GDP grows 5.2% in second quarter as world’s second largest economy ‘front-loads’ shipments before tariffs kick in
China’s economy grew more strongly than expected in the second quarter as it proved resilient in the face of Donald Trump’s trade war.
China’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 5.2% in April to June compared with a year earlier, slowing from 5.4% in the first quarter, but just ahead of analysts’ expectations for a rise of 5.1%.
Continue reading...Chancellor to announce raft of deregulation changes as City regulators move to pare back transparency rules
Rachel Reeves will claim that cutting red tape for City firms will have trickle-down benefits for households across Britain, as she tries to drum up support for a new financial services strategy.
A raft of regulatory reforms are due to be announced by the chancellor on Tuesday, in what the Treasury says will be the “biggest financial regulation reforms in a decade”. It will come before her Mansion House address to City bosses during a dinner at Guildhall in London on Tuesday evening.
Continue reading...Darren Jones also declines to rule out wealth tax when questioned about government plans
In an interview with the Times, Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, says firms are “adjusting employment and hours” in the light of last year’s rise in employer NICs. That sounds like a euphemism for cutting jobs. But he says, if the labour market slow down, the Bank may respond by cutting interest rates more aggressively.
Asked about this comment in an interview on the Today programme, Darren Jones, chief secretary to the Treasury, played down the impact of the budget. He said:
There’ve also been hundreds of thousands of new jobs created across the economy, and in the first quarter of the year [we had] the fastest growing economy in the G7, so we’re doing everything we can to create conditions for businesses to be profitable and to be able to grow.
Of course, we had that particular tax decision in the budget last year, because our commitment was to protect working people in their pay slips. And I recognise the independence of the bank governor.
Continue reading...Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as Andrew Bailey insists: “I think the path [for interest rates] is down”.
A Bank of England interest rate cut next month is looking more likely, according to the latest city pricing.
The money markets are indicating there’s now an 85% chance that the Bank cuts interest rates at its next meeting on 7 August, up from 76% at the end of last week.
Friday’s disappointing GDP figures, combined with these weak jobs figures boost the case for the Bank of England to cut interest rates in August. The central bank’s governor Andrew Bailey told The Times ‘slack’ was opening up in the labour market, and he believes ‘the path is downward’ for interest rates.
All eyes are on Wednesday’s inflation report with CPI expected to remain at remain around 3.4% in June, roughly unchanged for the third consecutive month.”
Continue reading...Kevin Hassett says talks are ‘ongoing’ after US president announced 30% tariffs on goods from EU and Mexico
Donald Trump has seen some trade deal offers and thinks they need to be better, Kevin Hassett, the White House economic adviser, said on Sunday, adding that the president will proceed with threatened tariffs on Mexico, the European Union and other countries if they don’t improve.
“Well, these tariffs are real if the president doesn’t get a deal that he thinks is good enough,” Hassett told ABC’s This Week program. “But you know, conversations are ongoing, and we’ll see where the dust settles.“
Continue reading...French president says bloc should be ready for trade war after 30% tariff threat but other EU leaders call for calm
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has called on the EU to “defend European interests resolutely” after Donald Trump threatened to impose 30% tariffs on nearly all imports from the EU.
It came as the EU moved to de-escalate tensions after the blunt move by Trump on Saturday. The bloc declared a further pause on €21bn of retaliatory tariffs until 1 August, dovetailing with the US president’s new deal deadline.
Continue reading...Scheme aims to stop cables trailing across pavements and encourage drivers to switch to electric vehicles
Local councils in England will be encouraged to install pavement gullies that link houses to the kerbside so that electric cars owners can charge their cars from home if they do not have a driveway.
The new government scheme hopes to stop cables trailing across pavements, as EV owners in built up areas where off-street parking is scarce, try to charge their cars. The Department for Transport has said it will put £25m towards “cross-pavement” charging – essentially a narrow cable channel with a cover on top.
Continue reading...British ambassador to US believes universal levy unlikely to change but there is ‘scope’ for negotiations in some sectors
The 10% tariffs on most UK goods imported into the US are likely “here to stay”, according to Lord Mandelson.
The British ambassador to the US said the “universal 10% tariff” was unlikely to change but that there was “scope” for negotiations in different sectors and industries, such as technology.
Continue reading...Europe accused of ‘trampling over Palestinian rights’ with deal linked to imports from pipeline running parallel to Gaza coast
The EU is “trampling over Palestinian rights” and risks breaching international law, over an energy deal signed with Israel to bring more gas to Europe, a campaign group has said.
A report by Global Witness shared exclusively with the Guardian concludes that the EU could be “complicit in breaches of international law” over a 2022 energy deal linked to gas imports from a pipeline said to traverse Palestinian waters. The NGO has called on the EU to cancel all gas imports linked to the East Mediterranean Gas (EMG) pipeline and terminate the 2022 deal, which was also signed with Egypt.
Continue reading...Campaigners condemn ‘troubling’ move that follows departure of six of largest US banks after Trump’s election
HSBC has become the first UK bank to leave the global banking industry’s net zero target-setting group, as campaigners warned it was a “troubling” sign over the lender’s commitment to tackling the climate crisis.
The move risks triggering further departures from the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) by UK banks, in a fresh blow to international climate coordination efforts.
Continue reading...Experts suspect ‘frontloading’ of activity may have masked deeper impact of tariffs on the US economy
“There has been no change to this date, and there will be no change,” Donald Trump said on his Truth Social platform this week. “All money will be due and payable starting AUGUST 1, 2025 – no extensions will be granted.”
There had, in fact, been a change. The 90-day “pause” on the highest tariffs threatened by Trump on his so-called “liberation day” in April, elapsed on Wednesday. But with just three trade agreements in place, instead of the 300 once promised, the White House had switched one deadline for another.
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The political leader of the central Tibetan administration – Tibet’s government in exile – is visiting Australia this week.
It comes as Anthony Albanese heads to China this weekend.
It is not enough to have freedom only in a few countries in this world. Freedom is necessary for every human being in this world.
When prime minister Albanese’s visiting there, I would urge him to also say that he would like to visit Tibet.
Continue reading...Public accounts committee warns UK infrastructure risked becoming ‘stony ground’ for investors without major overhaul
Bad management of private finance contracts is leading to poor quality assets being handed back to the government, including schools and hospitals, according to parliament’s spending watchdog.
Its report into the use of private finance initiatives (PFI) for infrastructure comes at a time when the government has identified private investment in projects such as power plants and transport outside London as a key part of its growth agenda.
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Australia’s biggest peanut supplier set to shut down
The corporate owners of Australia’s biggest peanut processor will scale down the century-old business in the coming 18 months before shutting it down for good.
There isn’t detail, and it’s unclear whether those tariffs will ever actually be applied.
We do know that the contributions from the pharmaceutical industry in the US to that investigation has been to urge the US government to focus their levers on non-friendly countries and not apply tariffs or punitive levers to allies such as Australia.
Continue reading...Deliveries will also alternate on weekdays to reflect changing behaviour of users but critics say regulator has let courier off the hook
Royal Mail has been given the green light to drop Saturday deliveries of second-class letters and provide services only on alternating weekdays from Monday to Friday under new rules announced by the regulator.
Ofcom said that reforms of the universal services obligation (USO) reflected changing behaviour of postal users, with fewer letters being sent across the country. The regulator said it could end up saving the postal delivery service between £250m and £425m each year.
Continue reading...Latest threats heighten fears that the president’s erratic trade strategy risks exacerbating inflation across the US
Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that his administration will hit Brazil with a 50% tariff on products sent to the US, tying the move to what he called the “witch-hunt” trial against its former president, Jair Bolsonaro.
Posting letters on Truth Social, the US president had earlier in the day targeted seven other countries – the Philippines, Brunei, Moldova, Algeria, Libya, Iraq and Sri Lanka – for stiff US tariffs on foreign exports starting on 1 August.
Continue reading...Treasurer says Trump’s tariff threats on foreign pharmaceuticals and copper ‘very concerning developments’. Follow the latest news live
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Chalmers says millions of people were hoping for interest rate relief yesterday
Jim Chalmers says “there were millions of people who were hoping for more rate relief yesterday and didn’t get it”.
As per letters sent to various countries yesterday, in addition to letters that will be sent today, tomorrow, and for the next short period of time, TARIFFS WILL START BEING PAID ON AUGUST 1, 2025. There has been no change to this date, and there will be no change. In other words, all money will be due and payable starting AUGUST 1, 2025 - No extensions will be granted. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
Continue reading...Watchdog releases nine new rulings setting clear precedents for online selling
Online pharmacies are no longer allowed to run adverts for weight loss injections, the advertising watchdog has ruled, as part of a crackdown on what has been described as a “wild west” culture of online selling.
In the UK, advertising prescription-only medications (POMs) – which includes all weight loss jabs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro – to the public is illegal. However, a Guardian investigation previously found some online pharmacies either breaking these rules outright, or exploiting grey areas to peddle the medications to the public.
Continue reading...Energy minister decides against ‘zonal pricing’ backed by Octopus founder but opposed by many other energy firms
Ed Miliband has abandoned plans to charge southern electricity users more than those in Scotland, after senior officials warned it could put off investors and make it more difficult to build renewables.
Sources have told the Guardian that the government has decided not to proceed with the scheme, known as “zonal pricing”, and that the decision will be announced once it has been signed off by the cabinet.
Continue reading...iPhone maker accuses European Commission of going ‘far beyond what the law requires’ in ruling
Apple has launched an appeal against an “unprecedented” €500m (£430m) fine imposed by the EU on the company, in the latest clash between US tech companies and Brussels.
The iPhone maker accused the European Commission – the EU’s executive arm – of going “far beyond what the law requires” in a dispute over its app store.
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