America’s top diplomat in the UK has told Sky News that a comprehensive UK-US free trade deal is “not the be-all and end-all” of boosting trade between the two countries. Speaking to Kay Burley, Ambassador Philip T. Reeker, chargé d’affaires at the US embassy in London, said: “I think the focus right now is on […]

President Joe Biden oversaw a rapid start to America’s vaccination programme, but progress has slowed hugely. The US has vaccinated just over 53% of its population, with 370 million doses administered. The US added far fewer new jobs this past month than anticipated, as a resurgent COVID-19 fuelled by the more transmissible Delta variant strikes […]

Amazon is reportedly planning to open large department stores in the US as the online shopping titan expands further into physical retail. The stores will be about 30,000 sq ft in size and will offer products from well-known consumer brands, according to the Wall Street Journal. The first sites are expected to open in California […]

Walt Disney Co’s revenue has beaten expectations in the third quarter, thanks to new streaming subscribers and the reopening of its theme parks. Overall revenue was up 45% to $17.02bn between April and July – higher than analysts’ estimate of $16.76bn. Net income was $918m in the three months, compared with a loss of $4.72bn […]

The UK economy grew by 4.8% in the second quarter of the year, according to official figures charting the fightback from the last lockdowns imposed on households and businesses to tackle the coronavirus crisis. The data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) had been expected to show a hit in the final month as […]

The International Monetary Fund expects American output to grow 7% this year, its fastest pace since 1984, although the outlook has been complicated with a resurgence of coronavirus cases caused by the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. Jobs growth in the US exceeded expectations last month while unemployment fell in a further sign […]

International Trade Secretary Liz Truss says “great progress” had been made in the sixth round of discussions between the UK and New Zealand, which took place from 19 to 30 July. The UK is “closing in on” striking an agreement in principle with New Zealand, the international trade secretary has said. Liz Truss said “great […]

The International Monetary Fund sees Britain growing in 2020 at the joint-strongest pace of the G7 group of leading industrialised nations – after a contraction last year that was the worst among them. Britain’s economy will grow faster than any major economy in Europe as it rebounds from the COVID-19 recession and emerges from lockdown, […]

Nissan announces £1bn ‘gigafactory’ boosting electric car production and creating thousands of jobs Nissan has announced details of a new battery “gigafactory” that will enable its Sunderland car plant to massively increase production of electric vehicles. The Japanese manufacturer said the £1bn battery plant, built in partnership with Chinese manufacturer Envision, will create 900 jobs […]

Bank of England sees higher inflation peak but plays down risk to economy  The Bank of England has raised its expectations for inflation but reiterated its view that the coronavirus crisis-linked spike in price rises of recent months does not represent a looming crisis for the economy. Minutes of the latest meeting of the Bank’s […]