Headlines

Allowing Thames Water to run out of money by not approving restructuring plans is “a risk which cannot be run”, the High Court has been told, PA Media reported. Thames Water Utilities Holdings Limited, the parent company of Thames Water Group, England’s largest water company, is set to run out of cash by March 24 and risks entering special administration if a judge does not approve its plans to inject up to £3 billion to keep it afloat.

Beijing responded swiftly on Tuesday to the tariffs President Trump had promised, announcing a fusillade of countermeasures targeting American companies and imports of critical products, the New York Times reported. Mr. Trump’s 10 percent tariff on all Chinese products went into effect at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, the result of an executive order issued over the weekend aimed at pressuring Beijing to crack down on fentanyl shipments into the United States.

President Donald Trump on Monday agreed to a 30-day pause on his tariff threats against Mexico and Canada as America’s two largest trading partners took steps to appease his concerns about border security and drug trafficking, the Associated Press reported. The pauses provide a cool-down period after a tumultuous few days that put North America on the cusp of a trade war that risked crushing economic growth, causing prices to soar and ending two of the United States’ most critical partnerships.

The European Union wants to engage swiftly with the United States over President Donald Trump's planned tariffs, trade chief Maros Sefcovic said on Tuesday, while his boss Ursula von der Leyen stressed the bloc would protect its interests in negotiations, Reuters reported. Sefcovic, speaking before a meeting of EU ministers to debate trade and EU competitiveness, said he wanted "early engagement" and was awaiting confirmation of the appointment of Trump's pick for Commerce Secretary, financier Howard Lutnick.

European officials need to manage their expectations in diplomatic negotiations against a more volatile geopolitical environment, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in reference to a possible trade war between the bloc and the U.S., the Wall Street Journal reported.

Brazil’s central bank said annual inflation will run above the tolerance range for the next six months, as food prices rise significantly and services costs remain elevated despite aggressive interest rate hikes, Bloomberg News reported. There will be a target breach with June 2025 inflation under the new framework, central bankers wrote in the minutes to their Jan. 28-29 policy meeting, when they stuck with prior guidance and lifted the Selic to 13.25%.

Central bank body the Bank for International Settlements has urged the likes of the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank to revamp the way they approach interest rate setting to avoid the collective failures that allowed inflation to soar after the pandemic, Reuters reported. Outgoing BIS chief Agustin Carstens used a speech almost five years to the day since COVID-19 shuttered the world economy to call for changes as part of "policy framework reviews" in both the U.S. and euro zone this year.

In the three years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ignited an energy crisis across Europe, the continent has transformed how it generates and stores power, the New York Times reported. Russian natural gas, long Europe’s energy lifeline, has been replaced with other sources, notably liquefied natural gas from the United States. Wind and solar power generation has leaped around 50 percent since 2021. New nuclear power plants are being planned across the continent. But Europe’s energy security remains fragile.

Just days after Spain’s economy was revealed to be far outpacing its peers, Pedro Sanchez’s government has a new message for voters: stop working so much, Bloomberg News reported. In a move that risks invoking international stereotypes about the Mediterranean lifestyle, the premier and his cabinet agreed on Tuesday that employees in the fourth-biggest member of the euro zone should now have a shorter week. The cap on hours will be 37.5 as of the start of next year, down from 40 at present, if the proposed law now passes through parliament.

Truckmaker Scania has stepped in to help Northvolt with the day-to-day running of its flagship plant in northern Sweden, a last-ditch effort to boost quality and output at the struggling electric vehicle battery maker as it scrambles to secure funds, Reuters reported. Since November, Scania has sent members of staff to Northvolt’s Ett plant in Skelleftea, 200 kilometres below the Arctic Circle, according to internal Northvolt documents reviewed by Reuters that outline Scania’s support strategy for the green tech player. The plant employs some 2,500 people.