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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

Private credit groups including Apollo, Ares and Blackstone are poised to write the largest direct loan on record as they continue to muscle in on a lucrative business traditionally dominated by Wall Street banks. The lenders are increasingly confident they can edge out investment banks including JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs on a deal to fund

When Saudi Prince Khaled bin Sultan al-Saud went shopping for a private jet in 2016, his Swiss wealth advisers pulled together a list of assets to secure financing that included the crown jewel of his family fortune — a 40-room mansion they described as the “London Palace”.  That 205-year-old house in Regent’s Park, also known

Commercial seafarers might be the workforce that people rely on the most but think about the least. The vast majority of goods traded around the world are transported on ships. Capitalism wouldn’t work without the almost 2mn people who work on them. But it seems to take a lot for them to get noticed. When