29 h. ago IMF lifts UK growth forecast for 2025; markets welcome US delay to EU 50% tariffs – as it happened

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as IMF releases latest healthcheck on UK economyRachel Reeves should ease fiscal rules to prevent emergency spending cuts, IMF saysEU hopes for quick deal to resolve US trade war after Trump delays 50% tariffsToyota to move some GR Corolla production to UK from JapanOuch! Germany’s economy is on track for its worst performance in post-war history, a new report shows.The German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) predicted this morning that Europe’s largest economy will contract by 0.3% this year, Reuters reports. That would be the third annual contraction in a row, although not as bad as the 0.5% fall in GDP which the DIHK predicted back in February.“A mood of cautious relief is spreading after the long weekend, amid hopes for more fruitful trade negotiations between the United States and its global partners. There are no post bank holiday blues for the London market, with the Footsie in striking distance of the record ...

Economics

33 h. ago IMF lifts UK growth forecast for 2025; markets welcome US delay to EU 50% tariffs – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as IMF releases latest healthcheck on UK economyRachel Reeves should ease fiscal rules to prevent emergency spending cuts, IMF saysEU hopes for quick deal to resolve US trade war after Trump delays 50% tariffsToyota to move some GR Corolla production to UK from JapanOuch! Germany’s economy is on track for its worst performance in post-war history, a new report shows.The German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) predicted this morning that Europe’s largest economy will contract by 0.3% this year, Reuters reports. That would be the third annual contraction in a row, although not as bad as the 0.5% fall in GDP which the DIHK predicted back in February.“A mood of cautious relief is spreading after the long weekend, amid hopes for more fruitful trade negotiations between the United States and its global partners. There are no post bank holiday blues for the London market, with the Footsie in striking distance of the record ...

Economics

34 h. ago UK retail confidence plummets as sales fall; markets welcome US delay to EU 50% tariffs – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsEU hopes for quick deal to resolve US trade war after Trump delays 50% tariffsToyota to move some GR Corolla production to UK from JapanOuch! Germany’s economy is on track for its worst performance in post-war history, a new report shows.The German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) predicted this morning that Europe’s largest economy will contract by 0.3% this year, Reuters reports. That would be the third annual contraction in a row, although not as bad as the 0.5% fall in GDP which the DIHK predicted back in February.“A mood of cautious relief is spreading after the long weekend, amid hopes for more fruitful trade negotiations between the United States and its global partners. There are no post bank holiday blues for the London market, with the Footsie in striking distance of the record high reached in February. More positive vibes are pulsing about the outlook for the global economy, with hopes that more scores can b...

Economics

37 h. ago Tesla sales halve in Europe; markets welcome US delay to EU 50% tariffs – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsEU hopes for quick deal to resolve US trade war after Trump delays 50% tariffsStocks have jumped in London as trading resumes after the Bank Holiday weekend.City investors are relieved that Donald Trump has delayed his threatened hike on EU tariffs to 50% until July, cooling trade war fears. Continue reading...

Economics

50 h. ago Trump in Memorial Day speech says: ‘I have everything. Amazing, the way things work out’ – US politics live

President honors fallen soldiers but also says says ‘God did that’ when when taking credit for US hosting world sports eventsThis year’s summer months promise to be among the hottest on record across the United States, continuing a worsening trend of extreme weather, and amid concern over the impacts of Trump administration cuts to key agencies.The extreme heat could be widespread and unrelenting: only far northern Alaska may escape unusually warm temperatures from June through August, according to the latest seasonal forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa). Continue reading...

Politics

51 h. ago EU hopes for speedy deal to resolve US trade war after Trump delays 50% tariffs

European leaders call for ‘lowest possible’ border taxes after levies postponed from 1 June to 9 JulyEU leaders have expressed hopes of a speedy deal to resolve the trade war with the US after Donald Trump announced he was delaying his threatened 50% tariffs for the bloc until 9 July.The US president said on Sunday that he would pause the border tax due to be imposed on 1 June, which he had only announced two days earlier, after what he called a “very nice call” with the head of the EU executive, Ursula von der Leyen. Continue reading...

Economics

51 h. ago EU hopes for quick deal to resolve US trade war after Trump delays 50% tariffs

European leaders call for ‘lowest possible’ border taxes after levies postponed from 1 June to 9 JulyEU leaders have expressed hopes for a quick deal to resolve the trade war with the US after Donald Trump announced he was delaying his threatened 50% tariffs for the bloc until 9 July.The US president said on Sunday he would pause the border tax due to be imposed on 1 June, which he had announced two days earlier, after what he called a “very nice call” with Ursula von der Leyen. Continue reading...

Economics

55 h. ago Trump says he is considering giving $3bn of Harvard’s grants to trade schools – US politics live

President says he could take grant money from Harvard, a week after his administration blocked institution from enrolling foreign studentsThis year’s summer months promise to be among the hottest on record across the United States, continuing a worsening trend of extreme weather, and amid concern over the impacts of Trump administration cuts to key agencies.The extreme heat could be widespread and unrelenting: only far northern Alaska may escape unusually warm temperatures from June through August, according to the latest seasonal forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa). Continue reading...

Politics

58 h. ago Donald Trump announces he will pause threatened 50% tariffs on Europe after call with EU chief – US politics live

President says tariffs will be paused until 9 July after a ‘very nice call’ with European Commission president Ursula von der LeyenThe Kremlin on Monday said that US president Donald Trump’s claim that Vladimir Putin had “gone absolutely CRAZY” might be due to emotional overload, but thanked the US leader for his assistance in launching Ukraine peace negotiations.Trump said Putin had “gone absolutely CRAZY” by unleashing the largest aerial attack of the war on Ukraine and said he was weighing new sanctions on Moscow, though he also scolded Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Continue reading...

Politics

64 h. ago US futures jump while Asian shares slip after Trump delays tariffs on the EU

U.S. futures have turned sharply higher and Asian shares mostly fell after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would delay a threatened 50% tariff on goods from the European Union to July 9 from June 1

Politics

67 h. ago Trump agrees to delay 50% tariffs on EU imports until July 9

Mr Trump had recommended that the 50% tariff rate comes into effect on June 1.

Politics

67 h. ago Trump delays 50 percent tariff threat to European Union until July 9

European Commission president requested the extension, Trump said

Politics

3 w. ago Microsoft raises Xbox prices globally amid tariff uncertainty

Sony also raised PlayStation 5 price and Nintendo delayed Switch 2 pre-orders as Trump tariffs throw electronics manufacturing into chaosMicrosoft announced on Thursday that it will increase Xbox console prices worldwide, citing “market conditions” just days after Sony made a similar move with its PlayStation 5.The tech giant also plans to raise prices for some new games developed by its video game subsidiaries. Continue reading...

Economics

4 w. ago Guatemala gearing up to export avocados to US despite tariffs and delays

Six months after the United States gave a green light to import avocados from Guatemala, the Central American country has yet to send any of the fruit north, but expectations are running high

Politics