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Volkswagen is putting on hold a planned battery plant in eastern Europe and prioritising a similar facility in North America after estimating it could receive €10bn in US incentives. The decision is the latest fallout from Joe Biden’s $369bn package of subsidies and tax incentives for green technology that is luring European companies to the

The UN’s acknowledged “failure” in northern Syria after last month’s devastating earthquake has highlighted its tangled relations with the Damascus regime, which has included hiring a daughter of Syria’s sanctioned spy chief to work in the office of an aid agency. The slow arrival of international help to impoverished opposition areas of Syria after the

For most overseas lenders, US retail banking has been a graveyard of failed dreams. Drawn by America’s size, wealth and economic growth, UK-listed HSBC and RBS (now NatWest) and Spain’s BBVA all gave it a go before throwing in the towel. French lender BNP Paribas formally joined their ranks in calling it quits last month.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will use next week’s Budget to set out a new capital allowances regime for businesses, to offset a sharp rise in corporation tax and the end of a £25bn “super-deduction” tax break for investment. Conservative MPs have urged Hunt to be bold and unveil tax cuts to offset headwinds caused by the

It was, in fairness, a good line. The boss of Activision Blizzard, in full campaigning mode in support of the gaming group’s $75bn sale to Microsoft, last month noted UK prime minister Rishi Sunak’s ambitions to become a European tech hub and quipped: “If deals like this can’t get through, they won’t be Silicon Valley,

The UK tax authority’s decision to shut its task force focused on recouping fraudulent and faulty claims made on the government’s flagship Covid-19 support schemes is putting at risk up to £5.1bn of taxpayers’ money, according to a damning report by MPs. The cross-party House of Commons public accounts committee said on Wednesday it was

Elon Musk said that Twitter’s finances are improving to the point that the social media company could return to posting positive cash flow next quarter, as the chief executive attempts to cut costs, lure back advertisers and navigate the platform’s tech woes. Speaking at a Morgan Stanley investor conference on Tuesday, Musk said that cash

3/8/2023, 4:01:37 AM Asian currencies fall against the dollar on Powell’s comments William Langley in Hong Kong Asian currencies declined against the dollar on Wednesday, as comments from US Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell signalling that the central bank could return to larger interest rate increases boosted the greenback. All prices are given against the

The RMT union has called off part of its upcoming strikes on the UK railway and announced plans to instead put a new pay offer from infrastructure owner Network Rail to a member vote. The union’s general secretary Mick Lynch said in a message to members that the RMT had received “an improved offer” from

There is “no magic wand” that can deliver independence, the favourite to become Scotland’s next first minister has warned his governing Scottish National party, saying a sustained majority for leaving the UK was vital to overcome Westminster’s veto of a second referendum on the issue. The comments from Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s health secretary and the

Elon Musk and the EU are in a dispute over the Twitter owner’s plan to use more volunteers and artificial intelligence to help moderate the social media platform, as the company responds to strict new rules designed to police online content. According to four people familiar with talks between Musk, Twitter executives and regulators in

The UK government has set the stage for fresh legal battles over its plans to stem the arrival of undocumented migrants across the Channel, after it conceded on Tuesday that new legislation may breach human rights laws. Introducing the illegal migration bill to parliament, Suella Braverman defended the government’s strategy on stopping small boat crossings,

Scientific leaders have urged the UK government to rejoin the EU’s €95.5bn Horizon research programme as soon as possible, after prime minister Rishi Sunak questioned whether membership represented value for money. “The UK will find it extremely difficult to be an effective research power if it is . . . not part of the European research network,” Sir Paul

“The Law of Nations Shall be Founded on a Federation of Free States.” Thus did the great German philosopher Immanuel Kant lay down the foundations of his plan for a “perpetual peace”. No part of the world has embraced his idealism more completely than post-second world war Europe. Yet is this great dream now dead?

The writer is a science commentator Every emerging technology has its dreamers and schemers. That is certainly true of human genome editing, the focus of a high-profile global summit held this week at the Francis Crick Institute in London. Among the dreamers is Harvard University biochemist David Liu, whose talk on Monday featured news of

Jay Powell has warned that the Federal Reserve is prepared to switch back to bigger interest rate rises if the US economy continues to grow too quickly, in remarks prepared for a high-stakes congressional appearance on Tuesday. Powell’s testimony marks the Fed chair’s first public intervention since data releases showed the central bank is still

Mexico’s peso has touched its strongest level in more than five years as the country’s relatively high interest rates, tight fiscal policy and investment opportunities accruing from its proximity to the US make it a favourite for currency investors. The peso is the top performing major currency this year, according to Bloomberg, and has more

The number of American troops in Vietnam peaked in 1969. Twenty years later, Born On the Fourth of July, which dramatised the maiming and political awakening of one soldier, came out. Even after Platoon, The Deer Hunter, Full Metal Jacket and Apocalypse Now, even after the protest songs of Edwin Starr and Creedence Clearwater Revival,

Chinese equities fell on Tuesday after disappointing trade data added to investors’ concerns that the country’s post-zero Covid recovery might prove less explosive than previously expected. China’s CSI 300 fell 1.4 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 0.4 per cent after imports in January and February declined 10.2 per cent compared with

Good morning. Another change in the civil service? Simon Case is reported to be weighing up his future as the UK’s top civil servant. Some thoughts on our scoop in today’s note. Case, closed? The news that Sue Gray was set to join Keir Starmer’s team broke midway through the Conservative party’s away day. The

China’s foreign minister has warned of a clash with the US unless Washington ceases its attempts to contain Beijing, highlighting the Chinese Communist party’s concerns over escalating tension between the rival superpowers. “If the US doesn’t hit the brakes and continues to barrel down the wrong track, no amount of guardrails can prevent the carriage