Category Archives: Business

Trump tariffs would halve UK growth and push up prices, says thinktank

Posted on by

NIESR warns British economy would be one of the worst affected by protectionist policies

UK growth is likely to be halved by Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential race if goes on to impose the swingeing new tariffs he has threatened, a leading thinktank has warned.

The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said the protectionist measures planned by the Republican challenger for the White House would result in weaker activity, rising inflation and higher interest rates from the Bank of England.

Continue reading...

Inflation pain helped secure Trump win but his policies mean higher prices

Posted on by

Markets expect his policy package to harm trade and growth but reduce business taxes

Higher share prices. A stronger dollar. A less rapid pace of interest rate cuts. The financial market reaction to Donald Trump’s return to the White House was swift and predictable.

The man who will become his country’s 47th president has made no secret of what he plans to do: cut taxes, impose heavy tariffs on imported goods, place curbs on migration, and slash red tape.

Continue reading...

Wall Street and bitcoin soar to record highs as Trump wins US election

Posted on by

Dollar up and renewable energy stocks down, while shares in president-elect’s media business rise by more than a third

Wall Street and bitcoin rallied to fresh record highs and the dollar soared after Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, while renewable energy stocks fell.

Trump was declared the winner on Wednesday morning after securing the 270 electoral votes needed to take the presidency.

Continue reading...

Bridget McKenzie updates register and apologises after failing to declare 16 flight upgrades

Posted on by

Shadow transport spokesperson belatedly discloses Qantas and Virgin upgrades after it was revealed she failed to declare offers of better seats

Bridget McKenzie did not declare 16 flight upgrades received over the last nine years, with the Nationals senator apologising and belatedly updating her official register of interests to disclose numerous instances of business class travel which had not been declared as per parliamentary rules.

Two instances were in July and August this year, just a few months before the shadow transport spokesperson claimed to have never been offered a single upgrade on a Qantas flight. Another five upgrades were on personal flights between Australia and New Zealand, including four in 2018 while she was a cabinet minister.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Morrison and Abbott praise Trump – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

There was some seriously colourful language in Senate estimates yesterday, but in this case the media regulator found radio hosts’ words were a step too far. Sarah Martin reports on what the Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young described as “revolting, sexist, racist, misogynistic, divisive stuff”:

A “dangerous anti-abortion bill” before the Senate should be withdrawn, if the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, wants credibility on women’s healthcare, the minister for women, Katy Gallagher, says.

It is typical of Peter Dutton to view this purely as a matter of winning or losing votes, rather than any genuine commitment to women’s healthcare.

If Peter Dutton wants any credibility on women’s healthcare, he must immediately ensure Senators [Matt] Canavan and [Alex] Antic withdraw their dangerous anti-abortion bill currently before the Senate.

Continue reading...

AstraZeneca shares tumble after reports China unit is linked to insurance fraud

Posted on by

Pharmaceutical’s weight loss pill described as ‘underwhelming’, also piling pressure on share price

AstraZeneca shares tumbled on Tuesday wiping £14bn off the value of Britain’s biggest drug maker, after a report that dozens of senior executives at its China unit could be implicated in an insurance fraud case in the country’s pharmaceutical sector.

Also putting pressure on the share price, early data on AstraZeneca’s experimental weight loss pill published on Monday was described as “somewhat underwhelming” by analysts at Deutsche Bank, who reiterated their “sell” rating on the stock.

Continue reading...

Employers shortchanged Australian workers a record amount of super last year, tax office says

Posted on by

The dollar figure of superannuation that went unpaid after recovery efforts rose to $5.2bn from $4.8bn in 2022-23

Australian workers missed out on a record $5.2bn of superannuation that employers failed to pay last financial year, according to the Australian Taxation Office.

The ATO has released the data on the superannuation “gap” in its annual report, which also reveals that $1.4bn is likely to go unpaid because it is owed by insolvent companies.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Australia politics live: Albanese tells caucus Labor will campaign on ‘risk’ of Dutton; Miles returns as Queensland Labor leader

Posted on by

Follow today’s news headlines live

‘We need to extend the average time people stay in our defence force,’ says Matt Keough

The defence personnel minister, Matt Keough, has also been talking about that retention and renumeration package for defence.

We need to extend the average time people stay in our defence force.

That does mean it had a vulnerability. We’re looking at moving to more of a mesh-type arrangement of satellites, which provides greater resilience, with a more up-to-date technology, and we’ll be able to deliver the technology faster as well.

We are very much confident that we can meet these targets and that’s because we have properly funded them and we have a plan to get there, which is about really improving the terms of service for those who work in our defence forces.

We’re increasing and expanding the bonuses for continuing on in the defence force. We’re continuing the original retention bonus after your initial service obligation for three years and beyond that. There will be another bonus for people who stay in the defence force after that. And that’s really targeting those who are in their seventh, eighth, ninth years of service, which gets to the middle ranks where we’ve got an issue. And we’re also going to grow the active reserves so there are more opportunities for people in the reserve to do full-time or part-time work in the defence force.

This original plan goes back seven or eight years and it was about having two or three satellites above Australia to deliver that capability. Since then, we have seen technologies develop which can shoot satellites out of the sky but we have also seen technologies develop where you have thousands of micro satellites in a more distributed way providing the same effect and we are seeing that with Starlink above Ukraine.

Continue reading...

Britain’s green energy pledge ‘credible’ if planning fixed, says system operator

Posted on by

State-owned Neso says Britain could be net exporter of green electricity by end of decade at no extra cost

A plan to create a clean electricity system by 2030 promised by Labour before the election is “immensely challenging” but still “credible” if ministers take urgent action to fix Britain’s sluggish planning system, the energy system operator has said.

Britain could become a net exporter of green electricity by the end of the decade at no extra costs to the energy system under the plans and bills may even fall if ministers make the right policy changes, according to the operator.

Continue reading...

UK retail sales growth slumps as shoppers wait for Black Friday deals

Posted on by

Later October half-term break and budget uncertainty also led to lower spending, says industry

Growth in UK retail sales slumped in October, according to industry figures that suggest shoppers have put off spending in anticipation of Black Friday promotions and because of a later school half-term break.

Figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show total sales grew by 0.6% year on year in October, significantly weaker than September’s and less than half the three-month average growth rate.

Continue reading...

Burberry shares rise after reports Moncler is considering bid

Posted on by

Head of LVMH, an investor in Italy’s Moncler, reportedly keen to get deal done with British luxury brand

Shares in Burberry have risen by more than 7% after reports suggested Italian rival Moncler may be considering a bid for the British luxury fashion brand.

The spike came after the trade journal Miss Tweed reported that Moncler, which also owns Stone Island, was looking at a potential acquisition of Burberry, which has struggled as demand for luxury goods has fallen.

Continue reading...

Ryanair profits plunge amid lower fares and Boeing delays

Posted on by

Problems with delivery of 737 aircraft left airline ‘over-crewed and over-costed’, says CEO Michael O’Leary

Ryanair’s profits have dropped by nearly a fifth, as lower peak-season fares met higher costs that the airline blamed partly on problems at Boeing.

Summer fares were down by an average 7% as Ryanair cut prices to keep its planes full, carrying 9% more passengers from April to September this year than last.

Continue reading...

Independent MPs cancel airline VIP memberships – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

In case you missed it – political editor Karen Middleton talked to shadow transport minister Bridget McKenzie about the Qantas saga for the Australian Politics podcast – please enjoy McKenzie’s nimble wordcraft:

Westpac has recorded a $7bn full-year profit, representing a modest decline on last year’s strong result, as the number of homeowners falling behind on repayments jumped higher.

Continue reading...

Greggs scoffs at reports of snub by its Christmas ad star Nigella Lawson

Posted on by

TV chef, who has signed up for bakery chain’s first ever festive advert, says she is a fan of its sausage rolls

Nigella Lawson has issued an impassioned paean to the Greggs sausage roll, amid reports of a banger-based dust-up that threatened to cast a shadow over her appearance in the bakery chain’s first ever Christmas advert.

Greggs confirmed on Sunday that the celebrity chef and cookbook author had agreed to star in its inaugural Christmas promotion, in which Lawson will purr over such delicacies as vegan festive bakes.

Continue reading...

Push to count ‘sleepovers’ as breaks could lead to 28-hour shifts for Australian care workers, unions warn

Posted on by

Fair Work Commission to hear case brought by business group asking for change to safety net for care industries

A business push to count “sleepovers” as breaks in care industries could result in “nightmare” 28-hour shifts without penalty rates, unions have warned.

This week the Fair Work Commission will hear a case brought by the Australian Industry Group asking it to change the safety net for care industries to clarify that hours worked before or after a sleepover count as separate shifts.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Albanese pledges permanent free Tafe places – as it happened

Posted on by

Australians will have access to permanent free Tafe nationwide if the Labor government is re-elected, the PM says in the first major policy announcement. Follow today’s news live

Trump ‘not afraid to exercise power’: Hockey

Hockey says he believes Trump will seek to restart his trade war with China as he “sees China as the main adversary of the United States rather than Russian, or even threats in the Middle East”.

At the end of the day, if – the United States – the thing about Donald Trump is he’s not afraid to exercise power and he’s not afraid to threaten to use power. If he does that, then it actually emboldens Australia’s position, doesn’t weaken it because it means we have an entry point into that unpredictable power that others don’t.

I think Trump is – I know that Donald Trump sees Australia very favourably when it comes to issues like national security. I think that will flow through to Aukus that he won’t want to change the relationship with Aukus. He will, however, put a greater priority on building up the US defence system, its reservoir of not only talent, but also importantly the hardware, be it F-35s or Virginia-class subs. So might mean we go down the pecking order on the Virginia-class subs, but again it will rely heavily on our advocacy with Trump.

Whatever the case, I think, you know, we’ll be in a good position with Harris as well.

Continue reading...

King and Prince William’s estates ‘making millions from charities and public services’

Posted on by

Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster likely to make at least £50m from leasing land to services such as NHS and schools, according to investigation

King Charles and Prince William’s property empires are taking millions of pounds from cash-strapped charities and public services including the NHS, state schools and prisons, according to a new investigation.

The reports claim the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall, which are exempt from business taxes and used to fund the royals’ lifestyles and philanthropic work, are set to make at least £50m from leasing land to public services. The two duchies hold a total of more than 5,400 leases.

Continue reading...

More than meatballs: Ikea opens its first UK standalone restaurant in London

Posted on by

Diners hail ‘great price’ of dishes at Swedish furniture chain’s food outlet next door to its Hammersmith store

Its meatballs are as famous as its flatpack furniture, with a meal in one of its restaurants often the highlight of an Ikea trip.

Now shoppers can enjoy an Ikea meal without lugging around their kitchen sink – literally – as the furniture company has opened its first standalone restaurant on the UK high street in King Street in Hammersmith. Located next door to its west London city store, the space seats 75 people and serves a range of Swedish dishes.

Continue reading...

UK supermarkets using multibuy deals to encourage sales of meat, study finds

Posted on by

Exclusive: about one in five offers involve meat and dairy and one in ten processed meat despite known health risks

Supermarkets are using multibuy promotional deals to encourage shoppers to buy meat and processed meat, despite the products being linked to a heightened risk of cancer, research reveals.

Almost one in five (18%) of multibuy offers in major British supermarkets involve meat and dairy products, and one in ten (11%) processed meat such as ham, bacon and sausages.

Continue reading...

Imported Christmas trees cost more thanks to post-Brexit checks

Posted on by

Nearly all are deemed ‘high-risk’ and so will need customs declarations and phytosanitary certificates

Every year, hundreds of thousands of Christmas trees make the journey into the UK to take pride of place in living rooms across the country.

But the the cross-border operation faces a new hurdle this year. Plants coming from the EU will be subject to post-Brexit border checks that importers are warning will increase costs for sellers, and probably push up prices for consumers.

Continue reading...