Financial news

• Tariffs would be a drag, but Guinness boss still needs to find a brew for recovery

  04-02-2025 20:00 via theguardian.com
  
  There’s no hiding from a 5% fall in operating profit at owner Diageo in the second half of 2024, Trump trade policy or notDonald Trump’s on-off tariffs are at least good for one thing: they provide struggling managements with a handy excuse to ditch their sales forecasts. Diageo, the Guinness, Johnnie Walker and Smirnoff combo, was able to cite “the current macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty” – exhibit A being the possible US tariffs on Canada and Mexico &nd
  
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• AI ‘godfather’ predicts another revolution in the tech in next five years

  04-02-2025 20:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Meta’s Yann LeCun says current systems too limited to create domestic robots and fully automated carsOne of the “godfathers” of modern artificial intelligence has predicted a further revolution in the technology by the end of the decade because current systems are too limited to create domestic robots and fully automated cars.Yann LeCun, the chief AI scientist at Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, said new breakthroughs are needed in order for the systems to understand and interact
  
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• Hunt: Starmer should not retaliate if Trump hits UK with trade tariffs

  04-02-2025 19:29 via theguardian.com
  Former chancellor says UK does not have enough economic firepower to start a trade war with the USKeir Starmer should not retaliate if Donald Trump hits the UK with trade tariffs, the former chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said, with ministers braced for the president’s latest round of economic measures.The former chancellor told the Guardian the UK did not have enough economic firepower to start a trade war with the US, hours after Trump began one with China. Continue reading...
  
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• Late financier Evelyn de Rothschild accused of abuse during banking career

  04-02-2025 19:05 via theguardian.com
  
  Exclusive: Several women claim City grandee exploited his position to harass or sexually assault them in the 1990sOne of the world’s most celebrated financiers, Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, has been accused of exploiting his position at the storied bank to abuse women who worked with him.The claims against Sir Evelyn, two years after his death, come from several women who said they felt unable to raise their concerns while he was still alive, because of his position within the bank and the Br
  
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• New British Virgin Isles measures don’t protect businesses or privacy – they protect criminals

  04-02-2025 18:47 via theguardian.com
  
  If overseas territories refuse to implement meaningful corporate transparency reforms, we must use our powers to ensure they doJoe Powell is chair of the APPG on anti-corruption and responsible taxBritish Virgin Islands accused of ‘shameful’ attempt to avoid financial crime crackdownRoman Abramovich had options. In 2005, the Russian government paid him $13bn for Sibneft, to buy back, at huge profit to him, the oil company he’d paid them just $250m for 10 years earlier. He used
  
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• Thames Water may need £10bn investment to repair finances, high court hears

  04-02-2025 18:33 via theguardian.com
  
  Struggling company may require significantly more resources than roughly £6.3bn it previously indicatedThames Water may need as much as £10bn in debt and equity investment to repair its finances, according to a representative of creditors hoping to lend the struggling utility another £3bn.London’s high court heard evidence on Tuesday that suggested the UK’s largest water company may need significantly more resources than the roughly £6.3bn it has previously in
  
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• What is motivating Trump’s reckless trade war? | Robert Reich

  04-02-2025 18:30 via theguardian.com
  
  The point is to show the world – not just Canada and Mexico – that he’s willing to mete out big punishmentsTrump has struck last-minute deals with the leaders of Mexico and Canada to postpone for 30 days hefty tariffs on goods they export to the United States, temporarily averting a damaging trade war.Over the next month, Mexico and Canada will negotiate with Trump.Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is a professor of public policy at the University of California, Ber
  
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• Citigroup commits to hybrid working, bucking Wall Street trend

  04-02-2025 18:13 via theguardian.com
  
  Managers told letting most staff continue to work up to two days a week at home will give bank competitive advantageThe boss of Citigroup has told executives that most staff will continue to be able to work remotely two days a week, a decision that sets it apart from other Wall Street banks.Most of Citi’s employees work on a hybrid schedule, spending at least three days a week in the office and up to two days working remotely. Most of its traders and staff in bank branches have to be at th
  
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• British Virgin Islands accused of ‘shameful’ attempt to avoid financial crime crackdown

  04-02-2025 17:43 via theguardian.com
  
  MPs write to premier over BVI proposals for new register of who owns firms registered on islandsOpinion: New British Virgin Islands measures don’t protect businesses or privacy – they protect criminalsThe British Virgin Islands (BVI) have been accused of a “shameful” attempt to avoid a crackdown on financial crime, in a growing rift with the government that threatens to escalate into a constitutional standoff.MPs have written to the premier of the BVI, while the former de
  
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• Jeremy Hunt on Trump and the Tories’ future – Politics Weekly Special

  04-02-2025 17:39 via theguardian.com
  
  Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey chat to the veteran Conservative MP Jeremy Hunt about how to handle Donald Trump’s trade wars, his new life in opposition, and what’s next for the Tories Continue reading...
  
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• China has reacted in kind to Trump’s tariffs, but a deal may still emerge

  04-02-2025 14:38 via theguardian.com
  
  Beijing will defend its core interests, but its initial response is more cautious than when Trump imposed levies in 2018Moments after Donald Trump introduced tariffs of 10% on Chinese goods, Beijing retaliated with countermeasures.China’s finance ministry put tariffs of 10-15% on imports of a range of US goods and its anti-trust regulator announced an investigation into Google. Several US companies were also added to China’s “unreliable entity” list, potentially restricti
  
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• ‘No dissonance’: boss of private hospital group Spire on its work with the NHS

  04-02-2025 14:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Justin Ash runs the UK’s biggest private health provider, which makes millions offering treatments ranging from hip ops to therapy In a 1980s redbrick building near Gatwick airport in West Sussex, a new doughnut-shaped CT scanner is a vivid illustration of the extreme pressures facing the NHS.The £1.5m device, which speeds up the diagnosis of cancer and cardiac conditions, is the centrepiece of a newly refurbished Spire Healthcare hospital, one of the private healthcare chain’s
  
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• Shipowners have made £4.8bn selling tankers to Russian ‘shadow fleet’

  04-02-2025 13:55 via theguardian.com
  
  Vessels used to evade sanctions on oil exports and help fund war against Ukraine, investigation revealsEuropean and US shipowners have sold at least 230 ageing tankers into the “shadow fleet” used by Russia to evade western sanctions on its oil exports and help fund its war against Ukraine, an international investigation reveals.The shipowners have made more than $6bn (£4.8bn) since Russia’s 2022 invasion by selling the vessels to buyers in countries such as India, Hong K
  
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• Johnnie Walker owner Diageo says Trump tariffs could hit profits by $200m

  04-02-2025 13:16 via theguardian.com
  
  UK drinks company considering possible price rises as shares fall despite strong Guinness salesBusiness live – latest coverageDiageo, the company behind Smirnoff vodka and Johnnie Walker whisky, has said US tariffs could damage a nascent recovery in its sales and result in a $200m (£161m) hit to profits, with its tequila portfolio and Canadian whisky most affected.The UK drinks company returned to sales growth in the latest half year, as strong performances for Guinness and tequila o
  
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• UK grocery inflation slows for first time in six months amid rise in promotions

  04-02-2025 10:15 via theguardian.com
  
  Kantar figures could be good news for government as food price rises have fuelled persistent UK inflationBusiness live – latest coverageGrocery inflation slowed in January – for the first time in six months – as retailers ramped up promotions to attract budget-conscious shoppers.The price of groceries increased by 3.3%, easing from 3.7% in December, as the costs of toilet roll and cat food fell but those of chocolate, butter and chilled juices rose, according to analysts at Kan
  
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• 'I'm a bit lost now': Daisy the AI bot speaks to scammer – video

  04-02-2025 10:04 via theguardian.com
  
  O2 has introduced 'AI granny' Daisy for a short period to show what could be done with artificial intelligence to counter the scourge of scammers, who have become so ubiquitous. Daisy is not a real grandmother but an AI bot created by computer scientists to combat fraud. Her task is simply to waste the time of the people who are trying to scam her. Using a mixture of ambivalence, confusion about how computers work and an eagerness to reminisce about her younger days, the '78 years young' Daisy d
  
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• I had to sell my father’s retirement flat at less than half price – and that took six years

  04-02-2025 09:30 via theguardian.com
  
  While we were waiting an age for a sale, keeping it cost us £4,000 a yearIt has taken me six years to sell my father’s retirement flat for less than half of what he paid for it. For most of that time we have had to pay annual service charges of more than £4,000 – £2,000 in council tax, and £2,000 in interest on unpaid care home fees which the sale of the flat was meant to fund.It seems retirement apartments are incredibly difficult to sell. In his particular d
  
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• Sun website to charge £2 a month for selected content including Clarkson

  04-02-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Exclusive: Paywall to return after a decade with new Sun Club offering also featuring Royal Exclusive video showSun readers will have to pay £2 a month to access columns by star writers including Jeremy Clarkson, popular content such as from the agony aunt Dear Deidre and some exclusive stories and investigations, as the UK’s biggest tabloid launches a paid-for content strategy.Called Sun Club and initially priced at £1.99 a month, it launches on Tuesday and comes a decade afte
  
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• ‘Dear, did you say pastry?’: meet the ‘AI granny’ driving scammers up the wall

  04-02-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Daisy’s dithering frustrates phone fraudsters and wastes time they could be using to scam real peopleAn elderly grandmother who chats about knitting patterns, recipes for scones and the blackness of the night sky to anyone who will listen has become an unlikely tool in combatting scammers.Like many people, “Daisy” is beset with countless calls from fraudsters, who often try to take control of her computer after claiming she has been hacked. Continue reading...
  
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• Ladbrokes gambling ads shown to parents on app used as a baby monitor

  04-02-2025 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Campaigners urge crackdown after user says they were shocked to see offers of free betsAdverts for the bookmaker Ladbrokes have been shown to “exhausted parents” via a smartphone app that can be used as a baby monitor, the Guardian can reveal.Campaigners have responded by calling for urgent action to reform the rules governing gambling advertising, which have so far been left out of plans to overhaul regulation of the £11bn-a-year sector. Continue reading...
  
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