4 h. ago Trump tariffs latest: EU vows ‘strong plan’ to hit back at Trump’s global trade war as UK ‘prepares for worst’

Donald Trump to unveil sweeping tariffs on any country that ‘treats the US unfairly’ on Wednesday

Events

10 h. ago Trump tariffs latest: Global cost of trade war revealed as Lammy says UK ‘preparing for the worst’

Donald Trump to unveil sweeping tariffs on any country that ‘treats the US unfairly’ on Wednesday

Politics

11 h. ago Trump tariffs latest: Trade war may blow $1.4tn hole in global economy as Lammy says UK ‘preparing for worst’

Donald Trump to unveil sweeping tariffs on any country that ‘treats the US unfairly’ on Wednesday

Economics

12 h. ago Trump tariffs latest: UK economy to suffer even if new US trade deal struck, grim new forecast warns

Donald Trump to unveil sweeping tariffs on any country that ‘treats the US unfairly’ on Wednesday

Economics

12 h. ago Global cost of Trump trade war ‘could reach $1.4tn’; Goldman Sachs cuts UK growth forecast over tariff spillovers – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as UK business secretary warns Britain will be hit by ‘Liberation Day’ tariffsTrump prepares to unveil reciprocal tariffs as markets brace amid trade war fearsTrump’s new tariffs could backfire if they are set too high, explains Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management:“Wednesday’s reciprocal tariffs could push the effective tariff rate another 4 percentage points higher. Anything further than that could move tariffs beyond a revenue-raising ‘sweet spot,’ in our view.Globally, the risk of high tariffs disrupting trade and economic activity would potentially offset any US federal revenue gains that the Trump administration seeks to use to further domestic policies.”“It appears tomorrow there’ll be no country in the world exempt from the initial announcements”.I tihnk that our trading relatinship is a very strong, and fair and balanced one, so I don’t think there is the need to do this. Continue ...

Economics

13 h. ago Trump tariffs latest: US duties to hit UK economy even if Britain strikes trade deal, grim new forecast warns

Donald Trump to unveil sweeping tariffs on any country that ‘treats the US unfairly’ on Wednesday

Events

14 h. ago Trump tariffs will batter UK economy even if Starmer strikes deal, grim new forecast warns: Live

Donald Trump to unveil sweeping tariffs on any country that ‘treats the US unfairly’ on Wednesday

Events

14 h. ago Global cost of Trump trade war ‘could reach $1.4tn’; tariff fears hurt UK factories – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as UK business secretary warns Britain will be hit by ‘Liberation Day’ tariffsTrump prepares to unveil reciprocal tariffs as markets brace amid trade war fearsTrump’s new tariffs could backfire if they are set too high, explains Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management:“Wednesday’s reciprocal tariffs could push the effective tariff rate another 4 percentage points higher. Anything further than that could move tariffs beyond a revenue-raising ‘sweet spot,’ in our view.Globally, the risk of high tariffs disrupting trade and economic activity would potentially offset any US federal revenue gains that the Trump administration seeks to use to further domestic policies.”“It appears tomorrow there’ll be no country in the world exempt from the initial announcements”.I tihnk that our trading relatinship is a very strong, and fair and balanced one, so I don’t think there is the need to do this. Continue ...

Economics

15 h. ago Gold at record high as markets brace for Trump tariffs ‘to affect every country’ – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as UK business secretary warns Britain will be hit by ‘Liberation Day’ tariffsTrump prepares to unveil reciprocal tariffs as markets brace amid trade war fearsTrump’s new tariffs could backfire if they are set too high, explains Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management:“Wednesday’s reciprocal tariffs could push the effective tariff rate another 4 percentage points higher. Anything further than that could move tariffs beyond a revenue-raising ‘sweet spot,’ in our view.Globally, the risk of high tariffs disrupting trade and economic activity would potentially offset any US federal revenue gains that the Trump administration seeks to use to further domestic policies.”“It appears tomorrow there’ll be no country in the world exempt from the initial announcements”.I tihnk that our trading relatinship is a very strong, and fair and balanced one, so I don’t think there is the need to do this. Continue ...

Economics

16 h. ago UK best placed country in world to strike deal to dodge Trump tariffs, business secretary claims: Live

Donald Trump to unveil sweeping tariffs on any country that ‘treats the US unfairly’ on Wednesday

Economics

37 h. ago World markets and US dollar suffer worst monthly losses since 2022 as Trump tariffs fuel recession fears – business live

Shares slide after President Donald Trump says new reciprocal tariffs expected this week will include all nations, and Goldman Sachs say US recession more likelyWall Street shrinks in response to price pressures, stoking fears of Trump tariffsSwiss bank UBS has cut its forecast for the US stock market’s gains this year.Having previously forecast the S&P 500 shares index would end the year at 6,600 points (which would have been a 12% gain in 2025), UBS have now cut their end-year target to 6,400 points.“After considering the effects of tariffs and slower growth data so far in 2025, we now expect 6% earnings per share growth, and we have accordingly reduced our year-end target for the index to 6,400 (from 6,600).But this also means that there is still meaningful upside for broad US equities by year-end, in our view.”The Nikkei closed down 4%, while European indices are a sea of red. The sell off is broad based, with more than 550 of the Eurostoxx 600 stocks lower as investors take...

Economics

40 h. ago World markets and US dollar suffer worst monthly losses since 2022 as Trump trade war riles investors – business live

Shares slide after President Donald Trump says new reciprocal tariffs expected this week will include all nationsWall Street shrinks in response to price pressures, stoking fears of Trump tariffsEurope’s main stock indices are a sea of red, as investors react to Donald Trump’s declaration that the reciprocal tariffs he is set to announce this week will include all nations.Italy’s FTSE MIB index has dropped 1.4%, France’s CAC is down 1%, and Germany’s DAX has lost 0.95%.The tariffs imposed by the U.S. government and the fear of new announcements as early as Wednesday are creating a bleak atmosphere on trading floors worldwide. Just last Wednesday, the DAX was above 23,000 points, but it now appears that the index may soon test the 22,000 mark.The risk appetite seen in the initial weeks of the year has dissipated as investors and asset managers pull back, reduce positions, and refrain from taking on large new ones. The inclination to buy the dips has nearly vanished. Continue reading...

Economics

4 d. ago US consumer confidence hit by tariff fears; Thames Water’s finance chief leaving within days – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsOver in Germany, the number of people out of work has risen at the fastest rate since October of 2024.The German labour office said the number of unemployed increased by 26,000 in seasonally adjusted terms to 2.92 million. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected that figure to rise by 10,000.“March marks the start of the so-called spring recovery on the labour market. This year, however, the economic slump is noticeably slowing it down.”One bright spot was the impressive 1.9% q/q (CE forecast 0.7% q/q) rise in consumers’ real incomes in Q4. The 4.2% rise in 2024 as a whole suggests households experienced the strongest real income growth in nine years.With consumer spending hardly rising, at 12.0% in Q4 (up from 10.3% in Q3), the saving rate remains unusually high, suggesting households are choosing to save rather than spend the bulk of those gains. Continue reading...

Economics

4 d. ago Tariff uncertainty risks ‘significant economic damage’; Thames Water’s finance chief leaving within days – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsOver in Germany, the number of people out of work has risen at the fastest rate since October of 2024.The German labour office said the number of unemployed increased by 26,000 in seasonally adjusted terms to 2.92 million. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected that figure to rise by 10,000.“March marks the start of the so-called spring recovery on the labour market. This year, however, the economic slump is noticeably slowing it down.”One bright spot was the impressive 1.9% q/q (CE forecast 0.7% q/q) rise in consumers’ real incomes in Q4. The 4.2% rise in 2024 as a whole suggests households experienced the strongest real income growth in nine years.With consumer spending hardly rising, at 12.0% in Q4 (up from 10.3% in Q3), the saving rate remains unusually high, suggesting households are choosing to save rather than spend the bulk of those gains. Continue reading...

Economics

4 d. ago China’s Xi urges global CEOs to protect trade supply chains; UK’s 2024 growth revised higher, but households hoard cash – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsOver in Germany, the number of people out of work has risen at the fastest rate since October of 2024.The German labour office said the number of unemployed increased by 26,000 in seasonally adjusted terms to 2.92 million. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected that figure to rise by 10,000.“March marks the start of the so-called spring recovery on the labour market. This year, however, the economic slump is noticeably slowing it down.”One bright spot was the impressive 1.9% q/q (CE forecast 0.7% q/q) rise in consumers’ real incomes in Q4. The 4.2% rise in 2024 as a whole suggests households experienced the strongest real income growth in nine years.With consumer spending hardly rising, at 12.0% in Q4 (up from 10.3% in Q3), the saving rate remains unusually high, suggesting households are choosing to save rather than spend the bulk of those gains. Continue reading...

Economics

4 d. ago FTSE 100 Live 28 March: New name for WH Smith high street stores, retail sales beat hopes

The WH Smith name is to disappear from the high street after 233 years.

Politics

4 d. ago China’s Xi urges global CEOs to protect trade supply chains; UK’s 2024 growth revised higher – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsToday’s UK national accounts data also shows that people stashed away more of their money into savings at the end of last year.The household saving ratio, which measure the proportion of income that is saved, rose to 12% in October-December 2024, up from 10.3% in the third quarter of last year.One bright spot was the impressive 1.9% q/q (CE forecast 0.7% q/q) rise in consumers’ real incomes in Q4. The 4.2% rise in 2024 as a whole suggests households experienced the strongest real income growth in nine years.With consumer spending hardly rising, at 12.0% in Q4 (up from 10.3% in Q3), the saving rate remains unusually high, suggesting households are choosing to save rather than spend the bulk of those gains.Non-food stores – the total of department, clothing, household and other non-food stores – rose by 3.1% over the month. This put monthly sales volumes at their highest level since March 2022.“The exceptional volatility in rec...

Economics

4 d. ago FTSE 100 Live 28 March: WH Smith sells high street stores, retail sales beat hopes

The WH Smith name is to disappear from the high street after 233 years.

Politics

4 d. ago China’s Xi urges global CEOs to protect trade supply chains; WH Smith sells high street stores – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsShares in WH Smith have dropped by 2.4% in early stock market trading in London, as traders digest the sale of its high street stores for £76m.Less encouragingly, the UK’s trade deficit has widened.finished manufactured goods (£1.8bn)semi-manufactured goods (£1.2bn)oil (£0.6bn)other fuels (£0.3bn)“The UK’s current account deficit with the rest of the world widened slightly in the latest quarter, driven by falling exports of goods.Our balance of payments statistics for recent years have been updated to incorporate improved measurement of foreign direct investment and corrected trade data.” Continue reading...

Economics

5 d. ago UK politics live: Business secretary calls for ‘cool heads’ after Reeves vows not to ‘escalate US trade wars’

A 25 per cent tariff on vehicles imported to the US will come into effect on 2 April, the US president announced

Politics