55 m. ago Donald Trump says tariffs going 'better than expected' as trillions wiped off global economy

The US President's latest claims follow an earlier post on Truth Social in which he said the "operation is over" and, referring to the US economy as a "patient", said it would come back more "resilient"

Politics

73 m. ago ‘Another nail in the coffin’: Germany’s car industry faces up to Trump’s tariffs

There are major concerns about the potentially ‘catastrophic’ impact US policy will have on vehicle makers Emerging into the springtime sun from gate 17 at Volkswagen’s main factory in Wolfsburg at the end of his shift on Thursday afternoon, Carsten, 63, pulled heavily on a cigarette and shook his head when asked about Donald Trump’s US tariff policies.“It’s just another nail in the coffin for the German car industry,” the assembly line worker said. He cited managers’ plans to slash jobs and close factories earlier this year, and a decade before that the ‘dieselgate’ scandal, costly both financially and reputationally, after Germany’s largest carmaker was found to have falsified CO2 emissions tests. Continue reading...

Politics

77 m. ago MIKEY SMITH: 6 insane things Donald Trump did while global stock markets crashed

On Wednesday he announced a string of stinging tariffs on goods from around the world - targeting every country, even the ones only populated by penguins - here's what he was doing while the global economy burned

Events

79 m. ago Trump demands UK universities which get funding from US prove none of it is spent on woke DEI projects or research

Donald Trump is demanding British universities which receive funding from the USA prove the money is not being spent on ' woke ' research in a new crackdown.

Politics

80 m. ago Starmer to hold talks with global leaders as world reels from US tariffs

Downing Street made clear that the UK is ‘disappointed’ with the US levies despite Donald Trump saying the Prime Minister was ‘very happy’.

Politics

1 hour ago Tell us: have your pension savings been affected by turbulent stockmarkets?

We’re interested to hear how people’s invested pension savings have been faring amid sharp ups and downs in recent months and years, and how this may affect themUS president Donald Trump’s trade war, political elections and societal shifts ushering in dramatic change and dire public finances in multiple countries, the war in Ukraine and the Covid pandemic have been creating tumultous conditions on international markets for the past few years.We’d like to hear how people’s invested pension savings have been affected by this series of economic shocks. Has your invested portfolio sustained big losses, or have you enjoyed staggering stockmarket gains? How may you and your plans be affected by it all? Tell us. Continue reading...

Economics

1 hour ago Donald Trump launches bizarre 'gold card' with his face that costs a jaw

The US President proudly flashed his new visa on Air Force One.

Politics

1 hour ago ‘Only job I know’: tiny Lesotho’s garment workers reel from Trump’s tariffs

Impoverished African country is hit with highest tariff rate at 50%, overturning decades of global trade policyThe day after Donald Trump announced sweeping global tariffs, Lesotho’s garment workers feared for their jobs.Last year, Lesotho sent about 20% of its $1.1bn (£845m) of exports to the US, most of it clothing, as well as diamonds, under a continent-wide trade agreement meant to help African countries’ development via tariff-free exports. Continue reading...

Politics

1 hour ago ‘Only job I know’: tiny Lesotho’s garment workers reel from Trump’s 50% tariffs

Impoverished African country is hit with highest tariff rate, overturning decades of global trade policyThe day after Donald Trump announced sweeping global tariffs, Lesotho’s garment workers feared for their jobs.Last year, Lesotho sent about 20% of its $1.1bn (£845m) of exports to the US, most of it clothing under a continent-wide trade agreement meant to help African countries’ development via tariff-free exports, as well as diamonds. Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago Are Trump’s tariffs for real or an AI hallucination? I’m afraid the answer is both | Marina Hyde

Amid claims that a chatbot helped shape the key calculations, the president is now off playing golf. He’ll find the world economy in a bunkerThere’s a scene in the very first episode of Yellowstone where the casino-owning Native American chief explains the basic financial logic of all casinos to an uncomfortable politician: “The gamblers’ money is like a river – flowing one way. Our way.” Oh no, hang on, wait Not all casinos. In fact, it could be that when all is said and done, the historians looking for that one key fact to illustrate the eventual legacy of Donald Trump will not go with his two stunning presidential election wins. Instead, they’ll point out that in the 90s, he literally managed to bankrupt casinos. To repeat: this is a man who somehow contrived to bankrupt multiple casinos. Is he the guy to reshape the entire global economic order of the past century? Let’s find out! Either way, only 45 months of his presidency left to go.Anyway: tariffs. Rather than using actual t...

Politics

2 h. ago Trump’s attacks on law firms are an attack on law itself | David Cole and Amrit Singh

In unprecedented orders, the president is targeting lawyers simply for filing cases he opposes. And firms are surrenderingIf you are systematically engaged in lawbreaking, lawyers can be very annoying. They sue, and their suits may lead courts to declare your actions illegal.So Donald Trump, who has launched his second term with a blizzard of blatantly illegal actions, many of which have been suspended by the courts, has decided to address the problem at its root. He’s targeting lawyers, punishing them for doing nothing more than filing lawsuits he opposes, or hiring lawyers he does not like. He has issued unprecedented executive orders penalizing five of the nation’s major law firms, and more are likely to come. These tactics, blatantly illegal, are designed with one goal in mind: to chill lawyers’ willingness to challenge his illegal actions. They are a fundamental attack on the foundation of the rule of law. And they are achieving their purpose, not because they are legal – they ...

Politics

2 h. ago Wisconsin recipient of $1m from Musk was active in Republican campaigning

Nicholas Jacobs was immersed in party activities, even working to elect the Musk-favored candidate who lostArchived social media posts from a student Republican operative, Nicholas Jacobs, who received a $1m check from Elon Musk, show that he was deeply immersed in Republican electioneering over the last year, working not only to elect Donald Trump but other party candidates in the state.They included failed Wisconsin Republican senate candidate Eric Hovde; first-term congressman Tony Wied; incumbent Milwaukee Republican vice-chair Brett Galaszewski; and Brad Schimel, the state supreme court candidate whom Musk has spent $25m supporting. Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago The Guide #185: How The Phantom Menace’s trade wars can help you understand our political moment

In this week’s newsletter: Donald Trump’s week of chaos has made me reappraise the unloved Star Wars prequel – was it quite prescient after all?There are many scary things to come out of Trump’s tariffs. The world economy being thrown into chaos; spiralling prices; furious economic experts showing charts with big down arrows, using phrases like “gilt markets” and “share index undergrowth”, which I definitely understand. But the most terrifying thing – the thing that has made me truly believe that we are living in the End Times – is a panic-inducing realisation: The Phantom Menace just might have been right all along.For those who haven’t seen the first Star Wars prequel, GOD I envy you. The dialogue is wooden and the structure inexplicable (sure, let’s just have a pod-race instead of an Act II) – and that’s even before we get onto the Jar Jar Binks of it all (the answer to the question “what if we shaved Paddington and spliced his DNA with the most unlikeable newt in the world?”). B...

Politics

2 h. ago Marine Le Pen is 'guilty as hell' and deserves election ban, journalist Anne

The ban has posed uncomfortable questions about France's democracy, with US President Donald Trump piling on pressure by echoing the slogan 'Le Pen must be freed'.

Politics

2 h. ago Donald Trump shows off new 'gold card' immigration visa as he says "for $5m this could be yours"

It has the US president's face plastered across the front

Politics

2 h. ago Donald 'Willy Wonka' Trump unveils $5million 'golden ticket' with his face on it

The Orange Manbaby showed off the $5million 'green-card-privileges-plus' card to reporters as his face glistened with sweat on board Air Force One – as the US stock market nose dived

Politics

2 h. ago Stock markets plunge as China announces retaliatory 34% tariffs on US goods – business live

Global trade war escalate as Beijing hits back against Donald Trump with new tariffs on US goodsIMF warns of ‘significant risk’ to global economy from Trump tariffs as markets slideGlobal markets in turmoil as Trump tariffs wipe $2.5tn off Wall StreetAnalysis: Trump’s ‘idiotic’ and flawed tariff calculations stun economistsNew Civil Liberties Alliance, a conservative legal group, has filed what it says is the first lawsuit seeking to block Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports, saying the US president overstepped his authority. Reuters reports:The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Florida, alleges that Trump lacked the legal authority to impose the sweeping tariffs unveiled on Wednesday as well as duties authorized on February 1 under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.“By invoking emergency power to impose an across-the-board tariff on imports from China that the statute does not authorize, President Trump has misused that power, usurped Congress’s right to contro...

Economics

2 h. ago FTSE latest: European stock markets plunge after China retaliates with 34% tariff on US goods

The stock markets in the UK, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea and Australia were all falling for a second day

Economics

3 h. ago How investors can protect against tariff turbulence... and even profit from the storm

Ahead of Isa deadline day, the mood is apprehensive following Donald Trump's unveiling of his tariff plan, which has shrunk the value of many stocks and shares Isas.

Economics

3 h. ago How could Donald Trump’s tariffs affect UK households and their finances?

Households could see their money affected in various ways following the US president’s announcement on tariffs

Politics