrastructure in the UK. The worst outcome would be letting a strategic asset decay without taking concrete steps to replace it.

Artificial Barriers: AI Is Pulling Up the UK Jobs Ladder

According to data from Indeed, UK job postings have fallen roughly 10% since January 2025.

However, that headline figure disguises a sharp split.

Plenty of jobs are being created. But they’re going to experienced workers with AI skills.

In contrast, entry-level openings continue to shrink. Lack of demand for young workers could complicate any solutions to the UK’s bifurcated labour market.

The seniority divide

The dividing line in the labour market is increasingly about experience, with younger workers struggling to get in the door:

• Software developer vacancies are up 14%. That growth is concentrated in senior roles and positions directly linked to AI.

• Meanwhile, graduate openings have hit their lowest level since 2020. Roughly 1 million young people are not in employment, education, or training.

• The Bank of England estimates that AI adoption is reducing employment by about 0.4% per year. It’s also expanding productivity by twice that amount.

Not only are companies now able to do more with less, AI is also automating the entry-level tasks that once gave new workers a foothold.

Sidekick Takeaway: The government’s push for technical qualifications isn’t wrong in principle, but it assumes the bottleneck is supply. The Indeed data suggests it may actually be demand, with employers demonstrating fundamentally less need for junior workers in the modern economy.

Notices

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