Hegseth: US will stand by allies against ‘imminent’ China threat May 31, 2025 US defence secretary Pete Hegseth reassured allies in the Indo-Pacific on Saturday that they will not be left alone to face increasing military and economic pressure from China, while insisting that they also contribute more to their own defence. He said Washington will bolster its defences overseas to counter what the Pentagon sees as rapidly [...]
Trump tariffs: Legal twist as court rules in favour of trade levies May 30, 2025 President Trump can legally keep his tariffs in place for the moment, a federal appeals court has ruled – just a day after his trade policies were “declared to be invalid” by a US court. The fresh ruling comes just over a day after the lesser known US Court of International Trade found that tariffs [...]
Hisense: Sales surge by over £70m but brand issues warning May 22, 2025 Sales at the UK arm of Hisense, the Chinese appliances and electronics manufacturer, jumped by more than £70m last year, it has been revealed. The Leeds-headquartered division has reported a turnover of £373.8m for 2024, a sharp rise from the £300.4m it posted for 2023. New accounts filed with Companies House also show that Hisense’s pre-tax [...]
‘Chagos chaos’ continues as deal is put ‘on hold’ May 16, 2025 The government has put the much-contested Chagos islands deal ‘on hold’ after outcry from Labour backbenchers. The deal would see sovereignty over the Chagos islands returned to Mauritius, but with the UK and US paying to continue military operations on the islands. The transfer is reported to cost the UK £9bn. While President Trump has [...]
Boost for Rachel Reeves as UK economy booms in first quarter May 15, 2025 The UK economy surged by 0.7 per cent in the first three months of the year, official data has shown, suggesting firms boosted production ahead of Rachel Reeves’s tax rises in April and the threat of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Fresh data provided by the Office for National Statistics showed that the UK economy grew [...]
China could gatecrash Starmer’s diplomatic party May 15, 2025 Keir Starmer has repeatedly said that the UK doesn’t need to choose between strengthening economic and trade ties with the US and deepening them with the EU. A few weeks ago, concern was growing in Whitehall that if the UK didn’t strike a deal with America then the chance of a tariff rapprochement could be [...]
HSBC and Standard Charted shares surge as trade war cools May 12, 2025 Shares in banking giants HSBC and Standard Chartered surged on Monday morning as the trade tensions between the US and China appeared to cool. HSBC jumped nearly four per cent, taking its gains for the month to over 14 per cent. Standard Chartered soared over seven per cent, with monthly gains topping 17 per cent. [...]
China and US announce 90-day pause on tariffs May 12, 2025 China and the US have watered down tit-for-tat tariffs in a landmark 90-day pause that represents a de-escalation of their ongoing trade war. Both countries had imposed tariffs of over 100 per cent on one another in the fallout to President Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ at the beginning of April, causing the UN to suggest that [...]
UK trading partners: China returns to top 10 as EU trade slumps May 12, 2025 China has returned to become a top 10 UK trading partner for the first time since 2022 after a slump in trade activity with the European Union. China is now the eighth largest trading partner for the UK, after countries like Ireland and Italy have declined significantly in popularity, data from Santander’s latest Trade Barometer [...]
US and China resume tariff talks after Trump hails ‘great progress’ May 11, 2025 The US and China have resumed crucial tariff talks that have put the global economy on edge, with each side appearing to have diverging views of where the negotiations presently stand. President Donald Trump wrote on social media that “great progress” is being made and even suggested a “total reset” is a possibility as the [...]