Category Archives: Business

Australia news live: Dutton criticises PM’s ‘shocker’ after Trump tariff decision; suspicious packages wash up on Queensland beaches

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The prime minister has ruled out imposing reciprocal tariffs on the US. Follow today’s news live

Trump tariff decision bad for Australia-US ties – Butler

Mark Butler said the US tariff decision was “bad for our relationship” when asked whether it had a damaging effect on international relations on ABC News Breakfast a short while ago.

This is a disappointing decision. It’s a bad economic decision. It’s bad for our relationship. It’s bad for the US, ultimately, because we think that the exports we send to them - which are significantly less than the exports they send to us - are good for the US economy. They’re good for US industry. They’re particularly good for defence, which is an important area of cooperation.

We think this is a bad decision that’s disappointing, and we’ll continue to press the case for it.

We’ve only been going at this for almost seven weeks that President Trump has been back in office. We intend to continue to press the case at the highest level – particularly ambassador Rudd has been relentless in this, meeting with officials almost constantly to press the American case. We’ve had a lot of senior ministerial engagement.

Obviously the prime minister has spoken directly with the president. We’ll continue to do that. It’s not only in Australia’s interest – which for us, is the most important thing – we’re confident, we’re very sure it’s in both of our interests’ interest to continue the open trade that has characterised particularly the last 20 years under the US FTA.

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‘Patchy and behind deadline’: MPs attack UK rollout of EV charging points

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Committee warns of serious injustice to disabled motorists and those reliant on public chargers

The rollout of electric vehicle chargers across Britain is “patchy”, behind deadline and ignores the needs of disabled drivers, the parliamentary spending watchdog has found.

A report published by the public accounts committee (PAC) warned that the charging points needed to give drivers confidence for the switch to EVs were still lacking, particularly on Britain’s biggest roads.

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Boohoo rebrands as Debenhams as youth labels struggle

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Company says successful turnaround of the heritage brand will provide the blueprint for the rest of the group

The online fashion retailer Boohoo is rebranding as Debenhams, after buying it out of administration four years ago, as it took a £40m hit on excess stock in its brands aimed at younger shoppers.

Debenhams, founded as a single store in London in 1778, disappeared from the high street when it collapsed in 2021, costing thousands of jobs. Boohoo then swooped for the brand and relaunched it as an online-only retailer.

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Dutton says Labor claims ‘utter nonsense’; multimillionaire faces new child abuse material charges – as it happened

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This blog is now closed

Good morning blog readers – this is Rafqa Touma, and I’ll be taking you through the day’s live news updates. Thank you to Martin Farrer for getting us rolling this morning.

More than 125,000 properties are in the dark as crews work to restore power across QLD and NSW in Alfred’s aftermath.

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Trump vows to take ‘hundreds of billions’ in tariffs as Australia’s hopes of getting exemption fades

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Australia unlikely to escape US president’s global steel and aluminium tariffs despite intense lobbying to be carved out

Australia’s chances of escaping America’s global steel and aluminium tariffs appear all but extinguished, with the US president reconfirming his commitment to a comprehensive tariff regime he argues will be “the greatest thing we’ve ever done as a country”.

“We’re going to take in hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs, and we’re going to become so rich, you’re not going to know where to spend all that money,” Donald Trump told reporters on board Air Force One flying from Florida to Washington DC.

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Risk of ‘Trumpcession’ rising, economists say, as global markets fall

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Donald Trump’s brinkmanship and stop-start approach to tariffs rattle investors

The risk that the US economy will enter recession this year is rising, according to economists, as Donald Trump’s chaotic approach to tariffs continued to hit markets.

Shares on Wall Street fell sharply on Monday as investors bet the president’s unpredictable tariff trade war and handling of the economy would hit growth, amid a recent plunge in business and consumer confidence.

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What the world needs now is more fossil fuels, says Trump’s energy secretary

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Chris Wright signals abandonment of Biden’s ‘irrational, quasi-religious’ climate policies at industry conference

The world needs more planet-heating fossil fuel, not less, Donald Trump’s newly appointed energy secretary, Chris Wright, told oil and gas bigwigs on Monday.

“We are unabashedly pursuing a policy of more American energy production and infrastructure, not less,” he said in the opening plenary talk of CERAWeek, a swanky annual conference in Houston, Texas, led by the financial firm S&P Global.

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Firms hold back on hiring amid ‘significant cost rises’, surveys say

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KPMG/REC report shows decline in people being placed in roles continues, while unemployment is rising, says BDO

Companies are putting the brakes on hiring new staff amid a “subdued” economic outlook and rising wage bills, according to the latest business surveys.

In signs of a weakening UK labour market, the consultancy KPMG and the trade body the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) said a marked decline in the number of people being placed in permanent and temporary roles continued in February, although hiring declined at a slower pace than in January.

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Mark Carney to be next Canada PM after winning Liberal leadership race

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Former central banker will be only second prime minister in Canadian history without a seat in parliament

Mark Carney, the former central banker who oversaw the response to financial crises in North America and the UK, will become the next prime minister of Canada after winning the race to lead the country’s federal Liberal party.

Carney, 59, takes on the role as Canada is locked in a potentially catastrophic trade war with the US, long its closest ally and largest trading partner. Last week Donald Trump announced a 25% tax on all Canadian goods, with a carveout for the automotive and energy sectors. The tariffs have the power to push Canada’s fragile economy in a recession.

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‘Military Keynesianism’? Reeves faces British defence dilemma after EU spending surge

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Even Berlin and Brussels are bending fiscal rules in the face of Russia’s threat. Will the chancellor still stick to hers?

As the Nobel laureate Robert Lucas quipped during the 2008 financial crisis: “I guess everyone is a Keynesian in a foxhole.” Donald Trump’s upending of the postwar security consensus has underlined the enduring wisdom of Lucas’s observation. But now, instead of bank bailouts and emergency bond buying, European firepower is being directed at bombs, tanks and drones in the desperate fight to secure the continent’s border with Russia.

Berlin and Brussels – typically capitals of financial orthodoxy – have been convinced that this approach is required once again. Under the plan put forward by Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting, Friedrich Merz, Berlin is on the brink of relaxing its “debt brake” rule to pave the way for spending on defence and infrastructure worth an additional €1tn (£840bn) over the coming decade.

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US rise of cryptocurrency and fall of regulation pose ‘profound risks’ – report

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Center for Political Accountability, which advocates for corporate disclosure, warns of fallout from Trump’s efforts

A new report warns of “profound risks” in American politics as cryptocurrency companies increase their political spending and Donald Trump oversees regulatory retreat while promising to create a “crypto strategic reserve”.

The situation “illustrate[s] the profound risks that unchecked corporate political spending presents, particularly within the volatile and often unpredictable cryptocurrency industry”, reads the report, from the Center for Political Accountability (CPA), a non-profit that advocates for corporate political disclosure.

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Justice department opens investigation into soaring US egg prices – report

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Officials said to be looking at whether producers have conspired to increase prices or have held back supply

The justice department has reportedly opened an investigation into what is driving the sharp rise in egg prices, including whether top producers have conspired to increase them.

Officials are also said to be looking at whether companies have held back supply. Their investigation is in its early stages, and may not lead to any formal action, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited sources familiar with the matter.

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Andrew Bailey was accused by Barclays chair of having ‘destroyed’ Jes Staley, court hears

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Nigel Higgins asked if FCA would drop investigation into Staley’s relationship with Epstein if CEO quit

The Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, was accused by the Barclays chair of having “destroyed” Jes Staley, a court heard on Friday, after the City watchdog led by Bailey at the time launched an investigation into the banker’s ties to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Nigel Higgins, who made the accusations and is still the Barclays chair, also asked in 2019 whether the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) would be willing to drop its investigation if Staley resigned.

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Nigerian king faces Shell in London high court over decades of oil spills

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King Okpabi, ruler of Ogale, says Shell has caused chronic pollution, while oil firm argues it is not responsible

His Royal Highness King Godwin Bebe Okpabi has carried bottles of water drawn from the wells of his homeland in the Niger delta to the high court in London.

It stinks. “This is the water that Shell has left for my people,” said the ruler of the Ogale community in Ogoniland, Nigeria. “This is poison, and they are spending millions of dollars to pay the best lawyers in the world so that they will not clean my land.”

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UK house prices fall unexpectedly, says Halifax

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Average property price dips to £298,602 in February despite analysts expecting rush before stamp duty rises

UK house prices unexpectedly fell last month as concerns over the sluggish economy outweighed an anticipated rush of people trying to complete purchases before stamp duty increases in April.

The average property price dipped by 0.1% in February to £298,602, having hit a record high in January, according to Halifax.

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UK Treasury ‘plans funding cuts at GB Energy’ in blow to Ed Miliband

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Government considering such a move over state-owned firm set up by Labour in June’s spending review, say reports

The UK government is making plans to cut the funding for GB Energy, the state-owned company set up by Labour to drive renewable energy and cut household bills, in June’s spending review.

Cuts to the £8.3bn of taxpayer money promised over the five-year parliament would be another blow for Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, after he was overruled by the government when the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, backed the expansion of Heathrow’s third runway.

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US owner of UK pharmacy chain Boots to be taken private in $10bn deal

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Walgreens Boots Alliance sold to Sycamore Partners and ends almost a century of trading on public markets

The US owner of the high street pharmacy chain Boots is to be taken private in a $10bn (£7.8bn) deal that will bring an end to almost a century of trading on public markets for Walgreens Boots Alliance.

The company, which operates more than 1,800 Boots stores in the UK, has been sold to the US private equity firm Sycamore Partners after struggling in the internet era as customers have turned to online shopping for cheaper products.

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Trump delays tariffs on many products from Mexico and Canada

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US president paused tariffs on Mexican products covered by USMCA and later stayed tariffs on many Canadian imports

Donald Trump pulled back from his trade war with Canada and Mexico on Thursday, temporarily delaying tariffs on many goods from the two countries once again.

Two days after imposing sweeping tariffs on all imports from his country’s closest trading partners, the US president announced that duties on a wide range of products would be shelved until April.

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Hundreds of Santander customers in UK hit by banking problems

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Bank says it has fixed mobile and telephone service outages after people unable to make payments

Santander has fixed the problems affecting its banking services after many customers were left unable to access their accounts.

The bank apologised for any “inconvenience caused” and said no customers would “be left out of pocket” as a result of the outages.

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Cheap goods ‘not essence of American dream’, Trump official says amid tariff price fears

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Treasury secretary Scott Bessent defends the new administration’s aggressive trade strategy

Buying cheap products is “not the essence of the American dream”, Donald Trump’s top economic official has declared, amid warnings that the US president’s trade wars risk increasing prices.

The US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, defended the new administration’s aggressive trade strategy on Thursday, two days after it imposed sweeping tariffs on Canada and Mexico and hiked duties on China.

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