3 d. ago China to cut interest rates in response to trade war with US

Half-point cut to be made to banks’ reserve requirement ratio and 1tn yuan released into banking systemBusiness live – latest updatesChina will cut interest rates and inject some much-needed liquidity into the domestic economy, as the country steels itself for a bruising trade war with the US.The People’s Bank of China said on Wednesday it would make a half-point cut to the banks’ reserve requirement ratio, its benchmark interest rate, and release 1tn yuan (£103.6bn) into the banking system. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago Why Europe needs a common defence fund – outside the EU | Simon Nixon

It would be open to the UK, Norway and Switzerland, and give governments more bang for their buck as the continent rearmsOf all the shocks to have hit Europe over the past three months, none is more devastating than the realisation that the continent may no longer be able to count on a US security guarantee. Even if Donald Trump’s disdain for Europe had been telegraphed well in advance, few imagined a world in which a US president would publicly humiliate the head of state of a European ally in the Oval Office, cut off intelligence sharing in the middle of a war or cook up a one-sided peace deal with Russia over the heads of Kyiv and its European allies.What has made the shock worse is the brutal revelation of Europe’s inability to defend its own interests. Even as European leaders plead with Trump that a peace without robust security guarantees for Ukraine is no peace at all, their position is fatally weakened by the fact that they are in no position to provide those security guara...

Politics

7 d. ago Ibiza and Majorca holiday flights cut demanded by islands' government in war on tourists

The Balearic island administration is pleading with the Spanish government to exercise its powers and to tell the airport authorities not to implement any more flights

Politics

9 d. ago Tesco hikes price of popular supermarket meal deal as part of huge shake

The Dine In deal includes one main course, one side, and a dessert, plus an alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage and is popular with pairs wanting the restaurant experience at home

Economics

1 week ago Asda issues update on popular Kids Eat for £1 deal that affects all 205 cafes

The supermarket has launched the price drop in celebration of its upcoming 60th anniversary.

Economics

1 week ago Trump 100 days: ‘unpredictable’ US alienates allies and disrupts global trade

Trump has cut off Ukraine aid, brokered and lost a ceasefire in Gaza and took a sledgehammer to world commerce100 days of TrumpFor US foreign policy, Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office were the weeks when decades happened.In just over three months, the US president has frayed alliances that stood since the second world war and alienated the US’s closest friends, cut off aid to Ukrainians on the frontlines against Vladimir Putin, emboldened US rivals around the world, brokered and then lost a crucial ceasefire in Gaza, launched strikes on the Houthis in Yemen and seesawed on key foreign policy and economic questions to the point where the US has been termed the “unpredictable ally”. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Trump 100 days: from cornerstone of the west to unreliable ally

Trump has cut off Ukraine aid, brokered and lost a ceasefire in Gaza and took a sledgehammer to world commerce100 days of TrumpFor US foreign policy, Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office were the weeks when decades happened.In just over three months, the US president has frayed alliances that stood since the second world war and alienated the US’s closest friends, cut off aid to Ukrainians on the frontlines against Vladimir Putin, emboldened US rivals around the world, brokered and then lost a crucial ceasefire in Gaza, launched strikes on the Houthis in Yemen and seesawed on key foreign policy and economic questions to the point where the US has been termed the “unpredictable ally”. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Aldi insider details supermarket changes since opening in 1990 including written price tags

Aldi is celebrating a major milestone in 2025 - 35 years since it opened its first UK store. We spoke to an Aldi insider to find out how the supermarket has changed since then

Economics

2 w. ago Airlines, rattled by trade war and spending pullback, continue to cut flights, pull outlooks

Major U.S. airlines are reducing their flight schedules and revising or withdrawing their profit outlooks for the year due to less domestic travel demand as sentiment about the national and global economies sours

Events

2 w. ago Sainsbury's launches 'biggest ever' Aldi price match with over 100 new items

The supermarket's price match war with its German rival now offers 800 products across summer favourites and household staples.

Politics

3 w. ago Sainsbury's braces as supermarket price war puts pressure on profits

Sainsbury's expects its income to fall by £1bn this year as it ramps up investment in lowering grocery prices for shoppers.

Economics

3 w. ago Sainsbury's joins Tesco in bracing for supermarket price cutting war with Asda

Grocer also unveiled its biggest store opening programme in more than a decade

Economics

3 w. ago Airstrike destroys parts of Gaza City hospital as Israel intensifies offensive

Civil defence agency says al-Ahli hospital hit as IDF operations cut off access to southern city of RafahSee all our Israel-Gaza war coverageAn Israeli airstrike destroyed parts of a hospital in Gaza City early on Sunday as Israel continued its military offensive in the war-battered Palestinian territory and cut off access to the southern city of Rafah.The Palestinian civil defence agency said Israel’s air force fired missiles at al-Ahli hospital, also known as the Baptist or Ahli Arab hospital. It is the only hospital still functioning in Gaza City after the destruction of medical facilities in the northern area of the strip. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago ‘It’s going to be messy’: Americans on how Trump’s tariffs are shaping their spending

Fallout from Trump’s trade war is forcing some Guardian readers to cut back or stock up on items from food to carsA few weeks ago, Dane began stocking up on “paper products”, “cases of paper towels, toilet paper”, “piddle-pads” for their shih-tzu, and his wife upgraded from an iPhone 8 to 14.The 73-year-old in South Carolina said the purchases – which were made to get ahead of Donald Trump’s trade policies – reminded him of the early weeks of the Covid pandemic, when he scrambled to buy masks, gloves and toilet paper. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago Supermarket named the cheapest for essentials during the Easter holidays and it's not Aldi or Lidl

Despite a slight price increase, one supermarket continues to lead the pack this week

Politics