British Steel to get furnace supplies today, say ministers; UK wage growth remains resilient – business live
Posted on Tuesday April 15, 2025

JD Vance sees good chance that US and UK will strike ‘great agreement’ on tradeGood morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.Raw materials secured by the government will be transported to British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant today to keep its blast furnaces burning. Ministers have taken control of British Steel and and are a race against time to get materials such as coking coal and iron ore to the site.I’m looking at something to help car companies with it. They’re switching to parts that were made in Canada, Mexico and other places, and they need a little bit of time, because they’re going to make them here.Markets continued to stabilise over the last 24 hours, with the S&P 500 posting back-to-back gains for the first time since the reciprocal tariffs were announced on April 2.Whilst equities were recovering, arguably a bigger relief for investors was the recovery in the bond market, which eased fears about some sort of serious financial turmoil developing.9am BST: Germany ZEW economic sentiment survey9am BST: Eurozone industrial production for February Continue reading...

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UK business confidence falls to lowest level in over two years, survey shows
Posted on Tuesday April 15, 2025

Accountants’ institute says first quarter of 2025 was ‘harrowing’ for companies amid tax rises and US tariffsUK business confidence has fallen to the lowest level for more than two years amid growing concern over tax rises and Donald Trump’s escalating trade war, according to a survey.Highlighting the risks to the economy, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) said the first quarter of the year had been “harrowing” for companies across Britain. Continue reading...

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‘Silicon Six’ accused of avoiding almost $278bn in US corporation taxes over 10 years
Posted on Monday April 14, 2025

Analysis finds Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, Netflix, Apple and Microsoft averaged 18.8%, compared with 29.7% US averageThe big American tech firms known as the “Silicon Six” have been accused of paying almost $278bn (£211bn) less corporate income tax in the past decade compared with the statutory rate for US companies making the same profits.Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, Netflix, Apple and Microsoft generated $11tn of revenue and $2.5tn of profits over the past 10 years. Continue reading...

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Meta faces antitrust claims at trial over Instagram and WhatsApp ownership
Posted on Monday April 14, 2025

Facebook parent faces threats of illegal social media monopoly after spending billions to acquire two platformsFacebook parent Meta Platforms faces a high-stakes trial in Washington starting on Monday on claims it built an illegal social media monopoly by spending billions of dollars to acquire Instagram and WhatsApp, in a case in which US antitrust enforcers seek to unwind the deals.The acquisitions more than a decade ago aimed to eliminate nascent competitors who could threaten Facebook’s status as the go-to social media platform for users to connect with friends and family, the US Federal Trade Commission claims. It filed the case in 2020 during Donald Trump’s first term. Continue reading...

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Risks to children playing Roblox ‘deeply disturbing’, say researchers
Posted on Monday April 14, 2025

Exclusive: Gaming platform accused of ‘troubling disconnect between child-friendly appearance and reality’‘A man approached him’: parents describe their children’s Roblox problems“Deeply disturbing” research exposes how easy it is for children to encounter inappropriate content and interact unsupervised with adults on the gaming platform Roblox.It comes as parents shared their serious concerns about children experiencing addiction, seeing traumatising content and being approached by strangers on the hugely popular website and app. Continue reading...

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Rory McIlroy steps into league of his own with magical Masters triumph | Ewan Murray
Posted on Monday April 14, 2025

Nick Faldo has more majors and Seve Ballesteros was a majestic shotmaker but the career grand slam is pricelessIn Northern Ireland, debate is already raging as to whether Rory McIlroy has presented himself as the country’s greatest ever sportsperson. The answer is surely obvious. Step aside, George Best. McIlroy’s Masters triumph may even force Sports Personality of the Year to afford due recognition to golf. It is only April but it feels highly unlikely the scene immediately after McIlroy claimed the Masters on Sunday will be matched. His pounding of the turf; his tears absorbed more than a decade of such deep frustration. The moment reverberated beyond sport; Rory had done it. Grown men, lots of them, shed tears on his behalf as he broke his Augusta hoodoo.Nick Faldo six, Rory McIlroy five. Were this a football match, Faldo would be the winner. Yet in golf there is nuance. McIlroy might trail Faldo’s overall majors haul – for now – but the completion of the career grand slam pressed home new status for McIlroy. No European had secured the set before. He is the finest golfer this continent has produced. Continue reading...

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‘We have to believe’: Emery calls on Aston Villa to produce PSG comeback
Posted on Monday April 14, 2025

Manager wants Villa Park to be ‘a fortress’ on TuesdayVilla trail French champions 3-1 from first leg in ParisUnai Emery urged his Aston Villa players to “write history” by recording a memorable comeback victory over Paris Saint-Germain to advance to the semi-finals of the Champions League. Villa must overturn a two-goal deficit after a first-leg defeat in France and the Villa manager doubled down on his belief that his side can cause a shock, with Emery adamant the “fortress” atmosphere at Villa Park on Tuesday can help his players find a winning formula.Emery said PSG’s 3-1 lead does not alter the task at hand. “I have experiences coming back from results, positively and negatively,” he said. “Now it is something different, we want to write here the history with Aston Villa. Last year [we played] in the Conference League and this year in the Champions League and [now] hopefully for a long time in Europe. My experiences before were different … sometimes losing away and winning at home, sometimes losing at home and winning away. More winning than losing … but I had some negative experiences as well.” Continue reading...

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