S&P 500 climbs 3% after Trump soothes Fed independence worries
Wall Street extends rally after president says he has no plans to fire Jay Powell
Read More
UK private sector shrinks as export orders slump; state borrowing nearly £15bn above official forecast – as it happened
Gloomy business surveys for UK, Europe and US show tariffs starting to take their toll but stocks, dollar rally on hopes of US-China trade deal
The collapse in confidence and drop in output during April raise red flags for the economic outlook and add pressure on the Bank of England to reduce interest rates again at its May meeting, said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
While recent months have been characterised by UK businesses treading water, broadly stagnating since last autumn’s budget, businesses are reporting more of a struggle to keep their heads above water in April.
April’s fall in output was the largest recorded for nearly two and a half years, consistent with GDP declining at a quarterly rate of 0.3%, reflecting falling activity and demand across both manufacturing and services.
Jane Street trading revenues nearly doubled in 2024 to more than $20bn
Secretive US firm continued to make inroads into business once dominated by Wall Street heavyweights
S&P 500 climbs 2.5% after Trump soothes Fed independence worries
Wall Street extends rally after president says he has no plans to fire Jay Powell
IMF forecasts U.S. fiscal deficit will dip in 2025 thanks to higher tariff revenue
The 191-nation fund credited higher tariff revenue for a somewhat smaller deficit projection.
Richard Branson accuses Trump of ‘doing so much damage’ to the world
Virgin Atlantic founder says ‘erratic’ decisions from US president have been ‘awful for everyone’
Sir Richard Branson has attacked Donald Trump’s policies as “doing so much damage” to the world, adding that he did not believe the US president’s actions were backed by most Americans.
The Virgin Atlantic founder warned that the “erratic and unpredictable” actions of the White House were undermining business, although he singled out Trump’s policy on Ukraine as the one that “should worry the world the most”.