Contradiction at the heart of National Security Strategy June 25, 2025 The situation in the Middle East reminds us that these are volatile times and as the war in Ukraine grinds on, an unpredictable US President heads to the Hague for a crucial Nato summit where the security of Europe is on the table. At home, the government has published its National Security Strategy which concludes [...]
US giant Apollo to back Hinkley Point C with £4.5bn loan June 20, 2025 US private capital group Apollo Global will back the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station with a £4.5bn loan, according to reports. The loan will be provided as unsecured debt to EDF, the French state-owned energy firm delivering the project, at an interest rate of just under seven per cent, sources told the FT. While [...]
End in sight for US-China trade war with ‘framework’ announced in London June 11, 2025 The US and China have agreed on a “framework” by which to implement a trade truce after two days of “marathon negotiations” in London. Details from the framework agreed on Tuesday have yet to be released, but US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik said it put “meat on the bones” of the Geneva deal, which lowered [...]
FTSE 100 flirts with record high but falters once more June 11, 2025 The FTSE 100 once more narrowly missed on a record closing high on Wednesday after faltering in the final moments of the trading session. The UK’s flagship index edged up 0.13 per cent to 8864.35p. This brought it just short of March’s record close of 8871.31p. Housebuilders topped the morning risers with Persimmon and Barratt [...]
Gold tops euro to become central banks’ second favourite reserve asset June 11, 2025 Central banks now hold more gold than euros in the face of global trade tensions and volatile markets, according to a report produced by the European Central Bank (ECB), making it the world’s second largest reserve asset after the US dollar. Purchases of gold were twice as high in 2024 as the average seen over [...]
Global growth to brake to ‘slowest pace’ since financial crash, World Bank says June 10, 2025 The world economy is heading for its worst year since the 2008 financial crash, the World Bank has predicted, as most major economies suffered a growth downgrade due to trade tensions sparked by President Trump’s tariffs. The UN-backed financial institution has predicted that global growth will come down to 2.3 per cent this year as [...]
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 [...]