Thursday briefing: Will Keir Starmer’s cautious China gamble pay off?
In today’s newsletter: With China now central to the world’s green tech and economic future, the UK faces a series of strategic discussions it can no longer postpone
‘You’d be ashamed to bring someone here’: The struggling billionaire-owned high street that shows Reform’s road to No 10
Newton Aycliffe was meant to be a model town for a fairer postwar Britain. But unaffordable rents on a high street amounting to 0.12% of its property tycoon owner’s holdings have made it a symbol of decline – and a warning for Labour
‘Very low bar’: analysts say Starmer faces slim pickings in China
Experts say business with China is always a double-edged sword let alone when its overheated economy can offer only marginal gains
U-turn on pubs has not solved the government’s mess on business rates
The package being offered is not insignificant but the hospitality sector is still in trouble
EU-India deal ‘accelerated’ over past six months amid Trump’s tariff threats – Europe live
Wide-ranging deal will cut tariffs to zero over seven years as Modi hails ‘largest free trade agreement’ in India’s history
‘Mother of all deals’: EU and India sign free trade agreement
Tariffs cut to zero for many industrial products, including iron and steel, plastics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals
Starmer’s fraught visit to China will tell us what he really thinks of the UK’s place in the world
Does Britain have any leverage over human rights or security concerns or is it a decaying nation that cannot risk trade relations, asks professor of global history Peter Frankopan
Trump says he will impose new tariffs on South Korea as he criticises delays in trade deal
US president says tariffs on automobiles, lumber and pharmaceuticals will rise to 25%, accusing Seoul of not living up to a trade deal struck last year
Most young adults in UK are anxious about jobs and the economy, research suggests
Respondents to King’s Trust survey cited AI and a lack of work experience as reasons they might fail in life
Record number of people in UK live in ‘very deep poverty’, analysis shows
Joseph Rowntree Foundation finds problem is ‘deeper and more damaging than at any point in the last 30 years’
National insurance hike and energy bills behind food price rise, say UK retailers
Latest BRC figures show year-on-year rate of increase was 3.9% in January, up from 3.3% the month before
AI is hitting UK harder than other big economies, study finds
Britain is losing more jobs than it creates owing to artificial intelligence, Morgan Stanley research suggests
‘A southern economy in the north’: how Warrington has adapted to change
Good transport links and the quietly booming nuclear sector are helping the Cheshire town to thrive
AI must augment rather than replace us or human workers are doomed
Tech could lose its social acceptance unless it makes people’s lives better – and trade unions want an urgent conversation
Here’s how Europe can file for divorce from Donald Trump
Amid the tumult of the WEF in Davos this week, some investors are leading the way by ditching US government bonds