
US-China trade talks aimed at ending a damaging tariff war will resume from this Tuesday in Washington, the White House has announced. The last set of talks ended Friday in Beijing with no deal, though US President Donald Trump said the discussions were going “extremely well” and suggested he could extend a Mar 1 truce deadline for an agreement to be reached.

United States President Donald Trump has promised European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker that he will not impose additional import tariffs on European cars for the time being, Juncker was quoted in a published interview as saying on Monday.

Japanese car giant Honda is expected to announce the shutdown of its plant in south west England in 2022, putting 3,500 jobs at risk, media reports said on Monday. The car manufacturer is to announce the closure of its Swindon plant on Tuesday, according to Sky News, but still keep its European headquarters in nearby Bracknell.

Russian lender Gazprombank has frozen the accounts of Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA and halted transactions with the firm to reduce the risk of the bank falling under US sanctions, according to Reuters.

Brazil state-run oil firm Petrobras said it had concluded a long-running dispute with the country’s ANP petroleum regulator, agreeing to pay 3.5 billion reais (US$ 940 million) to end an oil-royalty spat.

Trade talks between the US and China have broken up without a deal, with the US warning that “very difficult issues” remain unresolved. The talks in China this week were aimed at securing a new deal before further US tariffs are imposed on 1 March. China said negotiations would now continue in the US next week.

Brexit has cost the British economy at least £80 billion since the referendum and the shock of a no-deal divorce could see interest rates slashed, according to a Bank of England policymaker. Gertjan Vlieghe, an external member of the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, said that, since the June 2016 vote, 2% has been shaved off GDP.

British Prime Minister Theresa May is sticking to her Brexit strategy, despite her party rowing in the wake of her latest Commons defeat. MPs rejected a motion endorsing her approach by 303 to 258, with 66 Tory MPs abstaining, leading one minister to accuse Brexiteer rebels of treachery.

The Illex squid fishery season starts on February 14 and 105 licenses have been offered confirmed Director of Natural Resources John Barton. He added: “Not all vessels which applied received licenses. The number of licenses offered is the same as the last few years.”

Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay are to submit a joint bid to host the 2030 World Cup, Chile's President Sebastian Piñera announced on Thursday. Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay had already submitted a joint bid to host the centenary edition of football's most prestigious tournament, but Piñera said on Twitter that those countries' presidents had agreed to Chile's participation in the joint candidacy.