31 m. ago Stock markets gain as China ‘evaluates’ offer of US trade talks – business live

Live, rolling coverage of business, economics and financial markets as FTSE 100 gains on hopes of US-China trade thaw; Shell profits drop 28% to $5.5bnCommodities companies are among the best performers on stock markets this morning.They would be among the best placed to benefit from the US backing down in its trade war with China. The FTSE 100 has a lot of Europe’s big mining listings, and they are leading the way on Friday. Continue reading...

Economics

11 h. ago London Stock Exchange Group suffers shareholder rebellion over boss's £2.7m pay rise

At the company's AGM, 30% of shareholders voted against plans to raise the pay of chief executive David Schwimmer from £5.1m to £7.8m this year.

Economics

15 h. ago McDonald’s and General Motors say Trump’s tariff war is harming business

Fast-food company reports 3.6% fall in sales and carmaker says tariffs could cost it as much as $5bn in 2025McDonald’s and General Motors have warned that uncertainty around Donald Trump’s tariff policy is hurting business, hitting sales and knocking profits.The fast-food chain reported a 3.6% fall in sales in its US home market during the first quarter, driven mainly by lower customer numbers as consumers reined in their spending in the face of an unpredictable economic outlook. Continue reading...

Politics

19 h. ago US treasury secretary urges Fed chair to cut interest rates as Trump claims shrinking economy isn’t related to tariff war – live

Bessent urges Powell to cut interest rates, echoing Trump’s demands; US president claims economic slowdown ‘nothing to do with tariffs’Trump’s tariffs: ‘It feels like Covid 2.0. So many things are getting disrupted’The Trump administration is seeking to strip collective bargaining rights from large swaths of federal employees in a test case union leaders argue is part of a broader attack on US labor unions that could land before the US Supreme Court.A Trump win would deliver a severe blow to labor unions in the US. Some 29.9% of all federal workers were represented by labor unions in 2024 compared to 11.1% for all US workers. Continue reading...

Society

21 h. ago Trump live: Kamala Harris breaks silence to warn president’s tariff war inviting recession

Former Democratic vice president and White House challenger calls trade aggressions the ‘greatest man-made economic crisis in modern presidential history’

Events

21 h. ago Trump tariffs cause fastest slump in British factory export orders in five years

Decline in output and new orders in April allied with rising uncertainty is prompting layoffs, survey findsBusiness live – latest updatesBritain’s factories suffered a slump in export orders last month as Donald Trump’s globally unsettling tariff regime sent overseas demand for UK goods tumbling at the fastest pace in five years.Manufacturers reported rising economic and trade uncertainties in April as some tariffs took effect and other threatened border taxes loomed, forcing them to lay off workers for a sixth consecutive month. Continue reading...

Politics

26 h. ago Major UK brewery shuts for good after 40 years – and two things are to blame

Exmoor Ales, which has been based in Wiveliscombe, Somerset, since 1979, has been forced to close its doors and relocate production to a site in Surrey due to Covid fallolut and tax hikes

Politics

31 h. ago Trump on tariff deals at town hall: ‘I’m in less of a hurry than you’

The president appeared to row back on claims he had already made agreements with hundreds of countries, downgrading them to just a handful of ‘potential deals’

Economics

34 h. ago Dave Portnoy isn’t buying Trump’s efforts to squirm out of responsibility for his bad GDP figures

U.S. Commerce Department data shows that the nation's GDP fell at an annualized rate of 0.3 percent during the first quarter of 2025

Politics

36 h. ago Trump’s stock market in his first 100 days wasn’t just among the worst ever

‘This is Biden’s Stock Market, not Trump’s,’ the president wrote on Wednesday morning

Politics

36 h. ago Microsoft beats Wall Street expectations for fourth quarter in a row amid AI boom

Tech giant has committed to investing $80bn in artificial intelligence this fiscal year as it reveals revenue of $70.07bnMicrosoft released its quarterly earnings report on Wednesday after the New York stock market closed, beating Wall Street’s expectations for the fourth quarter in a row amid a financial boom for artificial intelligence businesses.The company revealed revenue of $70.07bn and earnings of $3.46 per share. The result exceeded analyst predictions that revenue would grow to $68.42bn, or 10.6% year-over-year, and that earnings-per-share would come in at $3.22. Continue reading...

Politics

36 h. ago Microsoft to report earnings as AI financial boom shows no sign of slowing

Company has beaten Wall Street expectations in each of its previous three quarterly earnings reportsMicrosoft will report its earnings for the third quarter of the fiscal year after the stock market closes on Wednesday. Analysts have predicted that revenue would grow by 10.6% year-over-year to $68.4bn, even as the company plows tens of billions into artificial intelligence as well as earnings-per-share of $3.22. The company has beaten Wall Street’s expectations on each of its previous three quarterly earnings reports.Analysts said they view the earnings report as a temperature check on Microsoft’s artificial intelligence business, which has announced it will invest around $80bn in this fiscal year alone, though it has also terminated some data center leases in recent months. The company has invested billions in OpenAI in recent years, giving it a large stake in the ChatGPT developer. Continue reading...

Politics

37 h. ago Trump says he does not know if El Salvador would return Kilmar Ábrego García and hasn’t asked – live

Trump said he hasn’t spoken to Bukele about mistakenly deported man – despite supreme court order requiring administration to facilitate returnKristi Noem says Ábrego García would be deported immediately if sent back to USTrump pressures journalist to accept doctored photo as realDonald Trump promptly claimed this morning that the contraction in the US economy had nothing to do with his tariff wars, repeated his habitual claim that this is all somehow his predecessor Joe Biden’s fault, and predicted the economy would boom when tariffs kicked in. He wrote on his Truth Social platform:This is Biden’s Stock Market, not Trump’s. I didn’t take over until January 20th. Tariffs will soon start kicking in, and companies are starting to move into the USA in record numbers. Our Country will boom, but we have to get rid of the Biden “Overhang.” This will take a while, has NOTHING TO DO WITH TARIFFS, only that he left us with bad numbers, but when the boom begins, it will be like no other. BE P...

Politics

37 h. ago World's biggest hedge fund boss warns it's 'too late' to fix Trump's tariff damage

A hedge fund manager, who previously joined a chorus of analysts correctly warning about the 2008 great recession, is speaking out again.

Events

39 h. ago Trump Cabinet meeting live: President downplays stock market slump during meeting to mark first 100 days

The stock market is on track to have lost almost 8 percent during the first 100 days of Trump's second term in the White House.

Politics

43 h. ago U.S. economy shrinks for first time in three years as Trump’s tariffs spark trade war fears

The American economy shrank by 0.3 percent during the first quarter of this year, marking the first drop in three years as President Donald Trump’s tariff policies disrupted businesses and their supply chains.

Politics

44 h. ago US GDP report to show if economy expanded in last quarter, after eurozone growth accelerates – business live

First estimate of US GDP for Q1 2025 will show whether tariffs hurt growthUK house prices fall but market ‘likely to pick up’ during summerChina manufacturing activity plummets amid Trump tariff warFrance’s economy is likely to “flirt with stagnation” throughout the year, despite the small rebound in GDP in the last quarter, predicts Dutch bank ING.Charlotte de Montpellier, ING’s senior economist for France and Switzerland, explains:The additional customs duties in the US and their direct and indirect impact will delay the French economy’s rebound. We estimate that the direct effect of a permanent 10% import duty in the US on French GDP (via a reduction in exports) will be around -0.1%.Adding to this are the effects of uncertainty, the global economic slowdown and more restrictive fiscal policy, all of which will weigh on French economic activity throughout the year. The cooling in the labour market is likely to limit the recovery in household consumption, and the savings rate is se...

Economics

47 h. ago France and Germany avoid recession as eurozone growth accelerates; Taiwan’s GDP boosted by pre

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, including growth figures from across EuropeUK house prices fall but market ‘likely to pick up’ during summerChina manufacturing activity plummets amid Trump tariff warFrance’s economy is likely to “flirt with stagnation” throughout the year, despite the small rebound in GDP in the last quarter, predicts Dutch bank ING.Charlotte de Montpellier, ING’s senior economist for France and Switzerland, explains:The additional customs duties in the US and their direct and indirect impact will delay the French economy’s rebound. We estimate that the direct effect of a permanent 10% import duty in the US on French GDP (via a reduction in exports) will be around -0.1%.Adding to this are the effects of uncertainty, the global economic slowdown and more restrictive fiscal policy, all of which will weigh on French economic activity throughout the year. The cooling in the labour market is likely to limit the recovery in household consumptio...

Politics

48 h. ago France and Germany avoid recession as economies return to growth; UK house prices drop – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, including growth figures from across EuropeUK house prices fall but market ‘likely to pick up’ during summerChina manufacturing activity plummets amid Trump tariff warFrance’s economy is likely to “flirt with stagnation” throughout the year, despite the small rebound in GDP in the last quarter, predicts Dutch bank ING.Charlotte de Montpellier, ING’s senior economist for France and Switzerland, explains:The additional customs duties in the US and their direct and indirect impact will delay the French economy’s rebound. We estimate that the direct effect of a permanent 10% import duty in the US on French GDP (via a reduction in exports) will be around -0.1%.Adding to this are the effects of uncertainty, the global economic slowdown and more restrictive fiscal policy, all of which will weigh on French economic activity throughout the year. The cooling in the labour market is likely to limit the recovery in household consumptio...

Economics

48 h. ago Luxury wallpaper maker Sanderson falls into the red as Trump tariff threat looms

Luxury wallpaper maker’s revenues fall 8% in “a sustained challenging consumer environment.”

Politics