Stellantis, the European carmaker behind Vauxhall, Citroën and Fiat, has taken a €22bn hit after admitting it overestimated the pace of electric vehicle adoption and reversing its push towards an all-electric future. The Franco-Italian automotive group said the strategic U-turn would result in €22bn of future losses, write-offs and cancellation costs linked to electric models that will no longer be brought to market. Around €6.5bn of that charge will involve cash leaving the business. The...
The Governor of the Bank of England has said he was “shocked” by revelations that Lord Mandelson leaked sensitive government information to Jeffrey Epstein during the 2008 financial crisis, saying it was right that the matter is now being investigated by the police. Andrew Bailey made the comments as he paid tribute to the late former chancellor Alistair Darling, drawing a sharp contrast between Darling’s conduct during the crisis and the alleged actions of the...
NatWest has announced plans to dramatically expand its Accelerator community, with an ambition to support 50,000 entrepreneurs across the UK in 2026 – a five-fold increase on the target it set for 2025. The move follows a standout year for the programme, during which the bank supported around 12,000 founders. That figure exceeds the total number of entrepreneurs the Accelerator had backed over the previous decade combined, highlighting the rapid acceleration in both scale and...
Bitcoin has slipped below the $70,000 mark, erasing the gains made after Donald Trump’s return to the White House, as weakening investor demand and regulatory uncertainty weigh on the world’s largest cryptocurrency. The digital asset fell to around $65,600 on Thursday, its lowest level since November 2024, amid a combination of hawkish signals from the US Federal Reserve, a slowdown in institutional buying and continued delays in crypto regulation. Bitcoin had rallied sharply following Trump’s...
An award-winning tradesperson has announced plans to leave the UK for Switzerland, warning that rising employment taxes, shrinking apprenticeship support and mounting red tape are driving skilled workers and small business owners overseas. Martin Daly, founder of Motherwell-based MD Builders and recently crowned Screwfix Top Tradesperson for 2025, said changes introduced in Labour’s first Budget were the final catalyst behind his decision to relocate after years of building his business in the UK. Daly, 30,...
Iran seized two foreign oil tankers in the Persian Gulf Thursday, accusing them of smuggling fuel and detaining 15 foreign crew members ahead of high-stakes U.S.–Iran talks Friday in Oman. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy said it intercepted the two ships near Farsi Island, claiming they were carrying about 1 million liters of smuggled fuel, Reuters reported. The crews, made up of 15 foreign nationals, were taken into custody and referred to Iran’s...
President Donald Trump has warned that the U.S. could use military force to secure the Diego Garcia air base in the Chagos Islands if any future deal threatens access to the joint U.S.-U.K. installation. Trump made the comments Thursday in a Truth Social post while also signaling his willingness to move past tensions with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer after what he described as ‘very productive discussions’ about the Indian Ocean base. Emphasizing the base’s...
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., is urging U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to launch an investigation into Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson over her attendance at the Grammy Awards on Sunday amid anti-ICE rhetoric from celebrities and artists at the event. Jackson was in attendance at this year’s politically-charged event because of her nomination for narrating the audiobook version of her memoir, ‘Lovely One.’ However, critics said Jackson clapped as various speakers criticized U.S. Immigration and...
President Donald Trump on Thursday called for U.S. nuclear experts to begin work on what he described as a ‘new, improved, and modernized Treaty,’ arguing that the United States should move away from extending the existing New START nuclear arms agreement. Trump made the remarks in a post on Truth Social as the administration weighs the future of U.S. nuclear arms control policy and whether it will seek to extend or replace New START, the...
House GOP leaders are forging ahead on legislation aimed at imposing new federal guardrails to ensure only U.S. citizens vote in national elections. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., confirmed to Fox News Digital that the chamber would vote on the SAVE America Act introduced by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, next week. It comes after conservatives threatened to extend the partial government shutdown earlier this week if the legislation was not included in Congress’ bipartisan...
