‘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 [...]
Will snooker really boom in China after Zhao Xintong’s landmark win? May 6, 2025 Predictions of a snooker boom in China following Zhao Xintong’s landmark World Championship victory may be more bluster than substance, say global sports business experts. Zhao’s stylish triumph at the Crucible on Monday made him the first Asian to win the title and raised expectations that the sport will rocket in popularity among China’s 1.6bn [...]
Investment funds in April: Energy plummets while property soars May 1, 2025 Energy funds suffered deeply during April as an expected slowdown in global growth caused oil prices to tank throughout the month. Five energy funds featured in the bottom 10 performing investment funds, alongside two resource funds, with Guinness Global Energy as the worst performer, falling 13.5 per cent. “With the price of a barrel of [...]
Clarkson: Shares in shipbroker plummet after tariff profit warning May 1, 2025 Shares in Clarkson plummeted on Thursday after the shipbroker lowered its annual profit forecast, citing the impact of US tariffs. Underlying pre-tax profit is expected to fall in the range of £85m to £95m, down 18 per cent from prior full-year guidance. The stock was down around 11 per cent in early trading. Clarkson cited [...]