Economy

• Wednesday, February 20th 2019 - 08:28 UTC

  Global trade growth forecasted to slow this year, says

  

  Global trade growth is on track to slide further the first quarter of 2019, the World Trade Organization said. WTO in September said it expects world merchandise trade growth will slow to 3.7% this year down from 3.9% in 2018.

• Tuesday, February 19th 2019 - 09:21 UTC

  Hammond visit to China called off amid reports of Beijing anger with UK defense actions

  

  A visit to China by Chancellor Phillip Hammond has been called off amid reports a speech by the UK's defense secretary angered Beijing. There were plans for trade talks between Mr Hammond and senior Chinese government figures during the brief visit this week. But last week, Gavin Williamson had indicated the UK's intention to send an aircraft carrier to the Pacific.

• Tuesday, February 19th 2019 - 09:20 UTC

  US/China trade talks resume in Washington... and are going “extremely well”

  

  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.

• Tuesday, February 19th 2019 - 08:57 UTC

  Trump's promise to Juncker: no additional import tariffs on EU cars... For the time being

  

  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.

• Tuesday, February 19th 2019 - 08:54 UTC

  Honda will shut-down its plant in England by 2022; some 3.500 at stake

  

  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.

• Monday, February 18th 2019 - 10:08 UTC

  Russian bank freezes Venezuela's oil company accounts, fearing US sanctions

  

  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.

• Monday, February 18th 2019 - 09:26 UTC

  Petrobras settling financial disputes: agrees to pay petroleum regulator US$ 940m

  

  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.

• Saturday, February 16th 2019 - 11:30 UTC

  China/US trade talks break down; Washington warns “very difficult issues” remain unresolved

  

  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.

• Saturday, February 16th 2019 - 11:10 UTC

  Brexit has cost UK economy some £80 billion since the 2016 vote, says BoE policymaker

  

  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.

• Saturday, February 16th 2019 - 10:46 UTC

  Theresa May sticks to her Brexit strategy despite Tories row and Commons defeat

  

  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”.