46 m. ago World markets and US dollar suffer worst monthly losses since 2022 as Trump tariffs fuel recession fears – business live

Shares slide after President Donald Trump says new reciprocal tariffs expected this week will include all nations, and Goldman Sachs say US recession more likelyWall Street shrinks in response to price pressures, stoking fears of Trump tariffsSwiss bank UBS has cut its forecast for the US stock market’s gains this year.Having previously forecast the S&P 500 shares index would end the year at 6,600 points (which would have been a 12% gain in 2025), UBS have now cut their end-year target to 6,400 points.“After considering the effects of tariffs and slower growth data so far in 2025, we now expect 6% earnings per share growth, and we have accordingly reduced our year-end target for the index to 6,400 (from 6,600).But this also means that there is still meaningful upside for broad US equities by year-end, in our view.”The Nikkei closed down 4%, while European indices are a sea of red. The sell off is broad based, with more than 550 of the Eurostoxx 600 stocks lower as investors take...

Economics

47 m. ago UK politics latest: FTSE tumbles over fears Trump will impose crippling tariffs on Britain this week

The UK is hoping to avoid Trump’s sweeping tariffs by securing a US trade deal before Wednesday

Politics

3 h. ago World markets and US dollar suffer worst monthly losses since 2022 as Trump trade war riles investors – business live

Shares slide after President Donald Trump says new reciprocal tariffs expected this week will include all nationsWall Street shrinks in response to price pressures, stoking fears of Trump tariffsEurope’s main stock indices are a sea of red, as investors react to Donald Trump’s declaration that the reciprocal tariffs he is set to announce this week will include all nations.Italy’s FTSE MIB index has dropped 1.4%, France’s CAC is down 1%, and Germany’s DAX has lost 0.95%.The tariffs imposed by the U.S. government and the fear of new announcements as early as Wednesday are creating a bleak atmosphere on trading floors worldwide. Just last Wednesday, the DAX was above 23,000 points, but it now appears that the index may soon test the 22,000 mark.The risk appetite seen in the initial weeks of the year has dissipated as investors and asset managers pull back, reduce positions, and refrain from taking on large new ones. The inclination to buy the dips has nearly vanished. Continue reading...

Economics

4 h. ago Trump’s US doesn’t just think Europe is obsolete – it wants to see it dead | Nathalie Tocci

Whether it is by declaring a trade war or by bullying Greenland, visceral hatred is driving American policyThe “Signalgate” scandal confirmed what Europeans already knew. The Trump administration’s disdain for Europe is deep and the transatlantic fracture is structural. While our leaders publicly play down the significance of the unravelling that is manifestly under way, few actually sound as convinced in private.Hopes persist that Europe can prevent the most extreme manifestation of the collapse in the relationship, be it an invasion of Greenland, the withdrawal of US forces from Europe’s Nato member states or an all-out trade war. Most urgently, European leaders are focused on ensuring that if (or perhaps when) the US throws Kyiv under the bus, it is Europe collectively that will somehow succeed in securing a free, independent and democratic Ukraine. But there should be no illusion that this will happen by working in synergy with Washington or even with its tacit approval.Nathalie...

Politics

4 h. ago Business News: Trump and Starmer hold "productive talks" over US trade tariffs as Primark boss quits

Watch today’s top business stories in less than two minutes.

Economics

5 h. ago Will Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ be the start of a trade war – or another climbdown?

After myriad false starts and much fluctuation, the lingering question is not how far Trump can take his trade wars, but how far he willDonald Trump won back the White House with a promise to transform the US economy. Millions of Americans, struggling with higher prices and bigger bills, elected a president who pledged to revive his country’s industrial heartlands – and leave the rest of the world to pick up the bill.On Wednesday – a day dubbed Liberation Day by the president and his aides – Trump has vowed to pull the trigger and impose an historic barrage of tariffs on goods from overseas he claims will fund an extraordinary revival. Continue reading...

Politics

20 h. ago Digitising UK trade ‘could unlock £250bn in economic growth’ – even with Trump tariffs

With the US president’s tariffs on the UK now looking inevitable, the International Chambers of Commerce is urging the government to adopt a trade plan which could boost the economy by a quarter of a trillion pounds

Economics

22 h. ago Digitising UK trade ‘could unlock £250bn in economic growth’

With Trump tariffs on the UK now looking inevitable, the International Chambers of Commerce (ICC) is urging the government to adopt a trade plan which could boost the economy by £250bn

Economics

22 h. ago Buzzkill: Trump's trade wars threaten America's craft brewers already reeling from changing tastes

America’s craft brewers already had enough problems

Events

37 h. ago Trump tells advisers to be more aggressive in trade war and mulls universal tariff, report says

President has declared April 2 ‘Liberation Day’ as he prepares to unveil reciprocal tariffs on all U.S. trading partners

Politics

39 h. ago Keir Starmer urged to get tough with Trump as US tariff threat looms

PM told to be as robust as Canada with the US president as the UK stages last-ditch talks to strike trade dealKeir Starmer should fight back strongly against Donald Trump if he imposes punitive tariffs on British exports, senior UK and EU diplomats said on Saturday night, amid heightened fears that the US president could trigger a global trade war with devastating effects on the UK economy.British government officials in London and Washington are working frantically this weekend to try to persuade Trump not to slap duties on more key UK industries on what he is calling “liberation day” on Wednesday. The US president has already announced plans for 25% levies on imports of cars, steel and aluminium to the US. Continue reading...

Politics

41 h. ago Le boycott: French customers shun McDonald’s, Coca Cola and Tesla to protest against Trump

France has been urged to shun Maga America as #BoycottUSA hashtag spreads, but teenagers say they can’t afford to join the action On the rainy Grands Boulevards in Paris on Friday, the branches of McDonald’s and KFC were doing brisk business.There was little sign of “le boycott” – a movement among French customers to reject American brands and products made in the US, in protest at Donald Trump’s trade tariffs and anti-Europe rhetoric. Continue reading...

Economics

43 h. ago Starmer preparing for trade war as Trump tariffs on UK ‘look inevitable’

With Trump due to unleash a global trade war with tariffs on Wednesday, the UK is now preparing to retaliate while still making a big offer to get a trade deal over the line

Politics

45 h. ago Italy PM Giorgia Meloni says it is 'childish' to suggest she has to choose between US and Europe and says Donald Trump is RIGHT about Continent's ruling class

A tit-for-tat trade war with Europe, and Trump's anti-NATO stance on Ukraine, are placing the Italian prime minister in a difficult spot as the President's bridge to the EU.

Politics

64 h. ago The telling sign Trump is walking back his public feud with Canada amid trade war

President Donald Trump cited a 'good conversation' with Canada's new PM and said the U.S. would have a 'very good relationship' with the country even amid the growing trade war.

Politics

68 h. ago Trump warned automakers not to raise prices after his tariffs and be happy how ‘great’ they are

Trump reportedly hosted a call in early March with auto CEOs before he made the 25 percent tariffs official this week

Events

68 h. ago US consumer confidence hit by tariff fears; Thames Water’s finance chief leaving within days – 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

69 h. ago Tariff uncertainty risks ‘significant economic damage’; Thames Water’s finance chief leaving within days – 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 d. 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

3 d. 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