Category Archives: Business

Australia news live: new analysis links NSW floods to climate change; count in Bradfield narrows teal’s lead over Liberal to a handful of votes

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BoM says heavy rainfall will extend south through NSW today with some areas set to receive up to 160mm. Follow Australia news and NSW floods live updates today.

Darren Chester says focus on Coalition split ‘frustrating’

Nationals MP Darren Chester says “there are bigger issues” than the makeup of the coalition.

It’s been frustrating to be talking about ourselves at a time when, you know, much of the mid coast, the central coast and north coast of New South Wales is facing devastating floods including loss of life. And in close to home in Victoria central and western Victoria and northern Victoria right through South Australia there’s a devastating drought.

We need to resolve our issues as quickly as we can, because there are bigger issues facing rural and regional Australians than the make-up of the coalition. We need to make sure we get back being a strong and incredible opposition as quickly as possible and I’m hoping that these negotiations can consider – can continue now in a positive and constructive way.

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UK travellers face road and rail disruption over bank holiday weekend

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Motoring organisations warn of heavy traffic, and delays and cancellations will hit two rail routes out of London

The bank holiday getaway is likely to be a tricky one, with transport analysts predicting congested roads and the year’s busiest day so far for departing airports, while long-distance rail passengers dodge the start of more engineering work.

Motoring organisations forecast traffic to be at its worst on Friday, with many drivers surveyed apparently taking an extra day off before the long weekend and half-term break for most schools in England and Wales.

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World’s seven wealthiest countries agree to counter China’s trade practices

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G7 finance ministers and central bank governors pledge to address ‘economic imbalances’, without naming China

Top finance officials from the world’s seven wealthiest democracies have set aside stark differences on US tariffs and agreed to counter global “economic imbalances”, a swipe at China’s trade practices.

Ahead of the meeting of G7 finance ministers and central bank governors there had been doubt about whether there would be a final communique, given divisions over US tariffs and Washington’s reluctance to refer to Russia’s war on Ukraine as illegal.

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FTC drops case over Microsoft’s $69bn Activision Blizzard acquisition

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Microsoft president declares ‘victory’ in Call of Duty maker deal as FTC chair says case doesn’t fit with Trump’s agenda

The US Federal Trade Commission dropped a case that sought to block Microsoft’s $69bn purchase of the Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard, saying on Thursday that pursuing the case against the long-closed deal was not in the public interest.

Andrew Ferguson, the FTC chair, is seeking to use the agency’s resources for cases that fit with Donald Trump’s agenda, such as an investigation related to whether advertisers colluded to spend less on X.

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Ministers said to be considering bill to wipe out British Steel’s debts

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Chinese owner owed almost £1bn as government weighs up how best to attract buyer for Scunthorpe works

Ministers are reportedly considering legislation to relieve British Steel of debts that have risen to nearly £1bn, as the government considers how best to prepare the Scunthorpe steelworks for sale.

The government took control of the business last month after it said its Chinese owner, Jingye Steel, planned to close the plant within days. The move required emergency legislation that was passed in a historic recall of parliament.

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UK petrol prices poised to fall further as oil production may be stepped up

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Global oil prices tumble after reports that Opec+ is ready to raise output despite weaker demand for fossil fuels

Global oil prices have tumbled by more than $1 a barrel in a sign that pressure on households at the petrol pumps could ease further.

The price of Brent crude fell to $63.86 a barrel on Thursday following reports that the Opec oil cartel and its allies may increase their production for July, despite weaker global demand for fossil fuels.

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Government considers sale of Brexit border checkpoint in Kent – reports

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New trade deal with EU could make 41 border control posts built after Brexit redundant

The UK government is reportedly considering selling a post-Brexit border check facility in Kent that could fall out of use as a result of this week’s trade pact with the EU.

The site, based in Sevington, Ashford, was erected in 2021 with capacity for 1,300 lorries that were expected to face extra checks on plants and animal goods, including dairy and meat, entering and leaving Britain after Brexit.

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Littleproud says discussions about reuniting Coalition a ‘positive move’ – as it happened

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Liberals will attend a virtual party room meeting this afternoon after Ley and Littleproud attempt to broker agreement two days after dramatic split. Follow today’s news live

Minns says community ‘no doubt bracing’ for more bad news after flooding death

The NSW premier is “bracing for more tough news” following news of a death in the state’s inundated mid-north coast.

It’s devastating for that man and his family and his friends. [It’s] a tight-knit community on the mid-north coast, and to lose anyone in these natural disasters is obviously horrifying. So I’m very sorry for that man’s passing.

We should be bracing for more tough news over the next 24 hours. We’re very grateful we got enormous amount of expertise, emergency service personnel and thousands of volunteers who are on site, but when you have major natural disasters, obviously, you get terrible news as a result, and that community no doubt will be bracing in the next 24 hours.

I’m sorry about that. That would be incredibly anxious period, waiting that period of time for a rescue.

I can assure the public that we have got a massive emergency service contingent on the Mid North Coast. There’s 2,500 emergency service workers including 2,200 SES volunteers and professionals that are on site. Over 500 vehicles and boasts, 13 helicopters, hundreds of drones, so this is a major operation.

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Target sales fall sharply in first quarter as customers worry about tariffs

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Retailer warns sales will slip for all of 2025 as customers pull back spending amid fears over tariffs and economy

Sales at Target fell more than expected in the first quarter, and the retailer warned they will slip for all of 2025 year as its customers, worried over the impact of tariffs and the economy, pull back on spending.

Target also said that customer boycotts have also done some damage during the latest quarter. The company scaled back many diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in January after they came under attack by conservative activists and the White House. Target’s retreat created another backlash, with more customers angered by the retailer’s reduction of LGBTQ+-themed merchandise for Pride month in June of 2023.

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South Africa’s Ramaphosa expected to take golf stars to Trump meeting

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Ernie Els and Retief Goosen reportedly part of delegation as president seeks to reset ties after white ‘genocide’ claims

The South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, is expected to take the golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen with him to meet Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday, as the government attempts to reset relations with the US amid Trump’s accusations that it is fomenting a white “genocide”.

Ramaphosa’s appeal to Trump’s love of golf, with the potential inclusion of Els and Goosen reported by South African local media, is part of his efforts to avoid a public dressing down of the kind Trump gave to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in February.

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Australia news live: Nationals’ decision to break up Coalition not unanimous; ‘treacherous’ weather hampering chopper NSW flood rescues

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Nationals leader hints there might still be a possibility of joint tickets in 2028 if state officials from the two parties can come to agreement. Follow today’s news live

People trapped by flooding as river rise breaks record

Intense falls and major flooding have hit Australia’s most populous state as a slow-moving system dumps rain, causing a major river to rise to the highest level in almost 100 years.

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Thames Water chair could face questions after comments to MPs on bonuses

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Exclusive: Sir Adrian Montague told select committee paying bonuses out of emergency £3bn loan was insisted upon by creditors

The chair of Thames Water could face more questions over his statement to parliament that large bonuses to be paid to senior bosses out of an emergency £3bn loan were insisted upon by creditors.

Sir Adrian Montague told the environment, food and rural affairs (Efra) select committee last week that the lenders had insisted that “very substantial” bonuses of up to 50% of salary should be paid to company executives from the controversial loan in order to retain key staff.

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Reeves eyes Gulf trade pact as ‘next deal,’ Bank of England’s Pill says pace of interest rate cuts ‘too rapid’ – as it happened

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China and Australia cut interest rates; Shell faces protests calling for clean-up in Niger Delta

Here’s our full story on Greggs.

Sales at Greggs have picked up after the UK’s biggest bakery chain branched out into iced drinks, pizza boxes and a macaroni cheese that has gone viral on social media.

These are important issues and we respect the right of people to express their view. But for many years the vast majority of spills in the Niger Delta have been caused by third parties acting unlawfully, such as oil thieves who drill holes in pipelines, or saboteurs.

These challenges are managed by a joint venture which Shell’s former Nigerian subsidiary, SPDC, operated, cleaning up every spill from the joint venture’s facilities.

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Passengers freed from stranded train – as it happened

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Liberals question role of advocacy group Advance

We have an exclusive story this morning about the bitter aftermath within the Liberal party after its election defeat with some senior Liberal sources questioning the impact of Advance Australia, the rightwing advocacy that campaigned for the party.

We are absolutely deeply and gravely concerned about the situation in Gaza. For anyone who is watching the images or reading about what is happening there, we have been calling to ensure that aid is getting through and this is something that the Australian government keeps a watching brief on.

I will leave it to the foreign minister to make any further updates, but we … certainly … are seeking support for the people of Gaza and for Israel to allow that support to be provided.

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Reeves hopes hat-trick of deals shows Britain is open for business

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Impact of agreements on food, energy and defence may not be huge but chancellor believes it will draw investors to UK

Rachel Reeves joked to journalists after Monday’s EU-UK reset that trade deals were coming along “like buses”, given the agreements with India and the US that had also been sealed in the past fortnight alone.

The chancellor described the EU deal as the best that had been secured by any non-member country, but she was also keen to talk about the three successful negotiations as a package.

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Weakening of UK EV sales rules ‘likely to result in significantly more carbon emissions’

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Analysis suggests there could be 500,000 additional plug-in hybrid electric cars on Britain’s roads by 2030

The UK government’s weakening of rules on electric car sales is likely to result in significantly more carbon emissions as sales of plug-in hybrids rise, according to analysis.

Relaxed rules could result in as many as 500,000 additional plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) on UK roads by 2030, according to modelling by T&E, a campaign group on transport and the environment. PHEVs combine a small battery with a polluting petrol engine and tend to be much more profitable than pure battery electric cars.

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At least £64bn of property in England and Wales is hidden behind opaque trusts

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Campaigners say secretive ownership structures are becoming the ‘go-to vehicle for kleptocrats’

The owners of nearly a quarter of a million properties in England and Wales worth a combined £64bn are hidden behind opaque trusts, according to research that prompts concern that such structures are the “go-to vehicle for kleptocrats” stashing money in Britain.

The government introduced a register of property held through offshore vehicles in August 2022, revealing a string of unknown owners, including high-profile figures such as Lewis Hamilton and James Dyson, as well as sanctioned Russians, Gulf royals and the Chinese state.

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Santander UK freezes salaries and cuts jobs in commercial banking arm

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Exclusive: Bank also set to slash bonuses in wider shake-up that could help make it more attractive to potential buyers

Santander UK is freezing salaries, slashing bonuses and cutting jobs across its commercial banking arm as part of a wider shake-up that could help make the bank more attractive to potential buyers.

The bank began unexpectedly changing bankers’ job titles and shuffling staff into new teams earlier this month amid a larger review of the Spanish lender’s UK business, where there is mounting frustration over regulations and costs.

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Cooking the books? Fears Trump could target statisticians if data disappoints

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Proposed rule change could pave way for president to fire economists whose figures prove politically inconvenient

Summarizing his befuddlement with numbers, Mark Twain observed that there were “lies, damned lies and statistics”.

The acerbic phrase later become so deeply embedded in popular consciousness that it once formed the title to an episode of The West Wing, NBC’s portrayal of a fictitious US president played by Martin Sheen.

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US credit rating downgrade could add to pressure on government debt

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Loss of Moody’s triple-A rating comes amid concerns about fiscal trajectory and widening budget deficit

US government debt may come under more pressure this week after the credit rating agency Moody’s stripped the US of its top-notch triple-A credit rating.

Moody’s dealt a blow to Washington last Friday, when it downgraded the US and warned about rising levels of government debt and a widening budget deficit. Moody’s cut its credit rating on the US by one notch to Aa1 from Aaa, becoming the last of the big three agencies to downgrade the US.

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