2 w. ago UK private sector shrinks as export orders slump; state borrowing nearly £15bn above official forecast – business live

Eurozone private sector ‘broadly stable’ in April; stocks, dollar, oil prices rise on hopes of US-China trade dealUK annual borrowing exceeds forecasts by almost £15bnThe collapse in confidence and drop in output during April raise red flags for the economic outlook and add pressure on the Bank of England to reduce interest rates again at its May meeting, said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.While recent months have been characterised by UK businesses treading water, broadly stagnating since last autumn’s budget, businesses are reporting more of a struggle to keep their heads above water in April.April’s fall in output was the largest recorded for nearly two and a half years, consistent with GDP declining at a quarterly rate of 0.3%, reflecting falling activity and demand across both manufacturing and services. Continue reading...

Economics

2 w. ago UK annual borrowing nearly £15bn above official forecast; stocks rise as Trump rows back on Fed attack – business live

UK government borrowed £151.9bn in year to March; investors cheered by hopes of US-China trade dealEuropean stocks have also opened higher, as a wave of relief spread across markets.The UK’s FTSE 100 index is up by 1.2% at 8,430, while the Italian FTSE MiB rose by 1.4%.Bessent threw a lifeline to fragile US sentiment with conciliatory remarks on the US-China trade war. Bessent said the current tariff situation is “unsustainable” and expects a de-escalation in the near term.We could witness a period where the dollar is tossed around by headlines of Fed independence risk and market-friendly news on US tariff policy. What is clear by now is that no other G10 currency has a higher positive beta to trade news than the dollar. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago US stocks and dollar sink as Donald Trump renews attacks on Fed chair Jay Powell

Currency sell-off intensifies after president steps up criticism of central bank head for not cutting rates

Politics

2 w. ago US stocks and dollar sink as Trump renews attacks on Fed chair Powell

President has increased criticism of central bank head for not lowering rates sufficiently swiftly

Politics

2 w. ago Dollar and stocks weaken as Trump renews attacks on Fed chair Powell

US president has increased criticism of central bank head for not lowering rates sufficiently swiftly

Politics

2 w. ago Dollar weakens as Trump attack on Fed chair Powell rattles markets

Gold rises to fresh record while Swiss franc reaches 10-year high

Politics

3 w. ago Trump attacks Fed chair over interest rates and says his termination ‘cannot come fast enough’

President, whose tariff policy has caused turmoil, said Jerome Powell is ‘always too late and wrong’ with rate policyBusiness live – latest updatesDonald Trump early on Thursday blasted the Federal Reserve chairman, Jerome Powell, for not lowering US interest rates and expressed a wish for him to be gone from his role.The US president lambasted Powell as “always too late and wrong” in a post on his Truth Social platform. Trump noted that the European Central Bank (ECB) was poised on Thursday to lower interest rates again, without mentioning that the body has been responding to the chaos caused by Trump’s initiatives on tariffs. Continue reading...

Politics