IMF slashes UK growth forecast as tariffs create ‘significant slowdown’ April 22, 2025 The IMF has downgraded its UK growth forecast by 0.5 per cent this year as President Donald Trump’s trade war brings global tariff rates to “centennial highs”. The IMF said the UK economy would grow by 1.1 per cent growth this year, reflecting leading forecasters’ worries about the ongoing global trade war between US and [...]
Reeves’ tax rise to push up inflation, BoE’s Megan Greene warns April 22, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ national insurance tax rise will push up inflation and lead to a “shake-up” of the labour market, Bank of England rate-setter Megan Greene has warned. In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Greene said she was particularly concerned about “weakness in output” for the best part of a year as she suggested Reeves’ tax [...]
The Open at Turnberry? Trump given fresh hope of hosting major April 22, 2025 The Open Championship organisers have raised hopes that Donald Trump’s Turnberry could come in from the cold and stage the golf major again. Turnberry has not staged the Open since five years before the current US president’s 2014 purchase of the Ayrshire resort, amid suspicions that it has been unofficially blackballed over the Trump connection. [...]
Google back in the hot seat as antitrust pushes Chrome sell April 22, 2025 Alphabet-owned Google returned to a Washington DC courtroom on Monday for the remedies phase of the US government’s landmark antitrust case, with the department of justice (DOJ) calling for a structural breakup of the tech giant – including a forced sale of its Chrome browser. The trial follows a 2023 ruling by US district judge [...]
Pound on best run since 1971 as FTSE 100 claws back gains April 22, 2025 The pound and the FTSE 100 continued their strong runs on Tuesday on the back of US instability. Sterling was on track for its 11th day of gains, which would be its longest streak since January 1971 – when the currency switched to the decimal system. It was up 0.6 per cent to $1.34 against [...]
As FTSE 100 pharma firms wait for a tariffs decision, what would drugs levies mean for consumers? April 22, 2025 For FTSE 100 businesses navigating the shifting sands of Trump’s trade war, the uncertainty surrounding the tariffs has been almost as painful as the stock market shocks. The pharmaceutical industry has been left in a particularly agonising limbo: free, for now, from the 10 per cent baseline import tax, but the US President keeps making [...]
Gary Lineker: BBC pushed me out of £1.3m Match of the Day job April 22, 2025 Gary Lineker has revealed that the BBC pushed him out of his long-running £1.3m job as presenter of Match of the Day. Lineker’s departure at the end of this season after 26 years in the role was announced in November, with the BBC describing the move as him “stepping down” and saying he’d be “hugely [...]
Seeing the wood for the trees: Why we shouldn’t mourn every felled oak April 22, 2025 Trees are emotive, as the furore over the Toby Carvery oak and the Sycamore gap prove. But a political obsession with planting trees is getting in the way of proper maintenance of our ancient woodland, says David Cracknell It was last week’s row over the Toby Carvery oak that got me thinking again about the [...]
Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund sues new City skyscraper over right to light April 22, 2025 The owner of new London skyscraper 50 Fenchurch Street has been sued by Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund over claims the tower will obstruct light. Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund, which owns the freehold to the Willis building on Lime Street, has brought the case through the High Court via its real investment vehicle, St Martins Property. [...]
Wilkinson Sword makes first profit since pandemic April 22, 2025 Wilkinson Sword surged back into the black for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic during its latest financial year, it has been revealed. The High Wycombe-headquartered business reported a pre-tax profit of £7.2m for the 12 months to 30 September, 2024. The profit is the first since Wilkinson Sword reported a £337,000 surplus in [...]