5 d. ago London town halls on edge of bankruptcy after overspending £330m on homelessness services

Boroughs plea for financial lifeline due to ‘growing mismatch’ between temporary accommodation costs and Government funding

Economics

5 d. ago Government borrowing surge means public debt mountain now equals £95,300 per household

Borrowing total was the third highest on record behind only the pandemic year of 2021 and the year following the global financial crisis

Economics

5 d. ago Government borrowing surged to £151.9 billion last year in new blow to public finances

The total was the third highest borrowing figure on record behind only the pandemic year of 2021 and the year following the global financial crisis

Economics

5 d. ago UK Government borrowing rises above forecasts for financial year

The Office for National Statistics said public sector net borrowing rose to £151.9 billion in the year to the end of March.

Politics

6 d. ago Elon Musk to pull back in Doge role starting May amid 71% dip in Tesla profits

CEO to pare back White House work to one to two days weekly as analysts say role has caused branding crisisThe Tesla chief executive Elon Musk said he will start pulling back from his role at the so-called “department of government efficiency” starting in May. Musk’s remarks came as the company reported a massive dip in both profits and revenues in the first quarter of 2025 amid backlash against Musk’s role in the White House.On an investor call, Musk said the work necessary to get the government’s “financial house in order is mostly done”. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Readers' Letters: Scottish Government clueless when it come to Education

Scottish Government is getting it wrong on financing universities, says reader

Politics

8 d. ago Another crisis, another IMF summit: but unlike 2008, the delegates are disunited

Where once the world came together to fight the credit crunch, Trump’s tariffs will set a more divisive testWhen the world’s finance ministers and central bank governors gather at the International Monetary Fund in Washington this week, it may kindle memories of another meeting, also held against the backdrop of a global economic crisis, in autumn 2008.Then, as the aftershocks from the collapse of Lehman Brothers ripped through financial markets, central banks coordinated drastic emergency rate cuts, and the UK chancellor, Alistair Darling, urged his G7 counterparts to emulate the UK’s approach and shore up stricken banks. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Layoffs hit Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as Trump's government downsizing continues

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is being downsized by President Donald Trump

Politics

1 week ago Netflix quarterly result beats Wall Street expectations despite Trump tariff’s pall

Streaming firm reported a $10.54bn revenue in first quarter, though analysts say consumers could reconsider spendingNetflix exceeded Wall Street expectations for quarterly results and offered a bullish revenue outlook on Thursday, signaling confidence amid the economic uncertainty surrounding Donald Trump’s erratic tariff plans.Netflix reported revenue of $10.54bn for the first quarter, edging past analysts’ estimates of $10.52bn, according to data compiled by the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG). Shares of the company were roughly flat in after-hours trading at $970.10. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Trump Media urges regulators to investigate hedge fund’s vast bet against stock

Company behind Truth Social accuses London-based hedge fund Qube of alleged ‘suspicious trading activity’Donald Trump’s fledgling media firm has urged market regulators to investigate “suspicious activity” after a London-based hedge fund disclosed a vast bet against its stock.Trump Media & Technology Group, owner of the US president’s Truth Social platform, raised questions over trading by Qube Research & Technologies. Continue reading...

Economics

1 week ago Sadiq Khan urged to identify new allotment sites in London to enable more food

Data shared with the London Assembly reveals significant gap in stock of allotments between inner and outer London

Politics

2 w. ago Jihadi who plotted to bomb the Stock Exchange is recalled to prison for a fourth time

Mohammed Chowdhury was one of nine al-Qaida-inspired group members sentenced in 2012 for plotting to bomb the London Stock Exchange and build a terrorist training camp in Pakistan.

Events

2 w. ago Billions in support for businesses braced for hammering from Donald Trump's tariffs

Government body UK Export Finance the ability to extend £20 billion of support to British businesses, while the British Business Bank will be able to hand out loans of up to £2m to small businesses

Economics

2 w. ago Donald Trump is now badly wounded. Europe can seize an advantage | Will Hutton

It’s time to fashion a new global trade order without the USThe game-changing geopolitical event last week was the near collapse of the immense $29tn ­market in US government debt, threatening the stability of the American and global financial system and the safe-haven status of dollar assets.The US president boasted as the collapse unfolded that world leaders were queueing to “kiss his arse”. Twelve hours later, he was in the same humiliatingly weak position as the then British prime minister Liz Truss found herself after her tax-slashing “mini-budget” in 2022. The markets had forced him to pause for 90 days the swingeing range of “reciprocal” tariffs that he announced on what he proclaimed “liberation day”; instead he lowered all of them, bar that on China, to 10%. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Shein closer to London IPO after securing watchdog’s approval, reports say

The company has been in talks over an initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange over the past year.

Politics

2 w. ago Criticise Trump’s tariffs all you like, but western sanctions aren’t any better – just ask Syria | Simon Jenkins

This form of economic aggression is macho and myopic, yet countries including the UK refuse to give it upAmong the more improbable countries that Donald Trump punished most severely last week was Syria, with a 41% tariff in retaliation for its part in the “raping and plundering” of the US economy. That should teach it a lesson for toppling Bashar al-Assad last year.The Damascus regime that subsequently came to power is pleading for help in keeping order and restoring its economy. But the chief obstacle is not Trump’s absurd tariff – now reduced to 10%. It is the sanctions regime imposed on it for the past 14 years by the west, including Britain. The US prohibits nearly all trade and financial transactions, extending this to foreign companies engaged with the Syrian government. EU sanctions targeted crude oil, investments, banking, telecoms and more. No tariff could be as severe as this.Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump’s tariffs are ruinous, but are western sanctions any better? Just look at Syria | Simon Jenkins

Sanctions as a form of economic aggression are macho and myopic, yet countries including the UK refuse to call a haltAmong the more improbable countries that Donald Trump punished most severely last week was Syria, with a 41% tariff in retaliation for its part in the “raping and plundering” of the US economy. That should teach it a lesson for toppling Bashar al-Assad last year.The Damascus regime that subsequently came to power is pleading for help in keeping order and restoring its economy. But the chief obstacle is not Trump’s absurd tariff – now reduced to 10%. It is the sanctions regime imposed on it for the past 14 years by the west, including Britain. The US prohibits nearly all trade and financial transactions, extending this to foreign companies engaged with the Syrian government. EU sanctions targeted crude oil, investments, banking, telecoms and more. No tariff could be as severe as this.Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in th...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump tariffs likely to hit UK growth, warns Bank of England policymaker

Deputy governor for financial stability Sarah Breeden added that it is ‘not clear-cut’ what effect the new trade policy will have on inflation.

Events

2 w. ago Investing in climate adaptation is not just good for the planet, it’s good business | William Ruto and Patrick Verkooijen

Climate denialism should not blind investors and governments to the very real opportunities to be found in financing solutionsAmong the many shocks currently facing the international development community is the new direction of the US administration on climate, and the implications worldwide for mitigation and adaptation efforts.This is not uncharted territory. While a withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement is undoubtedly a setback, it no longer carries the same level of disruption as it did. The global community has become more resilient and will continue to advance climate action. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump boasts other countries are 'kissing my ass' as his trade war tariffs hit stock markets, firms and jobs

FTSE 100 in London and Asian stock markets take another pounding with Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropping 5% as Trump’s tariffs against 60 ‘worst offender’ nations come into effect

Economics