21 h. ago Why British businesses won’t abandon manufacturers in China despite Trump tariffs

China has vowed to ‘fight to the end’ in a trade war with the US which threatens to up-end global supply chains

Economics

21 h. ago Why British businesses say they won’t abandon their manufacturers in China despite Trump tariffs

China has vowed to “fight to the end” in a trade war with the US which threatens to up-end global supply chains

Economics

39 h. ago Global supply chains under pressure as Trump tariff uncertainties continue

Companies face rising freight costs, disrupted logistics and congested ports as trade networks reel from Trump’s policiesThe container ship was halfway across the Atlantic when Donald Trump levied tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to the US from most countries during his first term in office.At the stroke of a pen on a US presidential executive order, about £100,000 was added to the cost of one of the shipments on board, from UK advanced materials manufacturer Goodfellow, destined for a US customer. Continue reading...

Politics

39 h. ago Terrible timing and huge uncertainty: how ports and shipping are handling tariff turmoil

As they reel from Trump’s policies, companies say volatile freight costs and congestion are now the norm The container ship was halfway across the Atlantic when Donald Trump levied tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to the US from most countries during his first term in office.At the stroke of a pen on a US presidential executive order about £100,000 was added to the cost of one of the shipments on board, from the UK advanced materials manufacturer Goodfellow, destined for a US customer. Continue reading...

Events

9 d. ago Jaguar Land Rover suspends exports to US as tariff fallout spreads

Trump’s levies on foreign-made cars spark disruption across global automakers’ supply chains

Economics

1 week ago Trump’s tariffs in brief: universal levies and targeted retaliation

The new duties imposed by the US president will send shockwaves through global supply chains

Politics

1 week ago Average person will be 40% poorer if world warms by 4C, new research shows

Experts say previous economic models underestimated impact of global heating – as well as likely ‘cascading supply chain disruptions’Economic models have systematically underestimated how global heating will affect people’s wealth, according to a new study that finds 4C warming will make the average person 40% poorer – an almost four-fold increase on some estimates.The study, by Australian scientists, says average global GDP per person will be reduced by 16% even if warming is kept to 2C higher, , much higher than previous estimates of a drop of about 1.4%. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago China’s Xi urges global CEOs to protect trade supply chains; UK’s 2024 growth revised higher, but households hoard cash – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsOver in Germany, the number of people out of work has risen at the fastest rate since October of 2024.The German labour office said the number of unemployed increased by 26,000 in seasonally adjusted terms to 2.92 million. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected that figure to rise by 10,000.“March marks the start of the so-called spring recovery on the labour market. This year, however, the economic slump is noticeably slowing it down.”One bright spot was the impressive 1.9% q/q (CE forecast 0.7% q/q) rise in consumers’ real incomes in Q4. The 4.2% rise in 2024 as a whole suggests households experienced the strongest real income growth in nine years.With consumer spending hardly rising, at 12.0% in Q4 (up from 10.3% in Q3), the saving rate remains unusually high, suggesting households are choosing to save rather than spend the bulk of those gains. Continue reading...

Economics

2 w. ago China’s Xi urges global CEOs to protect trade supply chains; UK’s 2024 growth revised higher – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsToday’s UK national accounts data also shows that people stashed away more of their money into savings at the end of last year.The household saving ratio, which measure the proportion of income that is saved, rose to 12% in October-December 2024, up from 10.3% in the third quarter of last year.One bright spot was the impressive 1.9% q/q (CE forecast 0.7% q/q) rise in consumers’ real incomes in Q4. The 4.2% rise in 2024 as a whole suggests households experienced the strongest real income growth in nine years.With consumer spending hardly rising, at 12.0% in Q4 (up from 10.3% in Q3), the saving rate remains unusually high, suggesting households are choosing to save rather than spend the bulk of those gains.Non-food stores – the total of department, clothing, household and other non-food stores – rose by 3.1% over the month. This put monthly sales volumes at their highest level since March 2022.“The exceptional volatility in rec...

Economics

2 w. ago China’s Xi urges global CEOs to protect trade supply chains; WH Smith sells high street stores – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsShares in WH Smith have dropped by 2.4% in early stock market trading in London, as traders digest the sale of its high street stores for £76m.Less encouragingly, the UK’s trade deficit has widened.finished manufactured goods (£1.8bn)semi-manufactured goods (£1.2bn)oil (£0.6bn)other fuels (£0.3bn)“The UK’s current account deficit with the rest of the world widened slightly in the latest quarter, driven by falling exports of goods.Our balance of payments statistics for recent years have been updated to incorporate improved measurement of foreign direct investment and corrected trade data.” Continue reading...

Economics

2 w. ago Donald Trump imposes 25% tariffs on vehicle imports in 'concerning' blow to UK car trade

Donald Trump's move is likely to put a financial squeeze on automakers which depend on global supply chains - so much so British jobs are "clearly now at real risk"

Politics