UK employer confidence falls to pandemic-era low May 12, 2025 Confidence among UK employers has fallen to lows seen only during the coronavirus pandemic as economic uncertainty over tariffs pile on top of rising costs for businesses. The number of UK employers expecting to increase headcounts over the next three months fell to the lowest outside of the pandemic, the latest survey of more than [...]
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 [...]
Government wants to ‘go further’ with US trading relationship May 11, 2025 The government wants “to go further in terms of the trading relationship with the US”, the Home Secretary has said, as an American economist warned the deal struck with Donald Trump this week “isn’t worth the paper it’s written on”. Joseph Stiglitz told Sky News that had the UK worked with the EU on a [...]
US-UK trade announcement: “this isn’t a deal, it’s an amuse-bouche” May 9, 2025 The morning after the US-UK trade agreement was announced, experts are beginning to wrap their heads around what the deal entails, and reactions are trickling in. The overriding sense is that in the absence of any granular detail on what the deal means for several industries, there is still hope that the UK government can [...]
Is the UK-US trade deal a win for Starmer? May 9, 2025 In what has been hailed by trade experts as “the biggest week for UK trade since Brexit,” the UK has struck the long-awaited trade deal with the US, just over a month after – so-called ‘Liberation Day’ – tariffs were announced. This is the US’ first bilateral deal since these tariffs were imposed. But it’s [...]
Investment boss: US capital flight won’t necessarily benefit UK May 9, 2025 Investors fleeing US markets won’t necessarily boost the value of those in the UK or Europe, a senior investment boss has warned, pouring cold water on hopes for a London Stock Exchange revival. Last month’s Bank of America global fund manager survey found that investors were looking to cut their exposure to US stocks at [...]
UK financial services can still drive growth in a volatile world May 9, 2025 Geopolitical turmoil is threatening the resilience of UK financial services, but we don't need to sacrifice growth to protect them, writes KPMG's Karim Haji.
Analysis: What is in the US-UK trade deal and what does it mean? May 8, 2025 The US administration has offered the UK its first trade deal since President Trump turned global trade on its head last month. The UK government will see the deal as a win, at least symbolically, while Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey hailed news of a trade deal as “excellent”. Chancellor Rachel Reeves said reducing [...]
Aston Martin shares rally on UK and US trade deal May 8, 2025 Shares in Aston Martin surged on Thursday ahead of President Donald Trump announcing a trade deal with the UK. The FTSE 250 stock was up ten per cent in the early afternoon, after reports that US car tariffs on the UK would ease. Trump’s 25 per cent levy on all steel and car imports dealt [...]
Keir Starmer strikes ‘historic’ deal with US in bid to swerve tariffs May 8, 2025 Keir Starmer has unveiled a new deal between the US and the UK, making Britain America’s first major trading partner to partially swerve the looming threat of tariffs. US president Donald Trump last month unveiled sweeping tariffs on major economies across the world, including a 10 per cent tariff on goods imports from the UK [...]