No 10 says Donald Trump’s tariffs not responsible for UK economy shrinking March 14, 2025 Donald Trump’s tariffs are not responsible for the UK economy shrinking in January, Downing Street has said, in a position that appears to contradict the Chancellor’s reaction to the latest poor economic figures. According to the latest set of gross domestic product (GDP) figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the economy shrank [...]
Ed Miliband in China for climate meetings amid new investment approach March 14, 2025 Energy secretary Ed Miliband is in China for climate meetings in a bid to restart the government’s environmental dialogue with the Asian nation. The energy security and net zero secretary will meet Chinese counterparts Wang Hongzhi and Huang Runqiu to pursue efforts to work jointly to slash emissions, the government said. It marks the first [...]
Canada and Mexico tariffs: No10 stresses ‘balanced’ trade relationship with US March 4, 2025 The UK has a “strong, fair, balanced and reciprocal trading relationship” with the United States, No10 has stressed, as US tariffs came into force against Canada and Mexico. President Trump’s tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico took effect on Tuesday, with global markets put on edge and retaliations planned by the two countries – [...]
Starmer under US pressure to reject Chinese “super-embassy” in London February 27, 2025 Two senior figures in US-China relations in Congress have called on Lord Mandelson to block the development of a huge 700,000 square foot Chinese ‘super-embassy’ in the heart of London – in a fresh diplomatic headache for Sir Keir Starmer ahead of his crucial meeting with President Trump. Reps John Moolenaar and Chris Smith, in [...]
Vietnam defeated America, can it beat China too? February 27, 2025 'Escape from China' is the watchword in Vietnam for businesses offering an alternative to Beijing's communist encroachment, says Rainer Zitelmann.
Plans for £1bn battery gigafactory and over 1,000 new jobs revealed February 26, 2025 Plans to create a £1bn 10GWh battery gigafactory in Coventry which will create over 1,000 jobs by 2030 have been revealed. Volklec, a battery manufacturing start-up which set up shop in the West Midlands city last year, has entered into an exclusive license agreement with China-based Far East Battery (FEB). The deal will see Volklec [...]
Global investors shun UK market amid stagflation fears February 18, 2025 Britain has become the least attractive market to invest in among global fund managers, with sentiment towards UK stocks slumping. Stock pickers held 18 per cent less UK shares than their benchmarks suggested they should in February, compared to a 12 per cent overweight position on European stocks, according to Bank of America’s latest Global [...]
BHP: Mining giant hit by lower iron ore prices February 18, 2025 Mining giant BHP has reported a jump in profit for the half-year ended 31 December 2024, despite a drop in revenue due to lower iron ore prices. Attributable profit surged to $4.4bn (£3.5bn), up 376 per cent from $0.9bn in the previous half-year. Underlying attributable profit, however, fell 23 per cent to $5.1bn due to [...]
Astrazeneca revenue surges amid Chinese import tax allegations February 6, 2025 Astrazeneca’s revenue jumped 21 per cent last year despite growing troubles over its presence in China. The pharmaceutical giant recorded $54bn (£43.3bn) in revenue for the year, a jump of 21 per cent on 2023’s levels. In its full-year results, the largest FTSE 100 firm revealed that revenue in Europe had skyrocketed 37 per cent. [...]
Starmer’s EU-US high-wire act risks stumbling… February 5, 2025 From headaches over Europe, to managing Sino-philes vs sceptics, the job of a prime minister – particularly when it comes to foreign policy – can often resemble something of a high-wire act, usually minus a safety net. Get it wrong, and the consequences could be severe, but pull it off, and the rewards are plentiful. Enforcing [...]