Global public debt to pass $100tn this year, warns IMF Global public debt is on track to exceed $100tn by the end of this year, the International Monetary Fund has warned. In its latest fiscal monitor report, the Fund says: Global public debt is very high. It is expected to exceed $100 trillion, or about…

The former head of IT at the Post Office named by the ex-chief executive Paula Vennells as one of five people responsible for the Horizon scandal has said he still has not seen evidence of a “fundamental flaw” in the IT system. Mike Young, who worked at the Post Office from 2008-2012 when the legacy…

The EU’s plans to ban the manufacture of traditional combustion engines from 2035 will shrink the industry, BMW’s chief executive has warned as the German car industry battles with increased competition from China in the electric vehicle sector. In a comment that will alarm Brussels, Oliver Zipse told the Paris motor show the 2035 cutoff…

The department store chain Fenwick, which closed its historic shop on London’s Bond Street in February, has reported its seventh year of losses as sales fell. The family-owned group, which is left with eight department stores led by Newcastle, said sales fell 3% to £299m in the year to January and it almost halved losses…

Global oil prices have tumbled by almost $3.50 a barrel amid ongoing concerns about a slowdown in China and as fears ease about the possibility of an attack by Israel on Iran’s energy facilities. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has reportedly offered assurances to the White House that its retaliation against Iran for its…

Striking Boeing workers and their supporters picket outside the Boeing Co. manufacturing facility in Renton, Washington, on Sept. 16, 2024. Yehyun Kim | AFP | Getty Images Boeing said Tuesday that it could raise as much as $25 billion in shares or debt over three years, a move to increase liquidity as the troubled manufacturer…

The under-pressure builder Bellway has hailed the government’s planning system revamp, arguing it will “unlock” new housing across the country, as councils received £68m to construct thousands of homes on disused brownfield sites. In comments released as it reported a sharp fall in revenues and profits, the UK housebuilder said the drive by the deputy…

Keir Starmer has twice refused to rule out a rise in employers’ national insurance contributions in the budget, stressing Labour’s manifesto promise was that it would not raise taxes on working people. His words came as the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, gave a strong hint on Monday that the rise was in her sights at the…

Google has signed a “world first” deal to buy energy from a fleet of mini nuclear reactors to generate the power needed for the rise in use of artificial intelligence. The US tech corporation has ordered six or seven small nuclear reactors (SMRs) from California’s Kairos Power, with the first due to be completed by…

Rachel Reeves has dropped a broad hint that she plans to increase employers’ national insurance contributions as part of a package of measures in the budget. If the chancellor does go ahead with what is in effect a tax on jobs she will be doing so at a time when the labour market is clearly…