From more tax to rewriting budget rules: six alternative ways Rachel Reeves could raise money
The chancellor has been slated by politicians, the public and campaigners for pushing ahead with brutal welfare cuts – but there were other options
Wall Street shrinks in response to price pressures, stoking fears of Trump tariffs
Major indices fell by about 2% as data shows rising prices and the Fed holds off on cutting interest rates
Wall Street slides as US consumer sentiment falls to two-year low amid tariff fears – as it happened
US stocks fall after latest consumer sentiment poll shows Americans are anxious about the state of the economy
‘Down to the wire’: inside the UK’s crunch talks with the US as it bids to avoid Trump tariffs
Ministers seek carve-out from import taxes before 2 April deadline – but critics believe they may have offered too many concessions
Retail sales in Great Britain given lift as shoppers splash out
Sales volumes rise 1% in February after City economists had predicted fall amid weak consumer confidence
‘Good chance’ Reeves will have to raise taxes in autumn budget, thinktank says – as it happened
Institute for Fiscal Studies also warns Reeves over her focus on sticking with fiscal rules regardless of real world events
Reeves could tax pensions and wealth if economy worsens, says IFS
Chancellor may have to reconsider pledge not to raise taxes in light of ‘risky and changing world’, thinktank says
Carmaker shares fall after Trump 25% tariff move as Reeves warns against trade war
Chancellor says UK not planning retaliatory tariffs on US ‘at the moment’ while PM calls move ‘very concerning’
Carmaker shares slide after Trump’s 25% tariff; British Steel proposes closing Scunthorpe blast furnaces – as it happened
Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news
Swahili? Mandarin? The UK is increasingly multilingual – yet our politicians won’t talk about it
Even the census ignores them, but multilinguals could hold the key to Britain’s social and economic future, says science journalist Laura Spinney
Rachel Reeves swears this is not a return to austerity. What matters is that it feels like one
The ‘party of change’ says it’s bound by fiscal rules. What voters hear is that all governments are the same, says Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff
Surging cost of cocoa leads UK shoppers to shell out more for smaller Easter eggs
Prices of some chocolate products have risen by 50% in a year while many have also shrunk in size, Which? reports
Rachel Reeves accused of balancing books on back of UK’s poorest
Labour is braced for a backlash from its MPs over welfare cuts called ‘appalling’ by a food bank charity
Reeves says poverty figures from spring statement cuts don’t take into account impact of getting people into work – as it happened
More than 3 million families will lose out as a result of sweeping cuts to welfare, official analysis shows
OBR warns of Trump tariff uncertainty as it downgrades UK growth
Treasury watchdog halves growth forecast to 1% for 2025 in report issued alongside spring statement