5 h. ago UK consumer confidence at lowest level since December 2022, says Which?

Almost two-thirds of people believe economy will get worse in next 12 months amid tariffs uncertainty and Ukraine warConsumer confidence in the UK economy has fallen to the lowest levels since the height of the cost of living crisis, as people worry about the impact of US tariffs and Russia’s war in Ukraine.Almost two-thirds of people believe the economy will get worse in the next 12 months, while only 11% think it will improve, according to a survey from the consumer group Which?. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago One hundred days in, Donald Trump faces a problem: he can rage, but he can’t govern | Jonathan Freedland

Americans are beginning to worry about their future amid a shrinking economy, warnings of empty shelves – and the president’s failed promisesHe says it’s the “best 100-day start of any president in history”, but you can file that along with his boast about crowd sizes and his claim to have won the 2020 election. In truth, the first three months of Donald Trump’s second presidency have been calamitous on almost every measure. The single biggest achievement of those 100 days has been to serve as a warning of the perils of nationalist populism, which is effective in winning votes but disastrous when translated into reality. That warning applies across the democratic world – and is especially timely in Britain.Start with the numbers that matter most to Trump himself. A slew of polls appeared this week, but they all told the same story: that Trump’s approval ratings have collapsed, falling to the lowest level for a newly installed president in the postwar era. He has now edged ahead of h...

Politics

5 d. ago Family of boy 9, who died after 'gross failure of basic care finally receive hospital apology: 'We have had to fight for answers'

Dylan Cope, from Newport, died on December 14, 2022, just eight days after he was sent home from hospital with a perforated appendix

Events

5 d. ago US economy shrinks in first quarter of Trump 2.0 amid sweeping tariffs

Drop comes amid a huge fall in consumer sentiment which in April dropped 32% to lowest level since 1990 recessionThe US economy shrank in the first three months of Donald Trump’s second term as the president sought to roll out an aggressive trade strategy, claiming that sweeping tariffs on the world would strengthen the US economy.Gross domestic product (GDP), a key measure of overall growth in the US economy, fell by 0.3% in the first quarter of the year, down from 2.4% in the last quarter of 2024. The contraction – the first since the start of 2022 – puts the US on the brink of a technical recession, defined by two quarters of negative growth. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago US consumer confidence plunges to lowest in 5 years on tariff worries

Americans’ confidence in the economy slumped for the fifth straight month to the lowest level since the onset of COIVD-19 as worries about the impact of tariffs take a heavy toll on consumer expectations for future growth

Politics

7 d. ago Prison officer 'had sexual relations with two inmates and plotted to smuggle drugs into jail'

Isabelle Dale, 23, has appeared in court over her alleged fling with Shahid Sharif, 33, in high security HMP Swaleside on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, between September 2021 and December 2022

Events

7 d. ago Housebuilding in London slumps to its lowest level since 2009

Work was started on just 1,210 new private flats and houses in the first quarter of the year, according to latest figures from Molior.

Politics

1 week ago Freddie Flintoff's Top Gear crash injury exposed after 'fearing he had no face'

WARNING, GRAPHIC CONTENT: Freddie Flintoff suffered serious facial injuries in a horror crash on the set of Top Gear in December 2022 and new pictures detailing the wounds have been released

Events

1 week ago 'He was so scared, he just stared at me': Andrew Flintoff's wife recalls harrowing moment she saw star's gruesome injuries

Andrew Flintoff's wife has revealed how she tried to comfort her husband after his near-fatal Top Gear car crash in December 2022.

Events

1 week ago Pakistan and India exchange fire as UN calls for ‘maximum restraint’

Countries trade blows across line of control in disputed Kashmir as tensions rise after deadly shootingTroops from Pakistan and India exchanged fire overnight across the line of control in disputed Kashmir, officials have said, after the UN urged the nuclear-armed rivals to show “maximum restraint” after a deadly shooting in the region.Relations have plunged to their lowest level in years, with India accusing Pakistan of supporting “cross-border terrorism” after gunmen carried out the worst attack on civilians in contested Muslim-majority Kashmir for a quarter of a century. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Kashmir attack: Indian army chief to visit Srinagar as UN urges ‘maximum restraint’

UN calls for tensions between India and Pakistan to be resolved peacefully as relations plunge to lowest level in years following deadly shootingIndia’s army chief was set to lead a high-level security review in Srinagar on Friday, days after militants opened fire on tourists in Indian-held Kashmir, killing 26 civilians in one of the worst such attacks in years.The brazen assault, carried out in a mountain meadow near Pahalgam, has derailed prime minister Narendra Modi’s claims of restored calm in the restive Himalayan territory and sent tensions soaring between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago UK consumer confidence hit by higher household costs and US tariffs

All measures of leading survey drop in April as price rises and Trump import taxes bite

Economics

1 week ago UK consumer confidence hit in April by Trump tariff concerns

All measures of leading survey drop as price rises and US import taxes bite

Politics

1 week ago Consumer confidence slides amid household bill hikes and ‘Trump Tariffs’

GfK’s long-running Consumer Confidence Index fell four points in April to minus 23, led by an eight-point fall in expectations for the wider economy.

Politics

1 week ago Bianca Censori gives Kanye demanding ultimatum during marriage crisis talks in Spain

Australian star Bianca Censori married rapper Kanye in December 2022, weeks after his divorce from Kim Kardashian was finalised - but the pair are now in crisis talks

Events

1 week ago US trade war fears drive UK consumer confidence down to record low; Tesla’s European sales fall again – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsDonald Trump’s tariffs will make it harder for Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s car division, Ineos Automotive, to reach its first profit.Ineos Automotive’s CEO, Lynn Calder, told Bloomberg that the US president’s 25% tariff on foreign cars will make it harder to hit the earnings target.“For sure, this last week has put a dent in that and, for sure, delayed it,”“We’re stubborn as mules. We’re not easy to knock down.”“With fieldwork completed just days after Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, it is unsurprising that consumer expectations for the economy plummeted to a record low. The original tariff schedule, since reduced for most countries, was expected to reduce growth in the UK and elsewhere. Yet despite this economic pessimism, expectations of retail spending rose slightly as the prospect of Easter shopping drew closer.The state of the economy dropped significantly to -48 in April, down from -35 in March.Their personal financial...

Economics

1 week ago Is a US recession on the horizon amid Trump’s tariffs? | Jeffrey Frankel

Expectations that the Fed will cut short-term interest rates and falling consumer confidence could indicate what is aheadImagine you are sailing a ship through dense fog, looking out for land. Your lookout spots species of birds typically found offshore. It now seems likely that you are approaching land, but it is impossible to know for sure until you see the coastline. If a US recession is land, the “birds” are already swooping into view. But these sightings offer no guarantees of what lies ahead, only probabilities.An inverted yield curve, when the long-term interest rate falls to or below the short-term rate, is commonly considered to be a predictor of recession. The 10-year bond rate did fall below the three-month Treasury rate in March, although the two are now at about the same level. In any case, the yield curve does not actually tell us much. It simply reflects financial market expectations that the US Federal Reserve might cut short-term interest rates in the future, which ...

Politics

1 week ago Andrew Flintoff feels cricket coaching chance ‘saved me’ after Top Gear crash

Former cricketer opens up on dark times during recovery‘I thought my face had come off. I was frightened to death’Andrew Flintoff has described his return to cricket as a coach over the past 18 months as “the one thing that saved me” as he struggled to come to terms with the mental and physical scars caused in a car accident during filming for the BBC’s Top Gear in December 2022.Flintoff talks for the first time about the accident and its aftermath in a Disney+ documentary to be released on Friday. “After the accident I didn’t think I had it in me to get through,” he says. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Freddie Flintoff says 'It would have been easier if I'd died' as he relives horror crash

Cricketing legend Freddie Flintoff suffered horrific injuries when he crashed a Morgan Super 3 car while filming the BBC's Top Gear in December 2022

Events

1 week ago Andrew Flintoff admits wishing he had died during recovery from Top Gear crash

Flintoff was hurt while filming the BBC motoring show at its test track at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey in December 2022.

Events