International

UK manufacturing industry shrinks at fastest rate in 11 months

Concerns remain about the outlook for global trade in 2025, with Donald Trump assuming the US presidency later this month having promised a slew of trade tariffs.

Published

1 year ago

January 2, 2025

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Yahoo!finance: British factory output contracted at the fastest rate in 11 months in December, amid a swathe of job losses, growing concerns about rising business taxes and a worsening global economy.

The S&P Global UK manufacturing PMI survey, watched closely by economists, recorded a reading of 47.0 in December, from 48.0 in November.

Any reading above 50 indicates activity is growing while any score below means it is contracting.

The rate of job cuts hit a 10-month high, the survey found, with firms saying weak market conditions caused many to reduce their headcounts.

Company confidence fell to a two-year low, meanwhile, amid concerns about inflationary pressures, rising business costs and potential weaker economic growth this year.

Manufacturers said they were concerned about future cost increases, partly driven by rising taxes announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves last year.

Companies will pay more in national insurance contributions (NICs) from April, while the minimum wage is also set to rise, which will make it more expensive to employ people.

Firms also cited a weakening global economic outlook, as exports fell due to lower demand in Europe, Asia and the UK.

Concerns remain about the outlook for global trade in 2025, with Donald Trump assuming the US presidency later this month having promised a slew of trade tariffs.

Rob Dobson, director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: “A stalling domestic economy, weak export sales and concerns about future cost increases led to the steepest contraction of UK manufacturing production for almost a year in December.

“Manufacturers are facing an increasingly downbeat backdrop. Business sentiment is now at its lowest for two years as the new Government’s rhetoric and announced policy changes dampen confidence and raise costs at UK factories and their clients alike.

SMEs are being especially hard hit during the latest downturn.

“This is sending a winter chill through the labour market. December saw the sharpest cuts to staffing levels since February.

Some companies are acting now to restructure operations in advance of the rises in employer national insurance and minimum wage levels in 2025.”

Related Topics:Featured manufacturing PMI UK manufacturing

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International

Trump says he thinks Putin is helping Iran

“I think he might be helping them a bit, yeah.”“I guess, and he probably thinks we’re helping Ukraine, right?”

Published

4 days ago

March 13, 2026

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67 Views

President Donald Trump on Friday said he believed that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is helping Iran in its war against the United States and Israel.

According to CNBC, Trump’s comment came in a radio interview with Fox News host Brian Kilmeade, and a week after the president lashed out at Fox News reporter Peter Doocy for asking him at the White House about reports that Russia was aiding Iran.

Kilmeade asked Trump on Friday: “You think Putin is helping them?”

Trump replied, “I think he might be helping them a bit, yeah.”“I guess, and he probably thinks we’re helping Ukraine, right?” Trump continued.

“Yeah, we’re helping them also,” Trump said, referring to Ukraine, which has been at war against Russia since being invaded in early 2022.

“So he [Putin] says that, and China would say the same thing, you know,” Trump told Kilmeade.

“It’s like, ‘Hey, they do it, and we do it, in all fairness,’ ” Trump said. “They do it, and we do it.”

International

IEA agrees to release record 400 million barrels of oil to address Iran war supply disruptions

The IEA did not set out a timeline for when the stocks would hit the market

Published

6 days ago

March 11, 2026

OCHEFA

94 Views

Merchant ship on fire hits by Iran in Strait of Hormuz.

The International Energy Agency on Wednesday agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil to address the supply disruption triggered by the Iran war, the largest such action in the organization’s history.

The IEA did not set out a timeline for when the stocks would hit the market.

It said that the reserves would be released over a time frame that is appropriate to the circumstances of each of its 32 member countries.

IEA members are primarily advanced economies in Europe, North America and northeast Asia. The organization is tasked with maintaining global energy security.

It was founded in 1974 in response to the oil embargo imposed by Arab producers over U.S. support for Israel during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

(CNBC)

International

Iran tells world to get ready for oil at $200 a barrel as it fires on merchant ships

The war unleashed with joint U.S. and Israeli air strikes nearly two weeks ago has so far killed around 2,000 people, mostly Iranians and Lebanese, as it has spread into ‌Lebanon and thrown global energy markets and transport into chaos.

Published

6 days ago

March 11, 2026

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(REUTERS): Iran said the world should be ready for oil at $200 a barrel as its forces hit merchant ships on Wednesday and the International Energy Agency recommended a massive release of strategic reserves to dampen one of the worst oil shocks since the 1970s.

Despite what the Pentagon has described as the most intense airstrikes since the start of the war, Iran also fired at Israel and targets across the Middle East on Wednesday, demonstrating it can still fight back.

On Wednesday, three vessels were reported to have been hit in Gulf waters as Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said their forces had fired on ships in the Gulf that had disobeyed their orders.

While Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said the operation “will continue without any time limit, as long as required, until we achieve all objectives and win the campaign,” Trump suggested the campaign would not last much longer.