Financial news

• UK government to ‘wait and see’ in the face of Trump tariffs announcement

  13-02-2025 22:57 via theguardian.com
  
  The US president announced what he called ‘reciprocal tariffs’ on all other countries on ThursdayThe UK government will “wait and see” whether tariffs announced by Donald Trump “actually come to pass”, a senior minister said.The US president announced what he called “reciprocal tariffs” on all other countries on Thursday evening, claiming it was “fair to all”. Continue reading...
  
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• Trump tariffs: what are reciprocal tariffs and how will they affect US consumers?

  13-02-2025 22:07 via theguardian.com
  
  The US president has repeatedly threatened to tax imports at the same rate those countries impose on US goodsDonald Trump has once again threatened to impose a wave of tariffs on US imports, stepping up his bid to overhaul the global economic order.On Thursday, the US president said he plans to introduce “reciprocal” tariffs, ensuring the US imposes the same taxes on its imports from the rest of the world that American goods face in other countries. Continue reading...
  
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• Elon Musk says he’ll drop his $97bn bid for OpenAI if it remains a non-profit

  13-02-2025 22:06 via theguardian.com
  
  Billionaire’s lawyers say offer will be withdrawn if firm he helped found a decade ago ‘preserves the charity’s mission’Elon Musk says he will abandon his $97.4bn offer to buy the non-profit behind OpenAI if the ChatGPT maker drops its plan to convert into a for-profit company.“If OpenAI, Inc’s Board is prepared to preserve the charity’s mission and stipulate to take the ‘for sale’ sign off its assets by halting its conversion, Musk will with
  
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• Trump says US prices ‘could go up’ as he threatens new tariffs on trade partners

  13-02-2025 21:40 via theguardian.com
  
  President says US will impose ‘reciprocal’ duties but no new specific tariffs are announcedUS politics live – latest updatesDonald Trump threatened to ramp up his economic assault on some of America’s biggest trading partners on Thursday, vowing to impose new tariffs on countries that target products made in the US within weeks.The US will impose “reciprocal” duties, the president announced. “We want a level playing field,” he declared in the Oval
  
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• The Guardian view on Britain’s broken economy: ‘That’s your bloody GDP, not ours’ | Editorial

  13-02-2025 19:57 via theguardian.com
  
  Despite growth in 2024, living standards fell. Inequality, weak public investment and government cuts threaten prosperity. Labour must offer voters something different The picture painted by official data for the UK economy in 2024 reveals a country broken by 14 years of Conservative party rule. True, the economy grew – somewhat unexpectedly – but GDP per head fell, showing prosperity didn’t reach most people. There are a few reasons for this decline but none suggests a he
  
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• Missouri sues Starbucks, claiming ‘systemic discrimination’ via DEI

  13-02-2025 19:52 via theguardian.com
  Republican attorney general files suit claiming – without evidence – coffee chain’s hiring policies cause higher pricesMissouri has sued Starbucks for discrimination because its workforce has “become more female and less white”.Filed on Tuesday by the state’s Republican attorney general, the lawsuit accuses the coffee chain of engaging in “systemic racial, sexual, and sexual orientation discrimination” through its diversity, equity and inclusion po
  
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• Does the government really know what it wants from the CMA? | Nils Pratley

  13-02-2025 19:35 via theguardian.com
  
  Some directives such as ‘be more agile’ are meaningless, and what happens when the ‘pro-growth’ agenda collides with the ‘pro-competition’ one?The government seemed to give a strong steer that it wanted the Competition and Markets Authority to do things differently when it ousted its chair, Marcus Bokkerink, last month. But what, precisely, does Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, wish to see?His headline demand that the CMA should be “more agile&
  
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• Rachel Reeves accused of ‘cavalier attitude’ to expenses during banking career

  13-02-2025 19:13 via theguardian.com
  
  Chancellor and PM insist there was no wrongdoing after claims she was investigated for alleged misuse of expensesRachel Reeves has been accused of having a “cavalier attitude” to expenses during her time in retail banking, forcing the chancellor and the prime minister to defend her conduct and insist there was no wrongdoing.Keir Starmer said he had full confidence in Reeves and said she dealt with “any issues” that arose from her career in retail banking, after claims the
  
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• US fashion boss Steve Madden buys Kurt Geiger for £289m

  13-02-2025 18:47 via theguardian.com
  
  Madden served 31 months in prison for his links to a firm founded by The Wolf of Wall Street’s Jordan BelfortSteve Madden, the fashion boss best known for his links to the criminal antics depicted in the book and film The Wolf of Wall Street, is buying the UK footwear and accessories brand Kurt Geiger for £289m in cash.Madden’s Nasdaq-listed company said it had signed a definitive agreement to buy the London-based company, which also owns Carvela, from a group led by Cinven, th
  
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• Qatar Sports Investments considers reducing PSG stake amid Khelaifi investigation

  13-02-2025 18:35 via theguardian.com
  
  Club’s backers open to diluting 87.5% investmentPresident Khelaifi under investigation in complex caseQatar Sports Investments is considering reducing its stake in Paris Saint-Germain amid a row surrounding an investigation into the club’s president, Nasser al-Khelaifi.The Ligue 1 club’s backers are open to further diluting their investment, which amounts to 87.5%, after Qatar reacted with anger to the latest proceedings involving Khelaifi. The 51-year-old was placed under form
  
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• Thirteen more oil and gas licences could be cancelled after Rosebank court ruling

  13-02-2025 18:15 via theguardian.com
  
  Exclusive: Future of further projects uncertain after Rosebank and Jackdaw licences were found to have been unlawfully grantedThirteen more oil and gas licences could be cancelled as ministers decide new guidance for fossil fuel extraction after a landmark court case, the Guardian has learned.The admission that many more licences may ultimately be unlawful comes on the back of cabinet tensions over the future of two major oil and gas fields – Rosebank and Jackdaw – whose licences wer
  
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• State department removes word ‘Tesla’ from $400m US armoured vehicles list

  13-02-2025 17:57 via theguardian.com
  
  Earlier procurement forecast had suggested Elon Musk’s company would be a beneficiary of planned purchasesThe US Department of State has removed the name “Tesla” from a list of planned purchases, after an earlier version of the list said it would spend $400m buying new electric armoured vehicles, even as the carmaker’s boss, Elon Musk, leads efforts to slash government spending under Donald Trump.A procurement forecast produced by the department showed the $400m (£3
  
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• ‘It’s a money game to them’: a son takes on UnitedHealth over his elderly father’s care

  13-02-2025 17:23 via theguardian.com
  
  Robby Martin has joined a lawsuit against UnitedHealth after the insurance giant cut off his father’s nursing home coverage – five days later his father died at homeHave you or a loved one experienced UHC coverage denials as a nursing home patient? Share your story.Two years ago, Robby Martin got an unsettling call from his father, Jackie. The 82-year-old told his son that a representative of the insurance giant UnitedHealth Group had barged into his nursing home room at 2.30 in the
  
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• Unilever chooses Amsterdam for primary listing of ice-cream business

  13-02-2025 15:32 via theguardian.com
  
  In latest blow to London stock market, split-off business to go Dutch – but boss denies move is ‘snub to UK’Unilever has chosen Amsterdam for the primary listing of its ice-creams business, in the latest blow to the London stock market.While the owner of Marmite, Dove and Ben & Jerry’s said the split-off business would also have secondary listings in London and New York, it will be incorporated, headquartered and have its primary listing in the Netherlands. Continue r
  
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• Competition watchdog to speed up decisions after UK government pressure

  13-02-2025 14:48 via theguardian.com
  
  Shake-up to ‘drive growth and investment’ follows ministers’ calls for a more business-friendly regimeBusiness live – latest updatesThe UK’s competition regulator has pledged to “drive growth and investment” and speed up its decisions after pressure from the government to be more pragmatic and less risk averse in its investigations.Setting out how she planned to overhaul the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the regulator’s chief executive,
  
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• Drivers on Elizabeth line to strike for four days over coming weeks

  13-02-2025 14:14 via theguardian.com
  
  Members of Aslef union plan action beginning on 27 February in dispute over payTrain drivers on the Elizabeth line are to strike on four separate days over the coming weeks in a dispute over pay.Members of the union Aslef will take industrial action on Thursday 27 February, Saturday 1 March, Saturday 8 March and Monday 10 March. Continue reading...
  
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• Activist hedge fund reportedly amasses £3.8bn stake in BP

  13-02-2025 14:13 via theguardian.com
  
  Elliott Management expected to demand strategy changes including pushing to abandon green energy pledgeBusiness live – latest updatesThe activist hedge fund targeting BP has amassed a stake in the oil company worth almost £3.8bn, or 5% of its shares, to become its third biggest shareholder, according to reports.Elliott Management is widely expected to use its grip on the 120-year-old company to demand sweeping changes, including a potential break-up of the company, after BP lost almo
  
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• Illegal imported sweets ‘flooding UK high streets’, councils say

  13-02-2025 14:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Social media driving demand for US products containing banned additives linked to cancer and behaviour issuesIllegal imported sweets that contain banned additives linked to cancer and behavioural problems are “flooding UK high streets”, councils have said.The warning first came from the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), which said that demand for American confectionery was being driven by influencers on social media platforms. Continue reading...
  
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• Protesting farmers honk Sandstorm on their tractors to interrupt Keir Starmer visit – video

  13-02-2025 13:43 via theguardian.com
  The UK prime minister has been forced to cut short a visit to a housing development after a noisy protest by farmers, who played Sandstorm on their tractors. The vehicles could be heard sounding musical horns while the prime minister spoke to workers at a housing development in Buckinghamshire. About a dozen tractors and agricultural vehicles blocked the road near the Eastbrook development in Milton Keynes. Farmers have staged a series of protests after the government's budget changes to inherit
  
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• Ratcliffe is being cast as Scrooge but Glazers made Manchester United’s mess | Jamie Jackson

  13-02-2025 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Time will tell if the Ineos chief’s severe cost-cutting pays off, but this is a club that has been mismanaged for yearsSir Jim Ratcliffe is making drastic cuts to Manchester United’s operation for fear that the club are on a fast-track to bankruptcy. Whether such seismic concerns are legitimate or unfounded, it reflects a tale of off‑field financial woe that matches the club’s 12 years in the title‑contending wilderness.The failure to reel in a 21st championship or
  
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• Call it Thatcher’s timebomb: the great council housing selloff, a crisis hidden in plain sight | Aditya Chakrabortty

  13-02-2025 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Her right to buy policy enriched the private sector at taxpayers’ expense. Last year, it sparked another gold rush – and looming calamity for local authoritiesPerhaps only England could make its politician of the moment a woman who died more than a decade ago. Yet turn on Channel 4 and watch Margaret Thatcher: the drama. Radio 4 offers Margaret Thatcher: the play, while soon you can enjoy Thatcher: the opera. For those who can’t wait, there’s Thatcher: the news story, as
  
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• SSE sent me £7,000 bills for a communal gate post

  13-02-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  The utility addressed bills to ‘Feeder Pillar’, which powers flats’ car park gatesWe moved into our current home, a new-build at the time, 15 years ago. Our end-of-terrace is next door to a block of flats that is part of the same development.Just inside the block’s car park there is an electricity feeder pillar that powers the gates. Because of an admin error, when the site was being developed, the feeder pillar was assigned our postal address not the flats’, which
  
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• Solar panels could cut fuel-poor UK families’ energy bills by 24%, says study

  13-02-2025 07:00
  
  Call for means-tested grants or loans to cover upfront costs that prevent poorer households from benefitingPoorer households could cut their energy bills by a quarter if solar panels were installed on their rooftops, a report has found.However, the upfront costs mean that those who stand to benefit most from decreased energy bills are prevented from getting panels installed, according to the Resolution Foundation thinktank. Continue reading...
  
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• Donald Trump sees his trade war as a show of strength. In fact, it’s the opposite | Larry Elliott

  13-02-2025 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The president’s protectionist policies, ripe with potential global repercussions, show how exposed Washington feels to China’s growing powerThe opening shots have been fired in a trade war. Multilateralism is on its last legs. Globalisation is being rolled back. It is less than a month since Donald Trump arrived back in the White House and he is a man in a hurry.Since being sworn in as president, Trump has been busily reshaping the world order. His decision to use tariffs to reduce t
  
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• Barter, bid and bag a bargain! Vintage experts on 21 ways to buy secondhand treasures

  13-02-2025 06:00
  
  Get up early, decide on your budget and never say: ‘What’s your best offer?’ Here’s how to find affordable antiques like a true professionalIn an age when we should be reducing, reusing and recycling, the retro look is more relevant than ever. How can you fill your home with timeless treasures and your wardrobe with “pre-loved” clothes? Here, secondhand specialists share the secrets to sourcing vintage, bartering for a bargain – and avoiding oversho
  
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