10+ mon, 1+ day ago (516+ words) The chancellor is expected to unveil plans to create "Europe's Silicon Valley' as she stakes government success on kickstarting economic growth If you judge a speech by the advance headlines (and, yes, that is exactly how some people in government do judge these things), the pre-speech part of the exercise has gone well. Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, has been giving interviews this morning and on BBC Breakfast he defended the plan to green-light airport expansion, including a third runway at Heathrow. It's not just about aviation expansion, there's a whole range of things." We're not going to have endless judicial reviews effectively try to second-guess democratically-elected decisions from the elected government of the day. We will follow process, but that process has got to be one that can deliver the things. We simply cannot afford to say we don't…...

8+ mon, 2+ day ago (762+ words) Chancellor confirmed welfare cuts of "4.8bn in spring statement, but insisted the priority was to restore stability to the public finances Good morning. Day two after a budget-type event is when the most insightful analysis tends to come out, and this morning the two heavyweight public spending thinktanks, the Resolution Foundation and the Institute for Fiscal Studies, are delivering their considered verdicts. And Rachel Reeves is doing interviews now defending her decisions.Here is our overnight splash about the spring statement.You're going to have to come back for more. You're going to have to come back for more cuts or tax rises in the autumn. That's the truth, isn't it?What I'm saying is that there are loads of things that this government are doing that are contributing to growth. And the Office of Budget Responsibility said yesterday that the…...

8+ mon, 3+ week ago (753+ words) Policy Exchange report blames austerity for breakdown in policing and criminal justice Soaring levels of crime are costing Britain's economy as much as "250bn a year, according to a report that blames austerity for a breakdown in policing and criminal justice. The report by the centre-right thinktank Policy Exchange, backed by the former Conservative chancellor and home secretary Sajid Javid, said that years of cuts to funding for the police, prisons and courts had contributed to a dramatic rise in crime which was holding back the economy. The report said an "epidemic" of shoplifting, alongside other crimes, was hitting businesses, the public sector and individuals hard, with a direct cost to the economy of about "170bn a year, or about 6.5% of gross domestic product (GDP). In addition, it estimated there were intangible effects on behaviour derived from a fear of crime. Although…...

8+ mon, 3+ day ago (757+ words) Keir Starmer will face Kemi Badenoch at PMQs before the chancellor delivers her spring statement Good morning. This time last week Stephen Timms, a welfare minister, was doing an interview round to defend the "5bn disability benefit cuts announced the previous day, and he refused to rule out further benefit cuts in the future. Most of us thought he was being careful because of the risk of further cuts later in this parliament, or possibly later this year. I don't think anyone expected extra cuts to be announced within days.But that is exactly what has happened. As Heather Steward, Kiran Stacey and Richard Partington report in the Guardian splash, only hours before the spring statement, the Treasury has revealed that the disability benefit cuts are going to be even deeper than the ones set out last week. That is because…...

7+ mon, 2+ week ago (681+ words) Stephen Kinnock hails better-than-expected GDP figuresCare minister Stephen Kinnock has said that higher than expected GDP growth figures for February are "the dividend from a government that is stable.Speaking on Sky News, the Labour MP for Aberafan Maesteg said:I think what we're seeing is the dividend from a government that is stable, is focused on our growth mission, and is absolutely committed to supporting businesses across the country in terms of getting investment in and giving them the certainty they need.We're seeing the rise in the living wage, which I think is also helping to put more money into the economy, giving consumers more confidence. That mixture of supply side and demand side measures are really helping to build an economy that is fit for the future.The UK economy unexpectedly expanded by 0.5% in February, according to…...

7+ mon, 3+ week ago (1825+ words) In today's newsletter: The administration's sweeping tariffs have left markets bracing for volatility " but what impact will they have on an unsteady global economy?Good morning. According to Donald Trump, it's "liberation day: the advent of a new trade order in which Americans reap the benefit of massive tariffs on imports, and the rest of the world picks up the tab.Unsurprisingly, the United States' trading partners tend to take a very different view. And they are doing everything they can to avoid being passive targets for the White House's carnivorous vision of American exceptionalism.Israel-Gaza war | Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced a major expansion of the military operation in Gaza on Wednesday, saying large areas of the enclave would be seized and added to the security zones of Israel. Follow the latest here.Israel-Gaza war | Some of the…...

3+ day, 9+ hour ago (1025+ words) By the time the chancellor reached the dispatch box, the OBR had accidentally published its verdict in full online At a glance: the key points from the budget Shortly before midday on Wednesday, a series of headlines about Rachel Reeves's budget began appearing on the Reuters newswire, sending instant ripples though financial markets. The details were jaw-dropping: they appeared to spell out the key policies of the chancellor's budget more than 40 minutes before she was due to deliver them to a crowded Commons chamber. "UK OBR ECONOMIC AND FISCAL OUTLOOK: BUDGET TAX RISES RAISE 26.1 BLN STG BY 2029-30," read an alert published at 11.41am. In the chaotic moments that followed across newsrooms and trading floors " as well as throughout Westminster " the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) appeared unaware that it had published its highly sensitive analysis of Reeves's tax and spending plans…...

4+ mon, 2+ week ago (453+ words) Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news Trump threatens to escalate trade war amid confusion over new tariff rates Donald Trump is expected to send more letters to countries, informing them of new tariff rates or announcing trade deals, today. Last night on his Truth Social site, the US president wrote: We will be releasing a minimum of 7 Countries having to do with trade, tomorrow morning, with an additional number of Countries being released in the afternoon. Thank you for your attention to this matter! In a seperate post, Trump also insisted that his new deadline of 1 August to reach trade deals would not slip, writing: Copper prices outside the US have fallen, following Trump's threat of a 50% tariff on imports. On the London Metal Exchange, the metal slid as much as 2.4% at the open, before easing to…...

7+ mon, 2+ week ago (1766+ words) In today's newsletter: White House officials send mixed messages over Trump's stunning U-turnGood morning. Two main pieces of news from Donald Trump yesterday: he has rolled back water efficiency standards to "make America's showers great again, because he likes "to take a nice shower to take care of my beautiful hair; and he has rolled back the exorbitant tariffs he applied to many countries last week to 10% " but increased them for China. "No longer will showerheads be weak and worthless, the White House said. This will come as welcome news for the many investors who have recently been taking a bath.It was a pretty chaotic change, all told: there were contradictory messages from Trump's advisers on which countries would be affected, why he did it, and what Beijing should expect to happen next. Still, the markets breathed a large…...

4+ mon, 2+ week ago (467+ words) Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news Britain's postal operator is being relieved of the obligation to deliver second-class letters six days a week, as part of reforms to the service. Regulator Ofcom has announced that from 28 July, it will allow Royal Mail to deliver Second Class letters on alternate weekdays, but no longer on Saturdays " but still within three working days of collection. Ofcom says it is making the change to allow the UK's universal postal service " guaranteeing delivery to anywhere in the country at a fixed price - "to survive. It points out that, since 2011, Royal Mail has been required under the universal service obligation to deliver First and Second Class letters six days a week. But the number of letters sent each year has more than halved over that time. Natalie Black, Ofcom's Group Director for…...