Headlines

Private investors facing multimillion-pound losses in the £2 billion collapse of a UK mortgage lender have met to discuss “collective action” to protect their interests, The Times reported. Individual investors and Wall Street and City institutions have been caught up in the failure of Market Financial Solutions, a provider of bridging loans and buy-to-let mortgages. The Mayfair-based group was placed into administration last week after a High Court judge said insolvency practitioners needed to investigate claims of fraud.

Unions have expressed their anger at the way hundreds of Brewdog staff were told they had lost their jobs during a 15-minute conference call, BBC.com reported. Parts of the Aberdeenshire-based independent brewer and pub chain were bought by beverage and cannabis firm Tilray for £33m on Monday after Brewdog went into administration. But 484 staff were made redundant as the company announced the closure of dozens of bars which were not included in the rescue deal. The announcement came after Tilray bought the company's UK brewing operations, brand, and 11 pubs.

The United States is expected to increase tariffs on global imports to 15 percent this week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday, as the Trump administration works to replicate some of the punishing duties struck down by the Supreme Court, the New York Times reported. That rate is an increase from the 10 percent global tariffs that President Trump imposed last month after a court ruling struck down the administration’s emergency tariffs. In an interview on CNBC, Mr.

More than $130bn (€111bn) in tariffs and by some estimates as much as $175bn (€150bn) could now be at stake after a U.S. appeals court moved to fast-track the question of refunds following the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling against President Donald Trump’s trade measures, EuroNews reported. In a concise one-page order on Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington remanded the matter immediately to the U.S.

Inflation is the major risk facing global bond markets, a senior OECD ​official told Reuters, as energy prices surge following the U.S.-Israeli air war against Iran. "Now we are having another big ‌stress test," Carmine Di Noia, the OECD's director of financial and enterprise affairs said in an interview ahead of the release of the Paris-based organisation's annual debt report on Wednesday. Oil prices are up 16% this week and government bond yields have jumped on investor fears over inflation if ​higher energy prices persist.

Nidec may book ¥250 billion ($1.6 billion) in impairment charges as it begins tallying the cost of an accounting scandal that’s forced a leadership exodus and reportedly sparked an investigation from Japan’s securities commission, Bloomberg reported. Nidec warned there could be additional charges that would impact its past financial results, with third-party investigators saying Tuesday they’ve uncovered at least 1,000 instances of improper accounting. The company hasn’t disclosed a timeline for the release of its revised financial reports. Scrutiny of Nidec is ramping up.

Australia's economy grew at the ​fastest annual pace in almost three years in the December quarter, data showed on Wednesday, a pickup that ‌reignited inflation and required a hike in interest rates to tamp demand down, Reuters reported. The outlook, however, has been darkened by the Middle East conflict, which has effectively halted oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz and pushed prices up more than 10%. Australia is a net energy exporter but sustained oil rises act ​as a tax on consumers and businesses.

British and U.S. regulators are divided over how to ​test blockchain-based versions of financial securities, with Britain pushing for a more cautious approach in talks aimed ‌at boosting crypto collaboration, Reuters reported. The U.S. and Britain announced in September a taskforce for reducing regulation for companies seeking to access each other’s markets and to improve digital asset cooperation. The split shows how financial regulators globally have to contend with a pro-crypto U.S. under President Donald Trump. The ​U.S. has eased crypto regulation and encouraged cryptocurrency adoption.

A draft law currently at the Turkish parliament is ‌expected to generate at least 4.2 billion ‌lira ($95.58 million) tax income from a levy on crypto ​assets, according to its impact analysis, Reuters reported. The law will generate more tax income from crypto assets but this amount cannot currently be calculated ‌exactly as it ⁠will be applied for the first time, the analysis said.

Mexico remained the United States’ largest trading partner for the third consecutive year in 2025, with two-way commerce reaching a record $872.83 billion, Freight Waves reported. Trade between the two countries increased 3.9% year over year, rising from $840 billion in 2024 to $872.83 billion in 2025, according to a WorldCity analysis of the latest U.S. Census Bureau data. It marks the highest annual trade total the U.S. has ever recorded with any nation for the second consecutive year. Canada ranked second among U.S.