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Move comes after Britain's biggest drugmaker's dispute with government over drug pricingBritain's biggest drugmaker AstraZeneca is to invest $15bn (£11bn) in China, it announced during Keir Starmer's visit to the country, just months after cooling on plans for expansion in the UK.The Cambridge-based company said it would spend the money by 2030 to expand medicines manufacturing and research and development in China, where it already has a big presence. It includes the construction of a $2.5bn research hub in Beijing, which was announced last March. Continue reading......

Experts say factors including Donald Trump's aggressive policies and pressure on the dollar are pushing investors toward the 'safe haven' of precious metalsLast year's extraordinary run in precious metals has only intensified in 2026, as Donald Trump has continued to rip up the rules of the global economy.Gold has been on a tear since last summer, repeatedly breaking records. It has risen by more than a quarter this month and hit a new high of just under $5,595 (£4,060) an ounce on Thursday. Continue reading......

Information tribunal rules Soil Association must disclose salmon farm inspection reports to WildFish campaignersCampaigners have forced the Soil Association to reveal its salmon farm inspection reports, amid claims that certifying the farmed fish as “organic” is misleading to consumers.The Soil Association's Organic scheme, the UK's oldest and most widely recognised organic certification, defines organic farming as “using methods that benefit our whole food system, from people to planet, plant health to animal welfare.” Continue reading......

Kent-based producer sees better-than-expected 19% sales rise on back of millennials' preference for 'lighter, crisper style of wine'Chapel Down has credited a “generational shift” towards sparkling wine for strong sales growth last year.The Kent-based wine maker, which listed on the Aim junior stock market in 2023, said sales rose by a better-than-expected 19% to £19.4m in the year to 31 December, led by a 38% increase in retail sales as well as strong exports. Continue reading......

The referral comes after the supreme court overturned the convictions of two other traders, Tom Hayes and Carlo PalomboFive more former bankers convicted of rigging interest rates will be given a fresh chance to clear their names, after the supreme court overturned a decade-old ruling against the trader Tom Hayes last year.The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) said on Thursday that it had referred the ex-City traders' convictions back to the court of appeal. The men were jailed between 2016 and 2019 on charges of manipulating the euro interbank offered rate, Euribor, or the now defunct London interbank offered rate, Libor. Continue reading......

Giving passengers right to additional carry-on baggage would be 'terrible for the consumer', warns airline CEOEasyJet said proposals to enforce free additional cabin bags on planes across Europe are a “lunatic idea”, warning of fare rises and flight delays if legislation goes through.The European parliament last week voted overwhelmingly to give all passengers the right to carry on a small case, as well as the free underseat bags currently permitted. Continue reading......

Charlie Nunn says banks will be hiring staff with different skill sets as customer experience will 'radically change'Business live – latest updatesThe boss of Lloyds Banking Group has warned that bankers will need to “re-skill themselves” to survive the oncoming AI boom that stands to transform the financial services sector.Charlie Nunn told reporters on Thursday that while he could not predict the full impact that AI would have over the next decade, it was clear that banks would be hiring staff with very different skill sets going forward. Continue reading......

Paul Patterson, who represented the firm at the public inquiry, will become non-executive chair in MarchThe European boss of Fujitsu, the company behind the Horizon software at the heart of the Post Office IT scandal, is to step down from his role in March.Paul Patterson, who is the chief executive of the European division of the company, will become non-executive chair of Fujitsu's UK business, where he will “continue managing the company's response” to the inquiry into the scandal. Continue reading......

Latest ruling affects up to 3.6m women born in 1950s who say they have lost out in way UK pension age changedMillions of “Waspi women” will not receive any compensation, the government has again decided in its latest ruling on the case – but campaigners say they will fight on to secure the justice they say they have been “shamefully denied”.As many as 3.6 million women born in the 1950s are said to have lost out because of government failings in the way changes to the state pension age were made, prompting the launch in 2015 of the Waspi (Women Against State Pension Inequality) campaign. Continue reading......

Shares in Ocado fall almost 10% after revealing Sobeys will close Calgary site that uses UK group's delivery technology• Business live – latest updatesOcado has revealed its Canadian partner is closing a warehouse that uses its robots and automation technology in another blow to the UK online delivery group's business model.Shares in Ocado dived almost 10% on Thursday after it announced that Sobeys would be shutting the Calgary facility, saying it was “largely due to the Alberta grocery e-commerce market's size and the rate of expansion being slower than originally anticipated”. Continue reading......

Retail accounts for 5% of the UK economy – but its visibility gives it an outsize influence on public perceptionUp and down Britain there are boarded-up shops. Banks and department stores have been replaced by vape shops, barbers and bookmakers. Shoplifting is at a record high, local services cut, and public frustration is mounting.Politically, high street decline is perfect campaign fodder for Nigel Farage's Reform UK. Continue reading......

Projects this year expected to triple global gas capacity, forecast finds, as concerns grow over impacts on planetThe US is leading a huge global surge in new gas-fired power generation that will cause a major leap in planet-heating emissions, with this record boom driven by the expansion of energy-hungry datacenters to service artificial intelligence, according to a new forecast.This year is set to shatter the annual record for new gas power additions around the world, with planned and under-construction projects earmarked for 2026 set to nearly triple the amount of existing gas capacity, a report by Global Energy Monitor (GEM) found. Continue reading......

Closure of one in eight sites puts almost 300 branch-based workers' jobs at risk• Business live – latest updatesSantander is closing another 44 of its UK bank branches, putting nearly 300 jobs at risk as it gears up for its £2.6bn takeover of rival TSB.The Spanish-owned lender said the closures were due to a rise in digital banking after a push to get more customers using mobile and online services across the country.Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland (28 April)Boston, Lincolnshire (28 April)Evesham, Worcestershire (28 April)Mold, Clwyd (28 April)Ramsgate, Kent (28 April)Woking, Surrey (28 April)Bangor, County Down (29 April)Bridgwater, Somerset (29 April)Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire (29 April)Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire (29 April)Newbury, Berkshire (29 April)Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire (29 April)Tonbridge, Kent (29 April)Bishop Auckland, County Durham (5 May)Gosport, Hampshire (5 May)Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire (5 May)Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire (5 May)Pontefract, West Yorkshire (5 May)...

The 'mother of all deals' is as much about the tariff-heavy geopolitics of the Trump era as it is about bilateral tradeThe year was 2007. Steve Jobs had announced the launch of the first iPhone, the sub-prime mortgage crisis was bubbling up in the US, the EU had enlarged to include Romania and Bulgaria, and India had for the first time become a trillion-dollar economy. This was when trade talks between Delhi and Brussels were initiated for the first time. But it wouldn't be until this very week, almost 20 years later, that a deal was signed after a few final months of unusually accelerated negotiations.On Tuesday, the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Council António Costa and India's prime minister, Narendra Modi, announced the “mother of all deals”, which promises to bring together about 2 billion consumers and a quarter of the world's GDP. The agreement opens parts of India's famously protectionist domestic market with a focus on exporting m...

High hopes for Optimus robot help company beat forecasts despite yearly revenue decline and flailing car businessIn the clearest sign yet that Tesla is pivoting away from its electric car business, CEO Elon Musk announced on Wednesday's investor call that the company would discontinue production of its Model X SUV and Model S full-size sedan.“It's time to basically bring the Model S and X programs to an end,” Musk said. “We expect to wind down S and X production next quarter.” Continue reading......

Lord Stockwood says people in government 'definitely' talking about idea as technology disrupts industries• Business live – latest updatesThe UK could introduce a universal basic income to protect workers in industries that are being disrupted by AI, the investment minister Jason Stockwood has said.“Bumpy” changes to society caused by the introduction of the technology would mean there would have to be “some sort of concessionary arrangement with jobs that go immediately”, Lord Stockwood said. Continue reading......

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsGood morning and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.The surge in the gold price is showing no sign of abating, as bullion continues to soar.“That sound you hear is that of 2026 gold targets being furiously revised higher, as the price keeps climbing, and given renewed impetus by Trump's comments on the dollar. This will have fans of the debasement trade cheering in their seats, as it reinforces their thesis.Each time precious seem at risk of running out of bullish momentum, something comes along to rescue it. So long as international investors keep dumping the dollar, the future for gold looks bright indeed.” Continue reading......

Industry groups warn that aligning agriculture standards overnight could cost British businesses up to £810m a yearBritish food sector representatives have urged the government to introduce a transition period if it agrees to realign post-Brexit agriculture rules with the EU.They warned that aligning regulations overnight would create a “cliff edge” that could cost UK businesses between £500m and £810m a year, because of the divergence in standards since Brexit. Continue reading......

Decisions outsourced, chatbots for friends, the natural world an afterthought: Silicon Valley is giving us life void of connection. There is a way out – but it's going to take collective effortSummer after summer, I used to descend into a creek that had carved a deep bed shaded by trees and lined with blackberry bushes whose long thorny canes arced down from the banks, dripping with sprays of fruit. Down in that creek, I'd spend hours picking until I had a few gallons of berries, until my hands and wrists were covered in scratches from the thorns and stained purple from the juice, until the tranquillity of that place had soaked into me. Continue reading......

The laws have been criticised by tech startups, which say they go too far, and civil society groups, which say they don't go far enoughSouth Korea has embarked on a foray into the regulation of AI, launching what has been billed as the most comprehensive set of laws anywhere in the world, that could prove a model for other countries, but the new legislation has already encountered pushback.The laws, which will force companies to label AI-generated content, have been criticised by local tech startups, which say they go too far, and civil society groups, which say they don't go far enough.Add invisible digital watermarks for clearly artificial outputs such as cartoons or artwork. For realistic deepfakes, visible labels are required.“High-impact AI”, including systems used for medical diagnosis, hiring and loan approvals, will require operators to conduct risk assessments and document how decisions are made. If a human makes the final decision the system may fall outside the category.Extremely powerful...