Business news live: FTSE 100 falls, US takes $1.3bn in tariffs from UK goods

The first four months since the Liberation Day tariffs were announced have seen the US raise $1.36bn (£1.01bn) through goods bought from the UK.

That cost has been paid by US buyers of imported products.

It is six times more than the value paid across the same period in 2024, reports the Times, and is more than the tariff values paid on goods from France despite the UK having a lower tariff level.

Imports from China raised most – $36bn in just four months.

One research think tank estimated $122bn in total had been collected by the US across the period, paid for by American businesses and individuals importing those goods.

The US has been trying to strike a deal to buy TikTok from Chinese owners ByteDance for months now, with the social media app placed under a banning order before President Trump pushed it back – several times.

Now it appears a deal has crept much closer with some suggestion of an imminent report – and the names of some involved becoming clear.

Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and both Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch were name-checked by the president.

The latter two own and lead Fox corporation, while Dell is the world’s tenth richest person, CEO of the computer firm of the same name.

Ellison is second only to Elon Musk in that ranking, worth $367bn by himself – he founded and remains the largest shareholder of Oracle, as well as having a stake in Tesla.

Gatwick Airport’s £2.2 billion second runway plan could create thousands of jobs and help “kickstart the economy”, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said.

In the privately financed project, the West Sussex airport will move its emergency runway 12 metres north, enabling it to be used for departures of narrow-bodied planes such as Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s.

This will enable it to be used for about 100,000 more flights a year.

Ms Reeves said: “This Government promised to kickstart the economy – and we are.

“A second runway at Gatwick means thousands of more jobs and billions more in investment for the economy.”

The FTSE 100 is down 0.16 per cent this morning in a slow start to the week.

But longer-term context is important, says one expert.

“The FTSE 100 has dipped a touch this Monday morning, after a small retreat last week. Still, the index is up over 11.5% so far this year and up around 20% from its post-liberation day lows,” said Derren Nathan, head of equity research, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“However, UK stocks haven’t quite kept pace with US stock markets, which ended last week on yet another record high on hopes for a further relaxation in monetary policy over the remainder of 2025. The combination of structural value drivers from the Artificial Intelligence boom and higher than expected resilience within the global economy is helping investor confidence to keep its head above water.

“Wall Street is expected to edge down a little at the open. Markets are taking stock of guidance issued by the Trump administration over the weekend that revealed a $100,000 annual charge per employee of US workers holding an H-1B visa for skilled workers. It’s expected to apply to new applicants only, but it’s sparked some confusion amongst workers and enterprises alike.”

A company called dCarbonX has plans to build an emergency gas storage facility, to help insulate Britain against the threat of energy blackouts.

Holding six days’ worth of gas would boost the current levels by 50 per cent, the Telegraph reports.

The UK’s current plans are for 95 per cent of energy to come from green sources but with gas reserves held for periods of volatility.

The company’s boss, Tony O’Reilly, said: “Without domestic gas storage, the UK is exposed to global gas market volatility, especially during winter.

“The question isn’t whether we need more storage, it’s whether we’re serious about building it.”

Morning all, hope you had a good weekend.

A few bits to catch up on which broke across the business world last night so let’s get straight into it: airports, TikTok, tariffs, stock markets and more on the way.