Business
Citi Group among US finance firms pledging investment into UK before Trump visit
US financial firms have announced investments in the UK worth £1.25 billion before Donald Trump’s state visit next week.
Citi Group has confirmed it will invest £1.1 billion across its UK operations, while S&P Global will put £4 million into their Manchester offices.
PayPal has confirmed a £150 million investment in product innovations and growth and Bank of America will create up to 1,000 new jobs in Belfast in its first operation in Northern Ireland.
Alongside the new investment announcements, companies are committing to ramp up commercial activity between the US and UK in the coming years.
Blackrock is allocating £7 billion to the UK market over five years, while Rothesay is planning to double its investment in the US with another £7 billion in the coming years.
The investment and capital commitments line up some £20 billion trade between the two countries – with some £8 billion to come to the UK and £12 billion to go to the US, the Department for Business and Trade said.
Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle said: “These investments reflect the strength of our enduring ‘golden corridor’ with one of our closest trading partners, ahead of the US presidential state visit.”
Tech giants OpenAI and Nvidia are reportedly planning to unveil billions of dollars of investment into UK data centres during the visit next week.
Sam Altman, the boss of ChatGPT maker OpenAI, and chipmaker Nvidia’s chief executive Jensen Huang are understood to be part of a delegation of US executives to join Mr Trump.
The US president’s two-day trip begins on Wednesday and includes an overnight stay at Windsor Castle.
It comes as the future of tariffs on British steel is still unclear.
When the UK and US signed a trade deal in June, it reduced tariffs on car and aerospace imports to the US.
But no agreement on a similar arrangement for Britain’s steel imports was reached, leaving tariffs on steel at 25%.
A Government spokesperson said: “Our special relationship with the US remains strong.
“Thanks to our trade deal, the UK is still the only country to have avoided 50% steel and aluminium tariffs, and we continue to partner on technologies such as AI, Quantum, and cyber security in our trillion-dollar tech sectors.
“We will work with the US to implement this landmark deal as soon as possible to give industry the security they need, protect vital jobs, and put more money in people’s pockets through the plan for change, as well as welcoming the president on this historic state visit.”
The annual tradition of “Dry January” turned into “Damp Monday” at one supermarket, with shoppers returning to alcohol consumption in the middle of the month.
Waitrose said that the month was “not so dry after all,” identifying January 12 as “Damp Monday” after sales of wines, beers, and spirits surged by 11 per cent compared to the week before.
The grocer noted a “significant softening” of the Dry January trend over the past five years, suggesting a more balanced “Damp January” approach is now prevalent.
While alcohol sales in January 2022 were 42 per cent lower than other months, this year saw a reduced drop of just 25 per cent.
Notably, Argentinian and Chilean wine sales experienced a considerable boost last month, rising by 25 per cent and 27 per cent respectively compared to the previous year.
Compared to this time last year, searches on Waitrose.com for “Argentinian wine”, “red wine” and “Chilean wine” were up 300%, 63% and 18% respectively.
Pierpaolo Petrassi, head of beers, wines and spirits at Waitrose, said: “Damp is the new dry, as we’re seeing customers move away from the ‘all-or-nothing’ mentality and instead look towards more mindful, ‘damp’ moderation rather than quit entirely.
“This shift sees the likes of a luxury Argentinian Cabernet sitting comfortably alongside premium non-alcoholic spirits as sophisticated sips, proving that the modern palate values flavour profiles and social connection over the buzz alone.
“No doubt the no and low trend skyrocketed in 2022 as the result of the ‘pandemic reset’ transitioning out of the final lockdowns, as well as the ‘sober curious’ movement going mainstream on social media.
“Now, 2026 is the ‘lifestyle’ year, with customers finding balance as part of a more tempered, year-round approach to drinking.”
Data reported by The Spirits Business trade publication from early this year suggested that while 58% of the UK public aimed to cut back, a significant portion – roughly 31% – had opted for a “damp January” – reducing intake rather than cutting it out entirely.
Business
Budget eases PF, ESI deduction rules for employers, allows relief for delayed deposits – The Times of India
In a move expected to bring relief to employers and reduce routine tax disallowances, the finance bill has proposed a key change to the treatment of employees’ provident fund (PF), ESI and similar contributions, allowing deductions even where there is a delay in deposit, provided the amount is deposited by the employer entity with the relevant welfare fund authorities before the due date of its Income-tax return.At present, employers can claim deduction for employees’ PF and ESI contributions only if the amounts are deposited within the strict timelines prescribed under the respective welfare laws. Even a minor delay permanently disqualifies the expense for tax purposes, a position that had been settled by the Supreme Court (SC) after years of litigationUnder the proposed amendment to Section 29 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, the definition of “due date” for claiming deduction of employees’ contributions is set to be aligned with the due date for filing the income-tax return by the employer entity.Explaining the shift, Deepak Joshi, a SC advocate said employers are currently held to a rigid standard. “The law, as interpreted by the SC, meant that if employee contributions were not deposited within the due date under the relevant welfare fund laws, no deduction was allowed — even if the payment was made before filing the income-tax return,” he said.“The proposed amendment substitutes the definition of ‘due date’ to mean the due date of filing the income-tax return. The positive impact is that even if there is a slight delay in depositing employees’ contributions, so long as the amount is deposited before the return-filing deadline, the employer will be allowed the deduction,” Joshi added. Experts view the move as part of the government’s broader effort to soften compliance rigidities and reduce avoidable litigation.
Baby boxes are being delivered to expectant families in some of Wales’ most deprived areas.
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