5 h. ago US inflation cools, consumer step up spending, as Americans brace for tariff impact

A closely watched inflation gauge cooled last month in a sign that prices were steadily easing before most of President Donald Trump’s tariffs were implemented

Economics

8 d. ago American reveals 'three things he can no longer live without' after spending time in UK

Kalani Smith spent months travelling the UK sampling the finest foods in Britain - and now he's back in the United States there are things he is ordering online that he 'can't live without'

Politics

1 week ago Could Trump’s tariffs give a green light for corporate profiteering?

Expectations of inflation, and recent waves of price rises, could be self-fulfilling and fuel ‘greedflation’ – and it may not only apply to US consumersOver the past few years consumers have grown used to seeing prices rise at an exorbitant rate. The cost of everything – from used cars to utility bills and the humble loaf of bread – has rocketed in the worst inflation shock across advanced economies since the 1980s.While inflation has cooled in the past year, talk of fast-rising prices is back on the agenda from Donald Trump’s escalating trade war. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Asian shares sell off as US curbs on Nvidia chip sales to China fuel trade fears; UK inflation slows to 2.6% – business live

Gold surges nearly 2% to new record high; UK food inflation slows and fuel prices fall while clothes prices riseFinancial markets are betting on an interest rate cut from the Bank of England meeting at its May meeting, estimating an 86% probability.They have fully priced in three quarter-point rate reductions this year.A sharp pickup in inflation from April is all but guaranteed. Ofgem’s 6.4% increase to its price cap, after a large fall last year, means we expect the energy component will add 0.7ppts to CPI inflation in April. A significant increase in water bills means the contribution from the core goods category is also set to rise. In addition, we expect businesses to pass on some of the increase in labour costs caused by the recent rises in employers’ National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and the National Living Wage onto consumers. Inflation is likely to peak in the autumn, before starting to cool as the contribution from the energy category fades.The MPC has lowered Bank R...

Economics

2 w. ago Trump’s auto tariffs expected to cost industry over $100 billion, with millions fewer cars sold

Vehicle sales are predicted to plummet from auto tariffs and tightened spending by Americans due to import taxes on other goods

Economics

2 w. ago ‘It’s going to be messy’: Americans on how Trump’s tariffs are shaping their spending

Fallout from Trump’s trade war is forcing some Guardian readers to cut back or stock up on items from food to carsA few weeks ago, Dane began stocking up on “paper products”, “cases of paper towels, toilet paper”, “piddle-pads” for their shih-tzu, and his wife upgraded from an iPhone 8 to 14.The 73-year-old in South Carolina said the purchases – which were made to get ahead of Donald Trump’s trade policies – reminded him of the early weeks of the Covid pandemic, when he scrambled to buy masks, gloves and toilet paper. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Warning lights flash for US consumer strength as credit defaults rise

After years of robust spending there are signs that Americans’ wellspring of financial firepower is fading

Events

3 w. ago Nikkei plunges as Asian markets brace for further tariff fallout; Trump says ‘sometimes you have to take medicine’ – business live

Japan’s stock index plummets almost 9% on Trump tariff concerns after almost $5tn was wiped off the value of global stock markets last weekUS Treasury yields fell on Monday and the two-year yield sank to a multi-year low as worries of a possible recession in the world’s largest economy grew and investors wagered that could see US rates cut as early as May.The two-year US Treasury yield, which typically reflects near-term rate expectations, tumbled more than 20 basis points to its lowest level since September 2022 at 3.4350%, as investors ramped up bets of more aggressive Federal Reserve easing this year, Reuters reports. Continue reading...

Economics

3 w. ago Nikkei slumps as Asian markets brace for further tariff fallout; Trump says ‘sometimes you have to take medicine’ – business live

Japan’s Nikkei plunges more than 7% on Trump tariff concerns after almost $5tn was wiped off the value of global stock markets last weekJapan’s Nikkei index has plunged more than 7%, Agence France-Presse is reporting, after having it down down 3.6% and 5% a little earlier.The fall extends last week’s 9% drop – its steepest one-week percentage decline since March 2020. Continue reading...

Economics

4 w. ago Wall Street stocks slide as investors brace for Trump tariff announcement

Indices fall as US president prepares to escalate trade war on ‘liberation day’

Economics

4 w. ago Trump tariff wars: British firms warned to brace for 'very big hit' from wave of US import levies

Ministers failed to get the US president to agree to a last-minute deal to exempt the UK from tariffs

Events