Category Archives: Economics

US gas prices likely to go up with Trump tariffs on Canadian and Mexican oil

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Tariffs on imports mean higher costs for finishing fuels, much of which is likely to be passed on to consumers

US consumers will see higher prices at the gas pump from Donald Trump’s decision on Saturday to apply tariffs on Canadian and Mexican oil, according to analysts and fuel traders.

The likely hike in fuel prices reflects the double-edged nature of Trump’s trade protections, which are designed to bolster domestic business and pressure US neighbors to curb illegal immigration and drug smuggling, but which will also run counter to his promises to tackle inflation.

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AstraZeneca cancels £450m Liverpool investment, blaming UK government funding cuts – business live

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Pharmaceutical company says that it will not go ahead with investment at Speke, near Liverpool

Donald Trump’s White House will invoke emergency powers to introduce tariffs on Canada and Mexico, Reuters reports:

Two sources familiar with the matter said that Trump was expected to invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) as the legal basis for the tariffs, declaring a national emergency over fentanyl overdoses that killed nearly 75,000 Americans in 2023 and illegal immigration.

The statute enacted in 1977 and modified after the 9/11 attacks in 2001 gives the president broad powers to impose economic sanctions in a crisis.

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Rachel Reeves says cabinet ‘united’ in backing Heathrow third runway plan – UK politics live

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Chancellor says she has support of cabinet as climate minister Ed Miliband reported to be sceptical over Heathrow plans

Richard Madeley goes next.

Q: The Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary says you are wrong, and the third runway won’t be built until you are 70. You are 45 now. Why is he wrong?

We’re signing off decisions on wind farms, on solar farms, a commitment to a new stadium at Old Trafford. We are upgrading the Transpennine route to make journey times easier between York and Manchester via Leeds and Huddersfield. Those things are happening right now.

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European Central Bank cuts interest rates to support growth as eurozone economy stagnates – as it happened

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Live coverage of business, economics and financial news as ECB cuts main interest rate by 0.25 percentage points in effort to support European economies

It was a flash reading on the Eurozone economy, so we don’t have the details on what the drivers were. But it’s clear that it was a weak end to 2024.

But the European Central Bank might be able to spur a bit of economic growth in the eurozone with looser monetary policy.

This marks a weak end to last year, following positive growth in the first three quarters of 2024. As a result, first estimates suggest that the currency bloc as a whole grew by 0.7% in 2024. Declining activity in Germany – the Eurozone’s largest economy – has weighed on the bloc’s growth, with German GDP contracting by 0.2% on the quarter. This suggests Germany has now seen annual declines in activity for two consecutive years.

In 2025, further loosening of monetary conditions is expected to provide a modest uptick in activity for both Germany and the Eurozone, with growth expected to amount to 0.3% and 1.0% respectively.

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Reeves’s growth plans ‘exactly what economy needs’ say UK business groups – as it happened

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This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story here

Reeves says the supply side of the economy has been held back.

Politicians have lacked the courage to confront the factors holding back growth.

They have accepted the status quo. They have been the barrier, not the enablers, of change.

Without economic growth, we cannot improve the living standards of ordinary working people, because growth isn’t simply about lines on a graph. It’s about the pounds in people’s pockets, the vibrancy of our high streets and the thriving businesses that create wealth, jobs and new opportunities for us, for our children and grandchildren.

We will have succeeded in our mission when working people are better off.

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Australia’s underlying inflation rate falls to 3.2% to bolster case for RBA rate cut next month

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Consumer price index dropped to 2.4% in December quarter, according to ABS figures released on Wednesday

Australia’s underlying inflation rate has fallen to a three-year low of 3.2%, bolstering the case for a rate cut next month that would provide a dopamine hit to the government ahead of a cost-of-living election.

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s preferred inflation gauge, which strips out volatile price swings, fell to an annual 3.2% for the December quarter, down from 3.5%.

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Up to 10,000 people will have to be rehoused if Heathrow third runway goes ahead, John McDonnell says – UK politics live

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MP for Hayes and Harlington, whose constituency includes Heathrow, says homes will either be unliveable or need to be demolished

Q: Are doctors able to recognise depression? And can they decide if that affects someone’s capacity to make a decision about their health?

Whitty says doctors can identify depression. But he says it is harder for them to assess if that is affecting capacity.

That’s where help from colleagues from psychiatry, mental health more widely, is going to be useful. But that should be good medical practice, in my view, under all circumstances.

Certainly what I wouldn’t want is to be in a situation where the existence of the fact that someone who has a terminal diagnosis has some degree of low mood in itself just rules them out from any kind of medical intervention, this or any other. That shouldn’t be the case.

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Trump will not be ‘meteor’ blow to Irish economy, says employers’ group

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Businesses should avoid panic amid fears US will attempt to repatriate jobs and taxes, says Danny McCoy

Donald Trump will not be a knockout “meteor” to Ireland’s economy despite its heavy reliance on US multinationals, the head of the country’s business trade organisation has said.

While the US president told world leaders gathered at Davos last week that “Europe treats us very, very unfairly” there is a heightened sense of nervousness in Ireland that this could translate to an attempt to repatriate jobs and taxes from the 950 US companies there.

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Government under pressure on economy as British households anticipate worsening finances

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CBI says businesses plan to cut jobs and raise prices while debt charity says millions are ‘facing worries’

The government is under growing pressure to get momentum back into the economy amid warnings that businesses plan to cut jobs and raise prices, while millions of families believe their finances will worsen this year.

Before a major speech this week by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, designed to restate Labour’s commitment to improving the economy, the CBI said private sector firms were urgently assessing their budgets to offset measures announced in last October’s budget.

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Trump threatens 10% tariff on China and considers EU levy

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Yuan and Chinese stocks fall despite suggestion of lower tariff than president mentioned during campaign

Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 10% tariff on Chinese-made goods arriving in the US from as early as 1 February, adding that he was also considering levies on imports from the EU.

Ordering an investigation into US-China trade on his second day in office, Trump said any penalties on Chinese goods would be “based on the fact that they’re sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada”.

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Wall Street shrugs off Trump after he vows Mexico and Canada tariffs

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S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite largely unmoved as it opened for trading for first time after inauguration

Financial markets largely shrugged after Donald Trump outlined plans to impose punitive tariffs on Mexico and Canada as soon as next month while signing scores of executive orders on his first day in office.

The US president told reporters in the White House Oval Office he was thinking about introducing 25% US tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada as soon as 1 February.

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UK ‘second most attractive country for investment’, survey finds

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The survey of chief executives, published ahead of the World Economic Forum, follows an upgraded growth forecast from the IMF

The UK is the second most attractive country for investment behind the US, signalling a climb up the rankings, according to an annual survey of global business leaders by the consultancy PwC.

Published at the start of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, the survey of almost 5,000 chief executives from 109 countries puts the UK in second place, ahead of China, Germany and India.

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Work-life balance more important than pay for employees worldwide

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Annual survey finds workers have ‘multifaceted expectations’ after changes cause by Covid pandemic

Work-life balance has soared in importance for workers around the world, becoming their top motivator and pushing pay into second place, according to an annual international survey of thousands of employees.

It is the first time that finding or keeping a job that fits in with the rest of their lives has outranked salary in the 22-year history of the international recruitment company Randstad’s annual review of the world of work, highlighting the corporate revolution caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

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FTSE 100 hits record as interest rate hopes push down UK borrowing costs

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Nearly every share on index rose after fall in value of pound helped multinationals listed in London

The UK’s blue-chip stock index has hit a record high, as hopes of interest rate cuts this year drove down government borrowing costs.

Almost every share on the FTSE 100 rose on Friday, the fall in the value of the pound bolstering multinationals listed in London and propelling the index above 8,500 points for the first time.

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China’s economy hits 5% growth target but rate among slowest in decades

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Latter part of 2024 ‘recovered remarkably’ after stimulus measures, says National Bureau of Statistics

China’s economy grew by 5% in 2024, in line with government targets but at the slowest rate since 1990 outside the Covid pandemic, according to official data.

Growth accelerated through the year, with an expansion of 5.4% in the final quarter, up from 4.6% in the third quarter, according to Beijing’s National Bureau of Statistics.

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Canada’s provincial leaders in disarray over response to Trump tariff threats

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Responses range from conciliation to retaliation, including cutting off electricity and halting the purchase of US liquor

Canada’s provincial premiers are sharply divided on how to prepare for US trade tariffs, less than a week before Donald Trump takes office with a threat to dramatically reshape the relationship between the two countries.

Canadian officials have sought to defuse the crisis with personal appeals to the president-elect, multimillion-dollar advertising sprees and targeted threats, but the country remains gripped by uncertainty over how Trump’s tariffs might take effect. On Monday, Bloomberg reported that the incoming US administration is weighing hiking tariffs by 2%-5% a month to avoid spiking inflation.

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UK bans German meat and dairy products after foot-and-mouth case

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Import of pork, lamb and beef as well as live cattle, sheep and pigs suspended amid outbreak near Berlin

Britain has banned imports of German pork, lamb, beef and dairy products to prevent foot-and-mouth disease spreading to the UK after a case of the disease was confirmed last Friday on the outskirts of Berlin.

As well as prohibiting imports of ham, bacon, salami and cheese, the measure bans the import of live cattle, sheep and pigs, along with other animals which are susceptible to foot-and-mouth. No health certificates will be issued by Britain for fresh meat from Germany.

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Business confidence falling in UK and eurozone, recruiters warn

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Fears over UK growth and political uncertainty in France and Germany making firms reluctant to hire staff

Recruitment companies have warned about declining confidence across Europe and the UK, as political uncertainty adds to concerns about economic growth.

The FTSE 250 recruiter PageGroup said on Monday that profits had dropped by nearly a quarter in Germany and 17% in France during the last three months of 2024, compared with the same period in 2023. Its UK profits fell by 14%, as companies grew more nervous about taking on new staff.

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One in six UK workers skipping meals to make ends meet, says TUC

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Trade unions body finds 17% have skipped meal in past three months, and as many as 10% do so most days

As many as one in six workers in Britain are skipping meals to make ends meet as households remain under pressure from the higher cost of groceries, energy and other essentials.

Highlighting the impact of the cost of living crisis on working households, figures from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) showed 17% of full- or part-time workers had skipped a meal to reduce their spending in the past three months.

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UK can be ‘AI sweet spot’: Starmer’s tech minister on regulation, Musk, and free speech

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Technology secretary Peter Kyle has the task of making Britain a leading player in the AI revolution, but says economic growth will not come at the cost of online safety

With the NHS still struggling, a prisons crisis still teetering and Britain’s borrowing costs soaring, there are few easy jobs going in Keir Starmer’s cabinet at present.

But even in such difficult times, the task of convincing Silicon Valley’s finest to help make Britain a leader in the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution – all while one leading tech boss uses the Labour government as a regular punching bag and others ostentatiously move closer to Donald Trump – is among the most challenging.

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