BRC says food prices rose by 4% in July from 2024, while CBI blames economic uncertainty for people not spendingBritain's largest retailers struggled to entice shoppers back to the high street in July as the rising cost of meat and butter drove up food prices, adding to the pressure on household finances.According to the latest snapshot from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) food prices rose by 4% in July from a year earlier, up from 3.7% in June and above the three-month average of 3.5%. Continue reading...

Plaintiffs argue president lacks legal power to impose duties under the International Emergency Economic Powers ActDonald Trump's strategy of imposing sweeping tariffs on America's main trading partners will face a major test in the US courts on Thursday, four days after the president hailed the powerful deal" reached with the EU and just hours before a new round of punishing import duties is set to come into effect.Trump has underpinned his tariff policy with an emergency power that is now being challenged as unlawful in the federal courts. On Thursday the US court of appeals for the federal circuit will hear oral arguments in the case, VOS Selections v Trump. Continue reading...

British consumers are splashing out on prestige lip products', according to market research. And these are not the only little treats that are booming with the big ones out of reachName: The lipstick effect.Age: Around since at least the 1930s. Continue reading...

Live, rolling coverage of business, economics and financial markets as European stock market rally fizzles outUK retail sales slumped for the 10th consecutive month in July, according to a survey of the biggest shops that underlined the weakness of Britain's consumer spending.A third of retailers said that sales declined in July, according to a survey weighted by the size of the business, according to the Confederation of British Industry, a lobby group - although that was an improvement from the 46% balance who said sales had declined in June.Retail annual sales volumes continued to fall in July, although the pace of decline moderated from June's sharp drop. Firms reported that elevated price pressures - driven by rising labour costs - and economic uncertainty continue to weigh on household demand, which has contributed to sales volumes falling since October 2024.These trends of weak demand and uncertainty were mirrored across the wider distribution sector, with wholesale and motor trades also seeing declining sales.However, this is thought to partly reflect the acceleration of business investment and purchase decisions by some companies in March, ahead of the implementation of US tariffs in April.After a strong start to the year, uncertainty in the global economy and international trade policy has continued to slow momentum. While the agreement struck with the US offers welcome relief to certain sectors and boosts the trading outlook, the UK's access to a key export market is still reduced from where it was at the start of 2025, which is likely to weigh on growth.Business investment is expected to remain modest until 2027 and while interest rate cuts should reduce debt service costs and make financing cheaper, this will take time to materialise. Until then, businesses face a period of international uncertainty, alongside elevated labour and energy costs. Continue reading...

PM could raise tens of billions' while positioning Britain as progressive, say Thomas Piketty and othersKeir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have been urged by a group of the world's leading economists to use the autumn budget to prepare Britain for the introduction of a new wealth tax to tackle extreme" levels of inequality.With the government under pressure to raise taxes, the group of economists, including the French expert on wealth inequality Thomas Piketty, said the UK prime minister could raise tens of billions of pounds" while positioning Britain as a progressive leader on the world stage. Continue reading...

Hedge fund chief Ray Dalio warns over public finances, saying Britain will be forced into spending cuts and tax risesOne of the world's most prominent hedge fund investors, Ray Dalio, has warned that the UK is stuck in a doom loop" as it faces a worrying mix of higher taxes, rising debts and slower growth.Dalio, a US billionaire who founded the hedge fund Bridgewater Associates in 1975, said warning signs over the size of debts in western countries were beginning to flash and flicker", but that the UK government's efforts to raise more funds via taxes risked driving its wealthiest taxpayers out of the country. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Increasingly extreme weather a threat to production and supply chains in Britain and elsewhereBritain is at risk of a worsening climateflation" crisis amid the fallout from increasingly extreme weather that could drive up food prices by more than a third by 2050.Sounding the alarm over the financial impact for UK households, the Autonomy Institute thinktank said that climate-induced price increases for everyday food items risked pushing almost 1 million people into poverty without urgent government intervention. Continue reading...

Agreement includes 15% baseline tariff for most EU exports to US after deal reached at Scotland crunch talksDonald Trump has announced a deal with the EU to end four months of difficult negotiations between Washington and Brussels and avert a damaging transatlantic trade war, imposing a 15% import tariff on most EU goods - half the threatened rate.The European Commission chief, Ursula von der Leyen, said we have a deal" after a 40-minute meeting with Trump at his Turnberry golf resort in Scotland where the US president is on holiday for the weekend. Continue reading...

Chancellor is advised to give herself more leeway in the next budget before adjusting taxation or spendingThe International Monetary Fund has urged Rachel Reeves to consider ending the pensions triple lock and charging for NHS treatment as it said the UK government risks being knocked off course in meeting its targets to repair the public finances.In a final version of an annual report on Britain'seconomy, the Washington-based organisation said the chancellor should also give herself more leeway in the next budget before adopting fresh tax or spending measures. Continue reading...

New figures show that the Golden state's rate of investor-owned homes is 19%, with mountain regions up to 83%One in five homes in California is owned by investors, new data reveals, in the latest sign of an affordability crisis that shows no end in sight.The figures, which come from the data tracker BatchData and were analyzed by the Orange County Register, show that California's overall percentage of investor home ownership sits at 19%. Continue reading...

The world's assets are piling up in the hands of the few as growth is built on widening gaps. That's not just unfair - it's economically unsustainableThis year's global wealth report by the City bank UBS confirms what is self-evident but rarely confronted: while riches are accumulating, their distribution remains starkly unbalanced. In the 56 countries and economic areas surveyed, the report says global personal wealth grew 4.6% in 2024. However, not all boats have been lifted by this tide. The gap is growing between those who hold assets and those who don't.The figures are shocking: just 60m of the world's adults - 1.6% of the population - have net personal wealth of $226tn, or 48.1% of all the world's riches. At the other extreme, four in 10 adults - 1.57bn people - have only $2.7tn, or just 0.6% of all the world's personal wealth. Economists now argue that inequality is no longer a by-product of growth but a condition of it.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Live, rolling coverage of business, economics and financial markets as policy rate left at 2%The FTSE 100 has gained 1% midway through the morning session, helped by bumper results from kitchen supplier Howden Joinery and Dettol-to-Durex manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser.They are up 10% and 9.3% respectively. Airtel Africa's share price is now up 7.5%, while BT has gained 6.7%.Kitchen and interior fittings supplier Howden Joinery reported a rise in first-half profit on Thursday, helped by price hikes and market share gains in a challenging environment.The company's pre-tax profit rose 4.4% to 117m for the six months through June 2025.Consumer-goods company Reckitt Benckiser reported market-beating adjusted profit as cost savings paid off and raised its full-year outlook. The UK company on Thursday said first-half adjusted operating profit, which strips out exceptional and other one-off items, rose 1.8% on year to 1.71bn.Reckitt said the rise reflects efficiency improvements and early delivery of costs savings.Particularly worrying is the sustained impact of the budget measures on employment. Higher staffing costs have exacerbated firms' existing concerns over payroll numbers in the current environment of weak demand, resulting in another month of sharply reduced headcounts in July.The weak growth trajectory and sustained culling of jobs will add to pressure on the Bank of England to cut rates again at its next policy meeting in August. It seems likely that the disappointing growth and labour market trends will increasingly dominate the inflation forecasting narrative, encouraging policymakers to look through' the recent rise in price pressures and instead focus on helping to revive growth. Continue reading...

Central bank shuns calls to reduce borrowing costs as higher US tariffs loom

Headcounts being reduced in response to higher taxes and uncertainty over US tariff threats, PMI survey shows

Charlie Nunn says higher taxation would be inconsistent with chancellor's drive for growthBusiness live - updatesThe boss of Britain's largest mortgage lender has warned Rachel Reeves that increasing taxes on banks in her autumn budget would damage Labour's plan for the City of London to power an economic recovery.Charlie Nunn, the chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group, said a rise in bank taxation wouldn't be consistent" with the chancellor's overtures as the government pushes to reboot growth. Continue reading...

The US president and the central bank have clashed over a $2.5bn renovation and its ongoing refusal to cut interest rates

Rate would apply to most goods but bloc still hardening retaliatory measures in case Trump does not agree dealThe EU and the US are nearing a trade deal that would place 15% tariffs on most imports from the bloc, it has emerged.The tariff rate, which would mirror a deal struck this week between the US and Japan, would apply to most goods, with some exceptions for products including aircraft and medical devices, according to diplomats with knowledge of the talks. Continue reading...

US president says Japanese imports will face 15% levy instead of threatened 25%, prompting reports of a similar deal with the EUFinancial markets around the world have rallied after Donald Trump announced a trade deal with Japan and speculation that a similar deal would soon be reached with the European Union.Share prices rose sharply in Tokyo, where the Nikkei index of leading Japanese companies increased by 3.5%. European markets followed, with the FTSE 100 gaining 0.4% to close at a fresh record high of 9,061. US markets posted further gains with the Dow Jones rising by over 1% and the S&P closing up 0.78% at a record high. Continue reading...

Chancellor under pressure to recruit new experts as John Van Reenen and Anna Valero return to academiaIn the run-up to her crunch autumn budget, Rachel Reeves will seek to recruit a heavyweight economic adviser after the role of John Van Reenen is reduced.Van Reenen, a well-respected professor from the London School of Economics (LSE) and an expert in productivity, has been chief economic adviser to the chancellor since Labour came to power. Continue reading...

Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo have convictions for rigging benchmark interest rates quashed by Supreme Court

June figure of 20.7bn comes as chancellor prepares for autumn budget where she may have to impose tax rises

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as chancellor Rachel Reeves testifies to House of Lords economic affairs committee

Very tough budget looms as interest rate costs on bonds drive June figure to second-highest on record

England and Wales's water industry requires fundamental reform' to address the problems that have dogged the sector, Independent Water Commission says

This small cutback is hardly a draconian austerity purge for a country that is broke. But the howls of outrage show a rational debate is unlikelyFrance is skint, but the French are in denial. To judge by the howls of outrage from the left and the hard right of the French political spectrum, you would think the prime minister, Francois Bayrou, had just taken a Javier Milei-style chainsaw to public services, announced Doge-style mass layoffs or imposed swingeing pay cuts.But it was Bayrou's suggestion that the French should give up two of their 11 cherished public holidays - Easter Monday and 8 May, the anniversary of the end of the second world war in Europe - and work instead to increase economic output and hence government revenue that provoked the anger.Paul Taylor is a senior visiting fellow at the European Policy Centre Continue reading...

Exclusive: Research on burden of antibiotic resistance for 122 countries predicts dire economic and health outcomesSuperbugs could cause millions more people to die worldwide and cost the global economy just under $2tn a year by 2050, modelling shows.A UK government-funded study shows that without concerted action, increased rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) could lead to global annual GDP losses of $1.7tn over the next quarter of a century. Continue reading...

From Rachel Reeves to the MPC, and thinktanks to unions and lobby groups, many of the authoritative voices we hear discussing economics are femaleRachel Reeves is rightly proud of being the first female chancellor of the exchequer, but she is far from alone: the commanding heights of economic policymaking in the UK are becoming much less male.At a Westminster thinktank event last week about whether Labour is still a mission-led government", one of the most striking things was not the panel's answer, which you can probably guess, but the fact that it was made up of three women, and one token man. Continue reading...

In the final part of a series, we look at the political battle for Bridgend after the closure of its Ford plant

The White House is trying to drive out the Federal Reserve chair. Critics warn it would be a costly bid to pass the buckMemo from the White House: inflation is right on track", it declared this week, citing the latest official data. Price growth is now very low", according to Donald Trump. The actual statistics paint a markedly different picture.Just six months after he regained power, in part by promising to rapidly reduce prices, Trump has presided over the chaotic rollout of tariffs on an array of overseas products that many have argued risk having the exact opposite effect. Continue reading...

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsBusinesses are still in tough" times, despite the drop in insolvencies in June, cautions David Hudson, restructuring advisory partner at FRP.Hudson says:The slight fall in insolvencies this month offers a glimmer of relief - especially for hospitality and retail businesses, which are now reaping the benefits of record hot weather. However, we're still in tough territory. Consumer confidence remains stubbornly low, growth is stuttering - with GDP dipping again in May. June's unexpected jump in inflation will only serve to continue eroding profit margins and consumer demand.This environment is forcing businesses to fight on multiple fronts. Many will likely only be experiencing breathing space after dramatically paring back costs. Until demand shows a more sustained recovery and input costs ease further, there's a risk that this reprieve is just a pause rather than a turning point." Continue reading...

In new attack, US president accuses Jerome Powell of preventing central bank from lowering interest rates

With data suggesting the sector has been hit hardest, some employers can't afford to recruit summer workers

Political economist and author who promoted ideas such as time banks and community sharingIn his 1989 book Building Futures, David Boyle, who has died aged 67 from complications linked to Parkinson's, argued that mainstream economics was failing cities and a new localism could save them. This emphasis on communities rather than large-scale centralised development tied in with the broad theme that David saw as running through his work: The importance of human-scale institutions over centralised ones, human imagination over dull rationalism, and the human spirit over technocratic reduction."Funny Money: In Search of Alternative Cash (1999) explored local economic systems found mainly on a journey through the US. Exchanging services within community systems run by volunteers can be facilitated through time banks". The idea of the time dollar", representing one hour of help, whether grocery shopping or preparing a tax return, was popularised by the Washington law professor Edgar Cahn. Continue reading...

UK company payrolls have fallen steadily in recent months, pushing unemployment rate to four-year high

British carmaker to offer voluntary redundancy after 15.1% sales drop in three months to June

ONS data shows jobless rate climbing to highest rate since June 2021 with growth in average earnings slowing to 5%.

Pre-tax profits fall 24% despite rise in Sports Direct sales, driven by closures of House of Fraser and Game storesA challenging" luxury market and retreat from gaming have prompted a fall in sales and profits at Mike Ashley's Frasers.The group, which is majority owned by the billionaire former Newcastle United owner, said sales fell by 7.4% to 4.7bn and pre-tax profits slid by 24% to 379.5m as it closed some of its House of Fraser department stores and Game video game shops. Continue reading...

Exclusive: City-funded campaign is endorsed by government, and aims to increase financial risk-taking in effort to spur growth

The chancellor's emollient speech to City bosses this week was alarming. There are better ways to revive Britain's fortunesRachel Reeves was in full Iron Lady mode when she delivered her Mansion House speech to the City's finest this week. Regulation was acting like a boot on the neck" of business, choking off enterprise and innovation. Cutting red tape would have a ripple effect" on the whole economy. Regulators should not give way to the temptation of excessive caution" but instead boldly regulate for growth. It could have been any Tory chancellor since Nigel Lawson speaking.If Reeves seriously believes this stuff she is heading for a rude awakening. Chancellors don't need a crystal ball to tell them where financial deregulation leads; they can read the many books detailing what happened last time this was tried. The global financial crisis of 2008 came about because policymakers bowed to the pressure from big finance to sweep away burdensome" regulations, pledging that more funds could be channelled into productive investment as a consequence.Larry Elliott is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Crew leaves after investor disquiet over company's lacklustre performance; UK food prices rise most since February 2024 but economists still expect August rate cutThe pound has gained since the inflation figures were released, while yields on UK government bonds have also climbed.The pound is up by 0.2% against the dollar at $1.3410. The FTSE 100 index is steady, up by 0.2%.Is an August rate cut in jeopardy? No, we don't think so. There's enough of a slowdown in GDP and the labour market to warrant a gradual and careful' easing of monetary policy. But the onus now rests on the labour market to shape how far and how fast the MPC can cut this year and next.Today's CPI data spells more pressure for consumers thanks to the surge in food prices, but the overall picture doesn't quite spell the end for any further rate cuts. Core goods and services inflation was broadly contained, and the focus shifts now to the job numbers tomorrow to see if there are further signs of weakness that might keep the Bank of England on course to ease policy in upcoming meetings. Continue reading...

Annual increase in June follows warnings about increase in employment taxes leading to job cuts and higher prices

Analysts say pressure will be on Bank to keep interest rates higher for longer, as consumers' mood stays gloomy

De-dollarisation is not a threat to global stability. Countries are simply questioning the rules of a game long rigged in Washington's favourFor more than eight decades, the US dollar has reigned supreme as the world's reserve currency - a position cemented at the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944 and reinforced by America's postwar industrial power and military dominance.Today, that supremacy is facing growing resistance from multiple directions - from African revolutionary movements to economic recalibrations in Europe, and from the counterbalance efforts of Brics nations to the geopolitical entanglements of Ukraine and Israel. Continue reading...

In today's newsletter: Rachel Reeves has announced the biggest financial regulation reforms in a decade' - but are they enough to spark the economy?Good morning. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has vowed to cut back regulation in the UK financial sector in a bid to unlock growth.Reeves has announced a raft of changes in what the Treasury describes as the biggest financial regulation reforms in a decade". Her plans include loosening rules on the financial sector, increasing innovation, and allowing lenders to offer mortgages at more than 4.5 times a buyer's income.Defence | Personal information about more than 33,000 Afghans seeking relocation to the UK after the Taliban takeover was released in error by a defence official - and the Ministry of Defence tried for nearly two years to cover up the leak and its consequences at the cost of 2bn, it can be revealed.UK news | Two men who carried out a moronic mission" to fell one of the most loved and photographed trees in the UK have been jailed. Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, were each given prison sentences of four years and three months for an act of criminal damage that caused the Sycamore Gap tree to crash down in 2023.US politics | Republican lawmakers have moved to block a Democratic effort to force the release of the so-called Epstein files, a near-mythological trove of undisclosed information about the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein at the centre of an internal political war among US conservatives.Television | MasterChef presenter John Torode will not return to the BBC cooking show after producers Banijay UK said his contract would not be renewed. Torode had earlier said he was the subject of an allegation of using racist language that was upheld as part of an inquiry into the behaviour of his former co-presenter Gregg Wallace.Tax and spending | HM Revenue and Customs has been sharply criticised by parliament's spending watchdog for being unable to track how many billionaires pay tax in the UK. Highlighting significant opportunities to collect more revenue", it called on the tax authority to take immediate action. Continue reading...

At the Mansion House dinner she calls for regulators to allow more risk to clear the way for economic growth

London's blue-chip index has risen 10% in 2025 helped by investor flight from US stocks amid Trump's trade policies

London stock market hits new peak, Thames Water reports 1.6bn loss, and Rachel Reeves outlines Leeds reforms' for financial servicesThe FTSE 100 has also benefitted from the TACO trade this year - the bet that Trump always chickens out when his policies cause mayhem in the markets.As this chart shows, shares in London slumped in early April after the US president announced high new tariffs on US trading partners. Continue reading...

Events such as the Iberian power blackout have led some to go back to physical money, but others are not convincedIt was while walking to his local Co-op that Ty, a 27-year-old student in Brighton, noticed a strangely long queue for the cashpoint.In the shop, a staff member told Ty the payment systems were down after a cyber-attack. It was cash only. But Ty didn't need to join the queue. Instead, he felt vindicated. It was another instance that justified his recent switch to using physical currency instead of digital payments. Continue reading...

Chancellor to announce raft of deregulation changes as City regulators move to pare back transparency rulesRachel 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...

Retail body says sales up by 3.1% year on year in June after drop in May, but Barclays finds shoppers are cautiousRetail sales in the UK recovered in June as hot weather drove spending on electric fans, sports and leisure equipment, but households remained under pressure from high living costs.The snapshot from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) showed total sales grew by 3.1% year on year in June, after a sharp drop in May, as record-breaking temperatures and promotional offers encouraged consumers to spend. Continue reading...