News

Germany is to supply 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv, a significant ramping up of western military aid that was condemned by Russia and prompted cheers throughout Ukraine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced the move at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, describing it as the result of “intensive consultations that have taken place between Germany and

UK public sector borrowing more than doubled last month to hit the highest December figure on record, driven up by higher debt interest payments and the government’s measures to help households and businesses with soaring energy prices. Public sector net borrowing hit £27.4bn last month, up from a revised £10.7bn in the same month in

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak has asked his ethics adviser to investigate the tax affairs of Nadhim Zahawi in a move that raises questions about the future of the Conservative party chair. The government is confronting an ethics crisis on two fronts with BBC chair Richard Sharp facing allegations he helped Boris Johnson secure a

Brazil and Argentina will this week announce that they are starting preparatory work on a common currency, in a move which could eventually create the world’s second-largest currency bloc. South America’s two biggest economies will discuss the plan at a summit in Buenos Aires this week and will invite other Latin American nations to join.

Germany dashed its allies’ hopes that it would approve the dispatch of battle tanks to Ukraine on Friday when a high-profile defence ministers’ meeting failed to reach an agreement. Many western countries argue that the German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks would greatly help Kyiv mount a counteroffensive against Russia, but Berlin has yet to agree,

Google’s parent company has announced it will axe 12,000 staff, pushing total tech job losses above 200,000 since the start of last year, as industry bosses concede they overextended during the pandemic’s digital boom. The latest cuts will affect around 6 per cent of the total workforce at Alphabet, which also owns autonomous car company

Christine Lagarde warned financial markets on Thursday that the European Central Bank was determined to “stay the course” and signalled further big interest rate rises lay ahead to get inflation down. In comments that bolstered the euro, the ECB president told the World Economic Forum in Davos that markets should ditch their view that the

UK inflation slowed for the second consecutive month after hitting a 41-year peak in October, although economists do not expect the change to ease pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates. The annual rate of consumer price inflation declined to 10.5 per cent in December, according to the Office for National Statistics

The UK battery start-up Britishvolt has collapsed into administration after last-ditch efforts to secure emergency funding from a group of investors failed. The majority of Britishvolt’s 300 staff were made redundant “with immediate effect”, employees were told on a call at lunchtime on Tuesday, as the business had no funds to continue operating. A late

Germany’s defence minister has announced her resignation, triggering fresh uncertainty for Europe’s most populous nation as it confronts critical decisions about its response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Christine Lambrecht, who has faced harsh criticism for her handling of defence policy as well as a succession of gaffes, said that a “months-long media focus” on

Russia’s revenue from fertiliser exports soared last year despite a decline in sales volumes, as crop nutrient prices rose sharply after its invasion of Ukraine. In the first 10 months of 2022, Russian fertiliser exports jumped 70 per cent to $16.7bn compared to the same period in 2021, according to UN data. Import statistics from

Global bond markets posted a powerful rebound in the first fortnight of 2023, fanning investors’ hopes that last year’s fixed-income retreat is over. Bonds are on track for their best January performance in more than three decades, spurred by a growing conviction that inflation has peaked on both sides of the Atlantic. The Bloomberg Global

China is moving to take “golden shares” in local units of Alibaba and Tencent as Beijng formalises a greater role in overseeing the country’s powerful tech groups. The Chinese government has responded to a stuttering economy by backing away from the tough fines and sanctions that were a hallmark of its campaign to rein in

British Gas owner Centrica has forecast an almost eightfold increase in full-year earnings despite the impact of new windfall taxes on energy companies, after it benefited from soaring energy prices in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The UK energy group said on Thursday that it expected to report adjusted earnings per share of more

Health secretary Steve Barclay warned there will be “disruption” to NHS services across England and Wales because of walkouts by ambulance workers over pay and working conditions. Workers from GMB and Unison have begun industrial action in ten out the 11 ambulance trusts, following a heated escalation in rhetoric between ministers over the impact of

Shares in Virgin Orbit fell more than 20 per cent in pre-market trading after the failure of Britain’s historic attempt to launch the first commercial satellites from western Europe. Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket suffered an “anomaly” that prevented it from reaching orbit. The failed mission is a severe blow not just for the UK, which

Police regained control of Brazil’s main government complex on Sunday evening after thousands of supporters of rightwing former president Jair Bolsonaro stormed the Congress, supreme court and presidential palace. Social media footage earlier showed crowds vandalising the interiors of the three institutions in Brasília in scenes reminiscent of the US Capitol invasion two years ago

India’s central bank governor has expressed concern over growing debt distress among regional trade partners and said he is alert to possible risks to his country’s economy from a global slowdown. Shaktikanta Das said in an interview with the Financial Times that he was optimistic about India’s growth and financial stability despite the deteriorating global

Kevin McCarthy has been elected as Speaker of the House of Representatives, ending a tortuous week of wheeling and dealing on Capitol Hill that exposed sharp divisions in the Republican party and raised fresh questions about whether Congress can govern effectively in the years to come. McCarthy was elected Speaker just after midnight on Saturday

Inflation in the eurozone fell more than expected in December, ending a two-month period when the rate was in double digits. The flash index of consumer prices among the 20 European member countries rose at an annual rate of 9.2 per cent in December, down from the 10.1 per cent rate the previous month and