Marketing Newscast

(Edited 22 April 2025)

US stocks plummeted again yesterday, and the US dollar plunged to a three-year low as US President Donald Trump continues to stand by his decision to inflict worldwide trade tariffs on what he called ‘Independence Day’ on 2nd April. However, his latest move is to blame Jerome Powell, Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, for the crisis. "There can be a SLOWING of the economy unless Mr. Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates, NOW," he wrote,adding “Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough”. Following his comments, the S&P 500 closed down 2.38% at 5,158, meaning the index of America’s largest companies has now lost roughtly 12% of its value since the start of the year. The Nasdaq also fell 2.5%, and the Dow Jones slumped 2.48%. The pound hit its highest level against the US dollar since September, climbing 0.3% to $1.341, as the greenback continued its dramatic descent.

The US Commerce Department has also announced plans to impose tariffs of up to 3,521% on imports of solar panels from Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam. The move follows an investigation into allegations of subsidies from China and the dumping of unfairly cheap products in the US market.

Trump’s policies have led DHL Express to suspend “until further notice” deliveries to the US worth more than $800 (£603) because of the "significant increase" in red tape at customs following the introduction of his new tariff regime. Business-to-business shipments will still go ahead, "though they may also face delays". Previously, packages worth up to $2,500 could enter the US with minimal paperwork but the threshold has been lowered to $800, to prevent, the White House says, “illicit substances” from being concealed and “sent to the US through deceptive shipping practices". DHL says the change "has caused a surge in formal customs clearances, which we are handling around the clock". The company said it will still deliver packages worth less than $800, which can still be sent to the US with minimal checks.

China, meanwhile, has issued a threat against any country it considers to be “appeasing” Donald Trump in trade deals. A spokesman for Beijing’s Commerce Ministry said: “China firmly opposes any party reaching a deal at the expense of China’s interests. If this happens, China will never accept it and will resolutely take countermeasures in a reciprocal manner. China is determined and capable of safeguarding its own rights and interests”. It was added that any such will be subject to “countermeasures in a resolute and reciprocal manner”. Trump has levied tariffs of 125% on imports from China, which retaliated with tariffs of 145% on US imports.

That is not stopping Chancellor Rachel Reeves from jetting off to the USA today, however, to take part in the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings, and to meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in an attempt to persuade Trump to remove the 10% trade tariffs he has imposed on UK exports to the US. Last week, she voiced support for strengthening ties with China, saying it would be “very foolish” for Britain to attempt to isolate the country as Trump has done. “China is the second biggest economy in the world, and it would be, I think, very foolish to not engage. That’s the approach of this Government,” she told reporters. She also suggested that she would back the attempts of Chinese fast-fashion firm Shein to list on the London Stock Exchange.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is warning that navigating excess red tape in the tax system is costing small businesses nearly £25bn a year. The FSB polled 1400 small firms, and found they were spending up to 44 hours a week on tax admin - more than the average weekly hours for a UK employee – and shelling out £4,500 each per year just to comply with the complex tax code. The main costs come from time spent contacting HM Revenue & Customs and the fees charged by accountants. The FSB also highlighted poor HMRC customer service, which is said was a “recurring theme” that contributed to lower productivity levels across small businesses. “The imbalance of power between the typical small business and HMRC, with its power to investigate, levy penalties, and prosecute, is immense,” the FSB Taking a Toll report said. “Trying to engage with HMRC to obtain guidance or a response to an appeal can be immensely frustrating, with the tax authority often failing to answer telephone calls or letters in a timely manner.” The FSB wants to see a significant improvement in HMRC customer service; in the past few years, the tax body has come under considerable fire for its failings, notably its inability to answer telephone enquiries in a timely manner, and its attempts to force all businesses to contact it online only. The Chancellor should look at the tax body’s performance as part of her proposals to grow the economy by cutting regulations, the FSB says, claiming that streamlining the tax process and making it easier to get answers from HMRC could cut compliance bills from £4,500 to £3,000 each per year, and reduce the total UK tax compliance bill from £24.8bn to £16.5bn.

The cost of moving house has soared by 45% in the past five years, according to research by Barclays Bank. Taxes, fees and surveys now cost the average homebuyer £13,530, up from £9,337 since 2020.

The Financial Reporting Council has launched an investigation into EY's historic auditing of the Post Office at the time of the Horizon IT scandal. The accounting regulator said it had waited until the public hearing into the scandal had completed before announcing the probe, to avoid any allegations of interference. More than 900 sub-postmasters were wrongly convicted on fraud and theft charges between 1999 and 2015 because of errors in the Fujitsu-developed system.

Poland's InPost has bought Yodel, one of the UK's largest parcel delivery companies, in a £106m deal.

Gatwick Airport has again been found to be the worst in the UK for flight delays. Departures from the West Sussex airport were an average of more than 23 minutes behind schedule in 2024, according to Civil Aviation Authority(CAA) data, however this is an improvement on the average 27 minutes during the previous 12 months. Stansted took second place in the less-than-enviable list, with average delays of more than 20 minutes, followed by Manchester Airport in third place with a similar average delay time.

Ocado apologised "unreservedly" to Mumsnet when the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that a woman is defined by biological sex under the Equality Act, Mumsnet founder Justine Roberts hs revealed in post on the parenting forum. Ocado pulled out of a commercial partnership with Mumsnet, citing “hateful political views” after posts called for the Equality Act to be reformed "to ensure women can access single-sex places". Roberts said she had "feared the site might not survive" because of this and the fact a number of advertisers also withdrew support over the discussion of gender issues on its forums. The forum made "repeated attempts to explain our position - as a platform committed to amplifying women's voices," she said, but Ocado "refused to speak to us". In a post on X, Ocado said the comments were "not representative of us as a company" and that they were made by a "temporary contractor" who has since left. "We apologise unreservedly to Mumsnet," the online grocery site added. Roberts also says Mumsnet was "blacklisted on instruction from the top brass at Barclays," but Barclays would not comment when approached by the BBC.