Financial news

• Trump triggers global meltdown while Starmer scrambles – Politics Weekly UK

  09-04-2025 21:09
  
  As fears of a global recession continue in the wake of Donald Trump’s tariffs, Keir Starmer insists the UK should keep a cool head. But with markets in turmoil and a looming economic crisis, does the prime minister need to be bolder? John Harris asks the Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff.Plus, he speaks to Daisy Cooper, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, about whether people should ‘buy British’ to combat the tariffs.--Listen to John discuss how music helped him connect wit
  
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• British Steel races against time as crisis talks end without deal

  09-04-2025 20:30
  
  Lisa Nandy says solution achievable amid fears furnaces are running out of options to secure raw materialsBusiness live – latest updatesCrisis talks between the government and the Chinese owner of British Steel have ended with no deal in place, as the Scunthorpe plant races against time to secure the raw materials needed to keep its blast furnaces running.Jingye, which promised a “new chapter” in UK steelmaking when it rescued British Steel in 2020, said last month the site&rsq
  
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• ‘We are nearly there’: UK and India agree 90% of free trade agreement

  09-04-2025 20:18
  
  Exclusive: Question of visas for Indian workers said to be nearly resolved and deal may be finalised this yearThe UK and India have agreed 90% of their free trade agreement, businesses were told on a call with negotiators this week.There are hopes the UK government will succeed in finalising a highly coveted trade deal with India, a booming economy of 1.4 billion people, this year. Continue reading...
  
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• Big brands vs retailers: who will absorb the tariff impact in their profit margins? | Nils Pratley

  09-04-2025 19:40
  
  It may take at least six months for retailers like JD Sports to know the real-world effects of Trump’s trade warfare“There are no tariffs on webcasts,” joked Régis Schultz, chief executive of JD Sports, as he opened the sportswear retailer’s strategy update to the City.Unfortunately, that was the limit of his insights into the effects of Trumpian economic warfare on a business that likes to point out that its 2,500 state-side stores make it bigger in the US than lo
  
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• Bank of England says AI software could create market crisis for profit

  09-04-2025 17:55
  
  Concern grows over programs deployed to act with autonomy that may ‘exploit weaknesses’Business live – latest updatesIncreasingly autonomous AI programs could end up manipulating markets and intentionally creating crises in order to boost profits for banks and traders, the Bank of England has warned.Artificial intelligence’s ability to “exploit profit-making opportunities” was among a wide range of risks cited in a report by the Bank of England’s financi
  
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• I’ve seen many phoney trade wars come and go. This is the real thing | Larry Elliott

  09-04-2025 17:38
  
  This battle between the US and China goes far beyond market turmoil – it has killed off the liberal dream of a borderless world Donald Trump’s decision to impose a 125% tariff on Chinese imports into the US has raised stakes in the struggle between the world’s two biggest economies. If the markets have been spooked by the events of the past week then that’s hardly surprising.
  Over the past few decades, phoney trade wars have been commonplace. Rival nations have squared of
  
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• Royal Mail asks Ofcom to let it offer tracking for every parcel sent in UK

  09-04-2025 16:47 via theguardian.com
  Company wants regulator to remove rule preventing it from offering tracking on standard servicesBusiness live – latest updatesRoyal Mail has asked Ofcom to allow it to offer tracking for all parcels sent first or second class around the UK, as the company raised concerns over the communications regulator’s planned shake-up of the postal service.Ofcom has been holding a consultation on a proposed overhaul of the universal service obligation (USO), the remit held by the 508-year-old Ro
  
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• Swindon apprentice loses unfair dismissal case after ‘lunch-tampering’ row

  09-04-2025 16:20
  
  Brooklyn Forrester-Hayes threatened co-worker after reporting ‘finger-sized holes’ in his sandwichesA garage apprentice who threatened a colleague he thought had pranked him by poking “finger-sized holes through his sandwiches” has lost an unfair dismissal claim.Brooklyn Forrester-Hayes accused a fellow apprentice of “tampering with his lunch” as well as “smashing his crisps”, an employment tribunal was told. Continue reading...
  
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• ’They are kissing my ass’: Trump says countries are pleading to negotiate tariffs – video

  09-04-2025 16:08
  
  Donald Trump bragged about countries ’kissing my ass’ to negotiate tariffs during a dinner for Republicans on Tuesday. The US president said: 'We're going to do much better than that this time, because this time I'm doing what I want to do with respect to the tariffs.' He added that Congress should not get involved in the negotiations because 'they don't negotiate like I negotiate'US politics live – latest updatesUK business live – latest updates Continue reading...
  
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• The best diffusers for your home: 22 genuinely great-smelling diffusers for every mood and budget

  09-04-2025 14:00 via theguardian.com
  From fresh to earthy, floral to spicy, these reed and electric diffusers smell as good as they lookDiffusers are a simple way to keep your home smelling good, whether to mask the many undesirable smells that can pop up or just to give your space a bit of a lift. While scented candles definitely have their place, diffusers can be left unattended so you can be greeted by a lovely aroma as soon you walk through the door (although do keep them out of reach of small children and pets).Reed diffusers
  
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• People in the UK: have you moved away from the city and now returned?

  09-04-2025 13:22
  We’d like to hear from people in the UK who moved to the countryside or coast during the pandemic and have now moved back to the city – or are planning toData analysis from the property website Rightmove has found that London is once again the most searched-for location on the website, and the majority (58%) of people living there are looking to stay rather than to leave.This is a a reverse from five years ago, when in the early months of Covid lockdowns, would-be house buyers were l
  
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• Martin Lewis's MSE urges Brits to act ahead of passport price hikes

  09-04-2025 12:06 via express.co.uk
  
  The Money Saving Expert website encouraged Brits to act 'as soon as possible'.
  
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• Please, for the love of God, stop buying supersized cars | Arwa Mahdawi

  09-04-2025 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Why would anyone want a car that’s too big for parking spaces, or that’s a menace to other road users? I have a theoryExcuse me for a moment while I clamber on top of my high horse to deliver an important public safety announcement: stop buying enormous cars! Please, for the love of God, pedestrians and my tiny chihuahua that is just trying to cross the road, stop this cycle of car-brained insanity.I write this from the US, where everything (including the presidential ego) is supersi
  
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• Life insurance sales BOOM as fearful Brits protect lives from Trump and Putin

  09-04-2025 11:45 via express.co.uk
  
  The young are supposed to be wild and carefree. Now they're in fear for their lives.
  
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• Former Bank of England chief calls for shock 0.5% rate drop

  09-04-2025 10:46 via express.co.uk
  
  Markets have priced in a smaller quarter-point reduction next month
  
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• FTSE crashes again but investors are taking one wild move that could make them rich

  09-04-2025 10:28 via express.co.uk
  
  While most investors dread a stock market crash, others see opportunity in the chaos.
  
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• Rachel Reeves' death tax raid on pension pots could raise more than predicted

  09-04-2025 10:19 via express.co.uk
  
  Across the country, pensioners are pulling money out of their retirement pots earlier than planned - not to pass on to their children, but to spend.
  
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• State pension bonus blocked at last minute in huge HMRC blunder

  09-04-2025 09:58 via express.co.uk
  
  Thousands of people were blocked from topping up their state pensions before a crucial deadline in a major HMRC blunder.
  
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• Rachel Reeves urged to launch new tax Britons have never paid that ‘makes everyone poorer'

  09-04-2025 09:16 via express.co.uk
  
  UK taxes may be at an all-time high but campaigners want Labour to launch a brand-new levy.
  
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• My daughter is still being pursued despite ScottishPower recalling £1,000 debt

  09-04-2025 08:00
  Supplier finally confirmed there had been error during IT upgrade but prepay meter saga did not end thereWhile studying in Glasgow, my daughter lived in a rented flat with a prepayment electricity meter. Shortly after she moved out in the summer of 2022 she was contacted by ScottishPower about a £1,000 debt.Given it was a pay-as-you-go meter, we questioned how this was possible. But instead of investigating, the debt was passed to a recovery firm, which started chasing her for money in Mar
  
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• Pandemic-fuelled shift to coast and country has gone into reverse

  09-04-2025 07:00
  Fewer people want to escape from cities – and homes by the sea have lost some of their lustre, says RightmoveBack in the early months of Covid lockdowns, all the talk in property circles was of would-be housebuyers plotting a move to coastal and rural areas as city dwellers prioritised a bigger garden, access to nature and more room for home working.But, five years on, the reshaping of the housing market sparked by the pandemic has gone into reverse, with homes by the sea seemingly losing
  
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• Hundred-year wait for family-size social housing in parts of England, study finds

  09-04-2025 06:00 via theguardian.com
  Charities condemn ‘national scandal’ and call for pledge to build 90,000 social homes a year to meet demandThe wait for family-size social housing has risen to more than 100 years in parts of England, which charities have condemned as “ludicrous” and a “national scandal”.Analysis from the National Housing Federation (NHF), Crisis and Shelter found that in 32 local authority areas across England, the wait for a home with at least three bedrooms was longer than
  
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• Fresh Blue Badge update for everyone renewing or applying for permit

  09-04-2025 06:00 via express.co.uk
  
  The permits allow people with mobility problems to park closer to their destination making it easier for them to get out and about
  
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• One group can get free passport renewals ahead of price rise

  09-04-2025 01:30 via express.co.uk
  
  Passport prices are set to rise in just a couple of days, but there is one group that can avoid the fees altogether
  
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• George Osborne and Ed Balls podcast censured for Viagogo promotion

  09-04-2025 01:01
  Regulator rejects claim by presenters that most events on the resale site had tickets selling at below face valueGeorge Osborne and Ed Balls read out a “misleading” advert for the controversial ticket resale website Viagogo during an episode of their podcast, the advertising regulator has ruled.The two men, who put aside their past rivalry at the dispatch box to launch a podcast in 2023, espoused the benefits of the “secondary” ticketing site in a promotion during an epis
  
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