25 h. ago Exclusive: Bank of England scrutinizes lenders for dollar risk amid Trump worries, sources say

Exclusive: Bank of England scrutinizes lenders for dollar risk amid Trump worries, sources say  Reuters

Politics

38 h. ago Steve Bannon shares chilling theory about why Murdoch's Wall Street Journal revealed Trump's letter to Epstein

The claim was made during a broadcast before Trump filed a $10billion lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal.

Politics

50 h. ago Trump calls Fed chair ‘a numbskull’ who ‘makes it difficult for people to buy a house’

In new attack, US president accuses Jerome Powell of preventing central bank from lowering interest ratesBusiness live – latest updatesDonald Trump has renewed his attacks on Jerome Powell, calling the US central bank chair a “numbskull” and accusing him of “making it difficult for people, especially the young, to buy a house”.The US president accused Powell of preventing the Federal Reserve from lowering interest rates to make housing more affordable. Continue reading...

Politics

65 h. ago Powell defends Fed’s management of $2.5bn headquarters refurbishment

Central bank chair has faced intense criticism from Trump administration over the project

Politics

3 d. ago UK payrolls down by 178,000 over last year; Bundesbank chief defends central bank independence after Trump’s attacks on Powell – business live

UK company payrolls have fallen by 178,000 in last year, pushing unemployment rate to four-year highAnalysis: The rise in unemployment shows the UK jobs market is cooling, but it is not collapsingDeutsche Bank’s chief UK economist Sanjay Raja agrees that the UK’s labour market is continuing to cool, with both payrolls and vacancies down.Raja explains:Redundancies remain elevated with the May data showing a 114k increase in the three months to May – its highest level in three months. Jobs demand remains weak as hiring plans are near a standstill.This will continue to see unemployment rise – but we think this will be a slow grind higher as opposed to a whipsaw higher. For the MPC, despite the bump higher in inflation, the loosening in labour market should give the BoE reason to proceed with a gradual dial down of restrictive policy.The fallout in the labour market from the hikes in National Insurance Contributions and the minimum wage is not as big as previously thought. Even so, as p...

Economics

3 d. ago UK unemployment jumps to highest since 2021 as wage growth slows

The Office for National Statistics said the rate of UK unemployment increased to 4.7% in the three months to May.

Politics

4 d. ago Will Nigel Farage’s attempt to copy and paste Trump’s policies work in the UK? | Samuel Earle

The Reform leader is trying to import Doge’s cuts to spending and ‘DEI’. It’s clear what he gets out of it – not so much the British voterA popular maxim on the American right is that politics is downstream from culture. In the UK, it increasingly feels like politics is simply downstream from the US. With Reform UK ascendant in the polls, Nigel Farage – officially MP for Clacton, unofficially Donald Trump’s emissary to the UK – is setting the terms of the national conversation, and he is importing them directly from across the pond.Over the past few months, Reform has sought to launch “Doge” initiatives (referencing Elon Musk’s department of government efficiency), waged war on DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) employment schemes, and called for the UK government to embrace crypto and create a bitcoin digital reserve at the Bank of England, following Trump’s lead. It seems the Brexiteers were right: Britain doesn’t make anything any more – not even its own bogeymen.Samuel Earle ...

Politics

4 d. ago Readers' Letters: 'Stop Trump from visiting Scotland' calls counterproductive

Calls to ban Donald Trump from Scotland are short-sighted, says reader

Politics

4 d. ago Judge says Trump administration can't use travel ban to keep 80 refugees out of the US

A federal judge has barred the Trump administration from using its ban on travelers from some countries to keep 80 already-vetted refugees from entering the United States

Events

5 d. ago Donald Trump tells Starmer to 'bring back the oil' and banish windfarms ahead of Aberdeen meeting

Donald Trump is poised for Aberdeen talks with Keir Starmer and John Swinney later this month.

Politics

6 d. ago Bank of England governor says jobs slowdown could prompt rate cut; European markets fall after Trump tariff threat – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as Andrew Bailey insists: “I think the path [for interest rates] is down”.Donald Trump’s threat to impose a 30% on European Union imports from next month is weighing on European stock markets this morning.Most of Europe’s markets have dropped at the start of trading, pulling the pan-European Stoxx 600 index down by 0.6%.Inadvertently or otherwise the President is testing the market’s patience. At a time when investors had seemingly brushed aside the likelihood of the base line of tariffs settling at 10%, the new pronouncements suggest a level of between 15% and 20% being the norm, with additionally punitive numbers on the likes of Canada at 35% adding to the uncertainty.The so-called “TACO” trade will therefore be tested again, with markets drifting in the US on Friday and futures currently suggesting a similar fall today. In addition, and as the new 1 August extension approaches, nerves are likely to jangle. Continue readi...

Economics

8 d. ago Steve Bannon confronted over Jeffrey Epstein at MAGA event: ‘Trump has become the deep state!’

‘Yeah, we’re getting lied to. The pedophiles aren’t getting rounded up,’ one attendee at a Turning Point USA event complained on Friday.

Politics

8 d. ago HSBC becomes first UK bank to quit industry’s net zero alliance

Campaigners condemn ‘troubling’ move that follows departure of six of largest US banks after Trump’s electionHSBC has become the first UK bank to leave the global banking industry’s net zero target-setting group, as campaigners warned it was a “troubling” sign over the lender’s commitment to tackling the climate crisis.The move risks triggering further departures from the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) by UK banks, in a fresh blow to international climate coordination efforts. Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago US state department issues first of 1,350 termination orders after court lifted ban

Career diplomats and other staff begin receiving notices amid Trump administration cull of about 15% of workforceUS politics – live updatesThe US state department has begun issuing the first of more than 1,350 termination notices as part of a huge reorganisation of America’s diplomatic corps under the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, according to internal documents and US diplomats at the state department on Friday.Career diplomats and other staff began to receive the notices on Friday morning, days after the supreme court lifted a ban on the Trump administration moving forward with mass firings of government employees that will affect hundreds of thousands of federal workers. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Future Queen of Belgium says she 'doesn't want special treatment' to stay at Harvard amid Donald Trump's ban on foreign students

Princess Elisabeth of Belgium said that she doesn't want her circumstances to be considered any differently due to her royal status, according to HLN.

Politics

1 week ago US issues sanctions against Francesca Albanese, UN official investigating abuses in Gaza

Trump administration targets special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza, in latest action against critics of Israel’s warThe Trump administration announced on Wednesday it was issuing sanctions against an independent official tasked with investigating human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories, the latest effort by the United States to punish critics of Israel’s 21-month war in Gaza.The state department’s decision to sanction Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza, comes after a recent US pressure campaign to force the international body to remove her from her post failed. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Fed says most policymakers see risks tariffs will cause ‘persistent’ inflation

Minutes from US central bank’s June meeting highlight schism over effect of Donald Trump’s levies

Economics

1 week ago Bank of England says UK banks can increase riskier mortgage lending – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as BoE recommends banks can issue more high loan-to-income level loansCopper prices in US hit record high after Trump announces 50% tariffTrump threatens to escalate trade war amid confusion over new tariff ratesCarsten Menke, Head of Next Generation Research at Julius Baer, says the copper tariffs will be inflationary domestically in the US and deflationary internationally – which matches the price action we’ve seen since last night.Menke also points out that the jump in US copper prices (13% yesterday) is less than the 50% tariff, implying traders expect some imports will be exempt, saying:President Trump announced the imposition of 50% import tariffs at a cabinet meeting yesterday. While US-traded futures jumped on the news, the price differential is well below the tariff level, pointing to expectations of exemptions for key suppliers or expectations of different demand dynamics.As already mentioned, we remain of the con...

Economics

1 week ago UK workforce exposed if global trade war intensifies, Bank warns

Households and businesses nonetheless remain resilient, and the UK banking system is equipped to support them if conditions worsen.

Events

1 week ago Macron and Starmer talk Trump, boats and Ukraine – but Brexit is the ghost at the banquet | Rafael Behr

The prime minister has repaired broken relations with France, but Britain still looks perilously isolated in a world of shifting alliancesGilded carriages and royal banquets are not essential tools of modern diplomacy, but nor are they obsolete. In a digital age, when intergovernmental business could easily be conducted online, the analogue grandeur of a state visit feels potent as a bestowal of favour.This week Emmanuel Macron is the beneficiary. In September it will be Donald Trump. The sequence is not meant to indicate preference. Both relationships are special, say officials. There are enough champagne receptions and sleepovers at Windsor Castle to go around.Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnistOne year of Labour, with Pippa Crerar, Rafael Behr and more On 9 July, join Pippa Crerar, Raf Behr, Frances O’Grady and Salma Shah as they look back at one year of the Labour government, its current policies and plans for the next four years Continue reading...

Politics