Category: Business

Growth forecasts for the US and other advanced economies have been sharply downgraded by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the wake of dramatic swings in US president Donald Trump’s economic policy. But could the uncertainty and the turmoil in financial markets eventually be enough to push the world into a recession? The IMF says […]

It has now been nearly two months since UK Prime Minister Starmer spoke with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, yet there has been no tangible progress in the case of Alaa Abd El Fattah, the British-Egyptian writer, activist, and technologist who remains imprisoned in Egypt. In yet another blow to his family and supporters, who […]

Politicians and economists have been pretty vocal in their response to the ongoing saga of Donald Trump’s tariffs. But much less has been heard from the world’s poorest workers about how they will be affected. For when the US president first set out his reciprocal tariffs – later paused for 90 days – some of […]

In an unprecedented move, the U.S. Department of Treasury and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently reached an agreement allowing the IRS to share with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) taxpayer information of certain immigrants. The redacted 15-page memorandum of understanding (MOU) was exposed in a court case, Centro de Trabajadores Unidos v. […]

After 124 years as a familiar fixture to generations of customers, there will no longer be a place for WH Smith on UK high streets. Modella Capital – a specialist retail investment company – is the new owner of the chain’s high street locations. For a purchase price of £76 million, it will take over […]

According to the World Social Report 2025 launched on Thursday, the sobering sentiment indicates a widespread lack of confidence in the future. Despite people living longer, being better educated and more connected than ever before, many believe that life today is worse than it was 50 years ago. Close to 60 per cent of people […]

We’ve seen plenty of bad tech bills in recent years, often cloaked in vague language about “online safety.” But Florida’s SB 868 doesn’t even pretend to be subtle: the state wants a backdoor into encrypted platforms if minors use them, and for law enforcement to have easy access to your messages. This bill should set […]

Those of us who study trade and investment for a living are, I suspect, becoming exasperated with both the White House stance on tariffs and the way that this is reported in much of the media. US president Donald Trump believes that if a country has a trade surplus with the US it is somehow […]

Swiss pharmaceutical leader Roche is making a historic bet on the U.S. life sciences sector, announcing a $50 billion investment over the next five years to dramatically expand its American manufacturing and research footprint. The move underscores a strategic pivot that could soon see the U.S. become a net exporter of Roche medicines, according to […]

Closing this gap is not optional. There were189 million fewer women than men online in 2024.   The disparity is about more than access, it reflects deeper systemic barriers, according to ​Doreen Bogdan-Martin who heads the UN telecommunications agency, ITU. “That’s too many missed opportunities to learn, to earn and to shape our shared digital […]