How will Trump’s tariffs impact the UK economy? April 3, 2025 The US president holds up a sandwich board in the Rose Garden. On it is a list of countries. Next to each country are two columns: one for “tariffs charged to the USA” and one for “USA Discounted Reciprocal Tariffs”. The leader of the free world is cooking up a storm. “Our country has been [...]
Fear over Labour plans to allow firms to extract cash from pension schemes April 3, 2025 The vast majority of pension scheme members are “afraid” of government plans that would allow firms to take cash from defined benefit (DB) schemes for investment. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves signalled earlier this year that “trapped surplus funds” in DB pension schemes would be unleashed for firms to invest. But a [...]
S&P 500 and Dow Jones plunge as banks drive FTSE 100 slump April 3, 2025 The S&P 500 and Dow Jones joined the FTSE 100 in the red as US markets opened following Trump’s tariff onslaught. The S&P plummeted over three per cent in early trading, whilst the Dow slid nearly three per cent marking a loss of 1,200 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Exchange, which includes Tesla and Apple, slumped [...]
UK to consult on ‘retaliatory tariffs’ as Tories call for employment reforms to be scrapped April 3, 2025 The UK will consult businesses on “possible retaliatory action’ including on US products that could face tariffs, in response to Donald Trump’s sweeping global import taxes. Jonathan Reynolds made the announcement to MPs in the House of Commons, stating: “To enable the UK to have every option open to us in the future, I am [...]
Luxury brands Watches of Switzerland and Burberry suffer on Trump tariffs April 3, 2025 The share prices of high-end retailers Watches of Switzerland and Burberry both slid today in the wake of Trump’s tariff announcement. Watches of Switzerland saw its share price drop more than 15 per cent, while Burberry’s share price fell by nearly seven per cent. “There are heavy losses for the luxury sector,” Kathleen Brooks, research [...]
Week in Business: Will Donald Trump’s trade war blow up the UK economy? April 3, 2025 Liberation Day, Independence Day, the greatest day in American history? Or the end of the global economic order and the start of a dangerous new world? In the end it was classic Trump, sometimes reading from an autocue as if for the first time, sometimes veering off script in erratic directions, calling out supporters in [...]
UK services and composite PMIs underwhelm economists April 3, 2025 The UK service sector saw a “modest expansion” in March but economists overestimated S&P Global’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) readings for the month. S&P Global’s latest composite PMI reading, which takes an average of manufacturing and services output for the month, came in at 51.5. The figure points to a slight expansion in UK output [...]
Co-op profit jumps six-fold ahead of supermarket ‘trolley wars’ April 3, 2025 The Co-op has reported a huge jump in profit for 2024 ahead of potential ‘trolley wars’ in the grocery sector. Group revenue was broadly stable year on year, ticking up by 0.2 per cent to £11.3bn, while underlying profit rose by 35 per cent to £131m. Operating profit more than doubled, from £66m to £151m, [...]
Wise shares jump after the company upgrades forecasts April 3, 2025 Shares in global fintech Wise jumped six per cent in early deals this morning after the firm posted preliminary figures for its current financial year on Thursday ahead of its capital markets day. The event’s presentation will also include updates on the current financial year, for which the full results will be posted on June [...]
US tariffs: Keir Starmer vows to ‘keep cool head’ in face of ‘economic impact’ April 3, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to “keep a cool head” in the face of the “economic impact” of Donald Trump’s 10 per cent tariffs on UK exports to the US, amid fears of a wider trade war. The Prime Minister spoke to business chiefs in Downing Street this morning in the wake of sweeping global [...]