Marketing Newscast

Youth unemployment has reached an 11-year high. According to The Office for National Statistics (ONS), 987,000 16-24-year-olds were not in work, education or training between October and December last year, a 110,000 rise on 2023, and aa higher number than at any other time since the end of 2013 when the economy was still recovering from the financial crisis. On these figures, 13.4%, or almost one out of every seven young people in that age range are so-called ‘Neets,’ meaning they are not in education, employment or training, with young men more likely than young women to be given this moniker. Between October and December 2024, an estimated 14.4% of all male 16-24-year-olds were Neets, compared with 12.3% of females.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer met with US President Donald Trump at the White House yesterday, a meeting during which Trump said that a “great trade agreement” will be reached with Britain “very quickly,” now he has appointed US Vice-President JD Vance to the task. He added he envisaged "a real trade deal," one where there would be “a very good chance that in the case of these two great, friendly countries”, “tariffs wouldn’t be necessary,” suggesting the UK could avoid the trade tariffs Trump is likely to levy on the EU. Asked by journalists directly whether Starmer had convinced him not to impose trade tariffs on the UK, Trump said: “He tried,” adding: “He was working hard, I’ll tell you that. He earned whatever the hell they pay him over there, but he tried”. Starmer said at the press conference after their meeting: “We have $1.5 trillion invested in each other’s economies, creating over 2.5m jobs across both economies, our trading relationship is not just strong. It’s fair, balanced and reciprocal.” He added that he too wanted to see a swift trade deal, saying: “We’re both in a hurry to get things done, and that’s what the UK and US do when we work together: we win and we get things done.” Surprisingly, Trump also suggested he will not challenge Starmer’s proposal to give up the Chagos Islands – it has been widely reported that he is strongly opposed to the deal. Trump said: “We’re going to have some discussions about that very soon and I have a feeling it’s going to work out very well. They’re talking about a very long-term, powerful lease, a very strong lease, about 140 years, actually. It’s a long time. I think we’ll be inclined to go along with your country.” He added: “It’s a little bit early, we have to yet be given the details, but it doesn’t sound bad.”

Meanwhile, Trump has threatened to double his new tariffs on China in retaliation for Beijing’s failure to stop drugs such as fentanyl from “pouring into” the US. Yesterday, he pledged an additional 10% tax on Chinese imports, on top of the 10% levy imposed earlier this month. He also said he would impose a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada on Tuesday next week, having previously said their imposition would be delayed until April.

Lord King, the former Governor of the Bank of England, has told Sky News that the Government is likely to have to raise income tax to fund higher defence spending. “It’s very hard to imagine that we can really increase credibly our defence spending to where it needs to be, and carry out reforms – which may need some money to oil the wheels of reform – without raising taxes,” he told Sophy Ridge. “The obvious tax to raise is the basic rate of income tax, we will all contribute to it,” he continued, adding: “I see no harm in doing that”. He also told the newscaster: “When you’re facing a very difficult position, it pays to be bold and ambitious. And I don’t think the Government is being either in their approach so far”. Next month, Chancellor Rachel Reeves will make her spring statement, in which it is expected she will either have to cut spending or increase taxes in order to meet her fiscal rule of not allowing public spending to exceed tax receipts, in response to the latest set of forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). However, Mervyn King urged the Chancellor to lay out a “narrative” rather than just “cut or change spending in response to the latest OBR forecasts”. “What she’s got to do, I think, is come up with a genuine narrative for the path of Government spending right through this Parliament, and explain why this is the amount we have to spend.”

HS2 is beyond saving and must be studied by future governments as a “cautionary tale” on how “not to run a major project,” MPs on The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) have said in a damming report. They concluded HS2 now needs a “fundamental reset” to limit as much further damage to the public purse and the UK’s overall reputation as possible. “We are sceptical of government’s ability to successfully deliver even a curtailed scheme, one which we already know will on its face bring very poor value for money,” PAC Chair Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP said. “The question has instead become: What possible benefit can the government now salvage for the taxpayer, from a mess that presents real risks to the UK’s overall reputation?” Neither the Department for Transport or HS2 Ltd have been able to quantify how much the project will actually cost at completion. An initial budget of £33bn was set in 2012, but that already been spent. Recent estimates suggest total costs could reach close to £80bn.

Transport secretary Heidi Alexander yesterday delayed a final decision on Gatwick Airport’s £2.2bn plans for a second runway, saying only that she is “minded” to approve the plans, provided it takes steps to mitigate noise and the number of passengers using the local public transport network. She gave Gatwick a deadline of 24^th April to amend its plans ahead of a final decision, now to be made in October. Alexander also has a deadline of 3^rd April to determine whether Luton Airport’s expansion plan can go ahead.

British Airways owner IAG has reported a 26% rise in operating profit to £4.4bn after doubling earnings in the final quarter of last year. The group reported "robust" leisure travel and an increase in corporate travel increased through the year, although that, IAG said, “will not fully recover to pre-Covid 19 levels, particularly for short duration and short-haul trips."

Greg Hegarty, the co-CEO of PPHE Hotel Group, which runs the Park Plaza and art’otel brands, is blaming the Labour government for his decision to prioritising investment in countries such as Spain and Italy rather than the UK. “I’m sorry to say that the UK is not the primary focus of growth for our company any more,” the Telegraph reports. “I would deploy capital in other European cities at the moment, where it is more favourable to the hospitality sector and easier for a business to grow.” “We’re used to taking risks. However, the risk factor in the UK at the moment for us is a hard one to deal with currently,” he added.

Aldi is looking to cut up to 350 roles at its UK headquarters near Birmingham, targeting some buying department positions, including non-food, finance and some back-office functions.

Hiscox has reported record full-year profit son the back of "strong returns" from each of its business units. The FTSE 100 insurer said In the year to the end of December 2024, pre-tax profit rose 9.5% on the previous year to $685.4m (£543.95m).

London-listed pharmaceutical company Indivior has appointed Joe Ciaffoni as its next CEO, subject to shareholder approval of a new remuneration policy at its annual general meeting in May.

Goldman Sachs has dropped a target to have black bankers make up 7% of its London workforce and women in 40% of vice-president roles in the UK and the USA. CEO David Solomon said the bank had “made certain adjustments to reflect developments in the law in the US,” in reference to the fact President Trump has banned federal contractors from engaging in what he called “illegal DEI” programmes, and putting lucrative government contracts out of reach of those who fail to comply. Goldman employs more than 3,000 people in the UK.