Business
Keir Starmer hails trade and investment deals as trip to China concludes
Sir Keir Starmer will wrap up his trip to China hailing billions of pounds in trade agreements and investment in the UK by companies including the makers of the viral hit Labubu dolls.
The Prime Minister leaves Shanghai on Saturday after a three-day visit during which he has repeatedly said that his decision to re-engage with China will deliver benefits for the British people.
Sir Keir said: “We are bringing stability, clarity and a long-term strategy to how we engage with China, so we can bring home the benefits for businesses and for working people.
“Engaging with China is how we secure growth for British businesses, support good jobs at home and protect our national security.”
The heavily trade-focused visit saw Sir Keir fly to China with more than 50 representatives of British businesses and cultural institutions.
Downing Street said the visit had secured £2.2 billion in export deals and market access worth another £2.3 billion over the next five years as well as hundreds of millions of pounds of investment by Chinese companies.
Among those companies was Pop Mart, makers of the hit toy Labubu, which has pledged to open seven stores in the UK including a flagship outlet on London’s Oxford Street.
Birmingham and Cardiff have also been earmarked for stores.
Asked whether he was familiar with the toy, Sir Keir told ITV News he had been given one on the trip, adding: “I don’t think it’ll last long with my children.”
Meanwhile, car manufacturer Chery also announced it would establish its European headquarters in Liverpool, already home to a Jaguar Land Rover plant.
And on the cultural side, the World Snooker Tour said it had secured a new event in two Chinese cities bringing in up to £15 million.
The deals follow the announcement on Thursday that Chinese tariffs on whiskey would be halved, a move expected to be worth £250 million to the UK over the next five years, and an agreement on visa-free travel to China for British nationals.
Sir Keir said the reduced tariffs would come into effect from Monday. Details of the visa scheme are yet to be confirmed, but Downing Street said it had “full confidence” it would be implemented.
Beyond trade and investment, the Prime Minister also scored a political victory when President Xi Jinping agreed to lift Chinese sanctions on six British parliamentarians.
Sir Keir told the BBC the agreement showed engaging with China allowed him to raise “difficult, sensitive issues which you can’t raise if you are not in the room”.
But he continues to face domestic pressure to challenge China further on human rights issues, including the detention of British national and Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai and the treatment of the Uighur minority.
In a statement, the previously sanctioned MPs and peers said they took “no comfort” in the decision to lift restrictions on them while these issues remained unresolved.
Closer ties with China could also cause problems for the UK with America, where President Donald Trump criticised Sir Keir’s visit, saying it was “dangerous” to do business with Beijing.
In interviews in Shanghai on Friday, Sir Keir brushed off the criticism, saying Mr Trump had been “talking more about Canada” than the UK, while Britain and America remained “very close allies”.
The Prime Minister will end his visit to China with meetings with senior local Chinese Communist Party officials in Shanghai on Saturday morning.
He will then return home via Japan, where he will meet the country’s new prime minister Sanae Takaichi for a working dinner.
Britain’s competition watchdog has vowed to tackle fake and misleading online reviews “head on” as it launched investigations into firms including Just Eat and Autotrader.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said reviews are used by 90% of consumers when they buy over the internet and play a large part in the UK’s over £200 billion online retail sector.
But up to 50% of online reviews are fake, according to recent research by tech firm Truth Engine.
The CMA said its latest action against firms comes as part of a clampdown on fake and misleading reviews as shoppers increasingly rely on customer feedback when shopping online.
Emma Cochrane, executive director for consumer protection at the CMA, told the Press Association: “It’s so important that consumers can have trust in those reviews because we know that nine in 10 of us rely on them when we’re shopping, and that retail shopping in the UK is billions of pounds worth a year.
“It’s so important that consumers can have trust and confidence when they’re shopping online.”
Here are the CMA’s tips for spotting and avoiding fake reviews:
– Read the reviews
Shoppers often get taken in by five-star ratings without actually reading what people have to say about a product or service.
“You’ll be surprised at how many reviews sound dubious, overly vague or even totally unrelated to the item they’re supposedly endorsing,” the CMA said.
– Be alert to AI-generated reviews
Artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to make fake reviews sound fluent, polished and highly convincing.
“If a review feels a bit too slick, reads like it’s been perfectly crafted, or uses very similar wording to others, it may not reflect a real customer’s experience,” the CMA warned.
– Take a look at the other ratings
Look beyond the five-star ratings.
Three or four-star reviews are less likely to be fake, and they can be more useful to give a genuine, overall assessment.
– Check out multiple sites
Looking across several sites can help shoppers see patterns and provide a more consistent picture.
“Check a few different review sites. If you’re seeing the same kind of reviews coming up again and again, it’s more likely to be fake,” said Ms Cochrane.
The UK’s competition watchdog says it is looking at five firms in its investigation into misleading online reviews.
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Business
Gold price today (March 25, 2026): How much 24K and 22K gold cost in Delhi, Mumbai & more- Check rates – The Times of India
Gold futures traded higher on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) on Friday with key contracts registering gains of up to 1.6 per cent amid firm buying interest and supportive global cues.The April 2026 gold contract rose by Rs 2,290, or 1.64 per cent, to trade at Rs 1,41,783 per 10 grams. The contract moved between an intraday low of Rs 1,40,287 and a high of Rs 1,42,800. The June 2026 contract, which saw higher trading activity, gained Rs 1,921, or 1.35 per cent, to Rs 1,44,435 per 10 grams. During the session, it touched a low of Rs 1,43,652 and a high of Rs 1,45,773. Meanwhile, the August 2026 contract advanced by Rs 1,480, or 1.02 per cent, to Rs 1,47,100 per 10 grams, with an intraday range of Rs 1,47,040 to Rs 1,48,600.Here is how gold prices stand across major cities today:
Gold price in Delhi today
Gold prices in the national capital declined, with 24K gold quoted at Rs 14,486 per gram, down Rs 218, while 22K gold slipped Rs 200 to Rs 13,280 per gram.
Gold price in Mumbai today
Mumbai bullion markets also saw a drop, with 24K gold priced at Rs 14,471 per gram, down Rs 218, and 22K gold at Rs 13,265 per gram, lower by Rs 200.
Gold price in Chennai today
Chennai recorded a sharper decline, with 24K gold selling at Rs 14,651 per gram, down Rs 262, while 22K gold dropped Rs 240 to Rs 13,430 per gram.
Gold price in Kolkata today
In Kolkata, 24K gold was quoted at Rs 14,471 per gram, down Rs 218, while 22K gold stood at Rs 13,265 per gram, lower by Rs 200.
Gold price in Hyderabad today
Hyderabad markets reflected a similar trend, with 24K gold priced at Rs 14,471 per gram, down Rs 218, and 22K gold at Rs 13,265 per gram, slipping Rs 200.
Gold price in Bangalore today
In Bangalore, 24K gold was quoted at Rs 14,471 per gram, down Rs 218, while 22K gold was selling at Rs 13,265 per gram, lower by Rs 200.
Gold price in Ahmedabad today
Ahmedabad bullion markets showed declines, with 24K gold at Rs 14,476 per gram, down Rs 218, while 22K gold fell Rs 200 to Rs 13,270 per gram.
Gold price in Lucknow today
In Lucknow, 24K gold was priced at Rs 14,486 per gram, down Rs 218, while 22K gold moved lower by Rs 200 to Rs 13,280 per gram.
Gold price in Patna today
Patna markets also recorded weaker rates, with 24K gold quoted at Rs 14,476 per gram, down Rs 218, and 22K gold at Rs 13,270 per gram, lower by Rs 200.
Gold price in Jaipur today
In Jaipur, 24K gold was quoted at Rs 14,486 per gram, down Rs 218, while 22K gold stood at Rs 13,280 per gram, down Rs 200.
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