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MPs urge maximum pressure on US over tariffs ahead of Donald Trump’s state visit

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MPs urge maximum pressure on US over tariffs ahead of Donald Trump’s state visit



MPs have called for the Government to maximise pressure on the US to secure relief from tariffs ahead of Donald Trump’s state visit.

The Commons Business and Trade Committee said the visit next week is the moment to put pressure on the US president to agree to the final terms of the so-called economic prosperity deal.

The UK and US signed a trade deal in June that reduced tariffs on car and aerospace imports to the US, but failed to agree on terms for British steel, leaving tariffs on it at 25%.

In a report on the deal, the committee welcomed the Government securing swift tariff relief for key sectors.

“It is however now vital that Government maximises pressure on the United States — beginning and following the president’s state visit — to agree final terms for a lasting economic prosperity deal to end the threat of future sectoral tariffs, maximise predictability and that where the UK has secured terms which are second best to the EU, we aim to improve them,” they said.

Committee chairman Liam Byrne MP said the state visit is “no mere pageant”.

He said: “It is a test of whether Britain and America build a safer, richer future – or remain trapped in tariff fights that serve neither nation well. Sir Keir Starmer deserves credit for securing the economic prosperity deal.

“But we can’t escape the truth that Britain now trades with its biggest partner on terms that are worse than the past, the EU has in places secured a better edge, and key sectors of our economy still face the peril of new tariffs. That means jobs hang in the balance and investment waits on certainty.”

The committee also urged the Government to seal a deal on aluminium and pharmaceuticals and for any final agreement to reflect the realities of the UK’s supply chains and transition to low-carbon production.

It said the UK should leverage the US partnership to gain an edge over China in artificial intelligence and defence technology, de-risked supply chains and greater security for critical minerals supplies.

“Britain’s science, AI and the City of London, joined with America’s tech giants and venture markets, could set the standards of this century and help secure western leadership over China for decades to come,” Mr Byrne said.

“But that means we have got to turn paper promises into a binding bargain that ends the tariff tempest that is battering British exporters and investors.”

It comes as US financial firms have announced investments in the UK worth £1.25 billion before Mr Trump’s state visit.

Citi Group has confirmed it will invest £1.1 billion across its UK operations, while S&P Global will put £4 million into its 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.

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.”



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Nike tops earnings estimates but shares fall as China sales plunge, tariffs hit profits

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Nike tops earnings estimates but shares fall as China sales plunge, tariffs hit profits


A shopper carries Nike bags in San Francisco, California, US, on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025.

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Nike on Thursday posted quarterly earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street’s estimates, as strength in North America helped to offset a plunge in China sales.

The company’s stock slid more than 6% in extended trading Thursday, as investors digested the weakness in China and the sustained hit Nike is taking from higher tariffs.

Here’s what Nike reported for its second fiscal quarter of 2026, according to consensus estimates from LSEG:

  • Earnings per share: 53 cents vs. 38 cents expected
  • Revenue: $12.43 billion vs. $12.22 billion expected

The athletic apparel retailer said sales in North America rose 9% to $5.63 billion. But revenue in its Greater China market dropped 17% to $1.42 billion.

The sneaker company is just over a year into CEO Elliott Hill’s turnaround strategy, focusing on regaining its growth and market share, clearing out old inventory and investing in wholesale relationships.

“Fiscal year ’26 continues to be a year of taking action to rightsize our classics business, return Nike digital to a premium experience, diversify our product portfolio, deepen our consumer connection, strengthen our partner relationships and realign our teams and leadership,” Hill said on a call with analysts. “And I say we’re in the middle inning of our comeback.”

“We’re nowhere near our potential,” he added.

Hill said Nike’s improvements in its China market are “not happening at the level or the pace we need to drive wider change,” though he said the country remains one of the company’s most powerful long-term opportunities.

Nike expects fiscal third quarter revenues to fall by a low single digit percentage, with modest growth in North America. It also anticipates gross margins will drop 1.75 to 2.25 percentage points – including a 3.15 percentage point hit from tariffs.

The company said wholesale revenues climbed 8% to $7.5 billion during the quarter. But direct sales — which were a focus for Nike in the years before Hill took over and moved away from the strategy — fell 8% to $4.6 billion.

Nike has also been feeling the impact of tariff increases. It said Thursday that its gross margin decreased by 3 percentage points and inventories dropped 3% primarily due to higher tariffs.

The sneaker company has been reporting weakness in its Converse brand, too. In its first fiscal quarter, Nike said Converse sales dropped 27% – on Thursday, it reported a 30% drop in revenues for the sneaker brand.

Despite the weakness in some parts of Nike’s business, the company highlighted some areas of strength and new initiatives ahead. CFO Matt Friend said on the call that Nike.com posted its best Black Friday ever this year, partially driven by its Air Jordan “Black Cat” launch.

Nike also plans to launch a new footwear platform in January called Nike Mind, which aims to help athletes prepare for performance and competition, Hill said on the call.

Nike has been making larger internal changes under Hill.

Earlier this month, Nike underwent leadership changes to “remove layers,” according to Hill. Under its “Win Now” strategy, the company announced that Chief Commercial Officer Craig Williams would leave the sneaker giant.

Hill called the shakeup a move “about growth and offense.”

“Collectively, these changes amount to us eliminating layers and better positioning Nike to continue to have an impact the way only Nike can,” Hill said in a statement at the time.

Nike shares have dropped more than 13% this year as of Thursday’s close.



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SHANTI shields N-plants from safety oversight: Experts – The Times of India

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SHANTI shields N-plants from safety oversight: Experts – The Times of India


NEW DELHI: The new nuclear energy bill, which was passed in Rajya Sabha by voice vote after a four-hour discussion while rejecting many amendments moved by opposition to send it to a parliamentary panel for scrutiny, marks a decisive shift in India’s nuclear governance, embedding safety oversight in law across the lifecycle of an atomic plant, unlike the existing framework that relied largely on executive discretion and post-accident accountability.Sustainable Harnessing of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill will allow private participation in India’s tightly controlled civil nuclear sector as the country seeks to meet its clean energy goals by 2047. As opposition raised safety and liability concerns, officials said it establishes a statutory safety regime that ensures continuous compliance rather than reliance on one-time permissions. It seeks to provide for a “pragmatic civil liability regime for nuclear damage and confer statutory status to Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB)”.Officials said unlike the previous law – in which nuclear safety oversight was shaped largely by broad executive authority and administrative rules – SHANTI fundamentally recasts the framework by shifting to a “statutory, lifecycle-based regulatory regime”. Govt manages radiation risks and radioactive waste, but does not mandate separate safety authorisations or legally bind safety obligations to each phase of a nuclear plant’s life. AERB’s stage-wise consent process for construction, commissioning and operation existed only as an administrative practice. Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage (CLND) Act, 2010 further reinforced a post-accident approach by focusing on compensation and insurance rather than prevention.“These laws (Atomic Energy Act and CLND Act) treated safety primarily as a post-damage responsibility, rather than a proactive governance requirement,” said an official. SHANTI separates “permission to operate” from “permission to operate safely”, requiring both a licence and an independent safety authorisation. Any activity involving radiation exposure risk – including construction, operation, transport, storage, decommissioning, or waste management – will now require explicit safety approval.It also consolidates regulation, enforcement, civil liability and dispute resolution within a single statute, reducing legal complexity and compliance uncertainty. “It grants a clear statutory authority to AERB to inspect facilities, investigate incidents, issue binding directions, and suspend or cancel operations that do not meet safety standards. Regulatory action is no longer dependent on executive discretion. Accident prevention is significantly enhanced by legally recognising serious risk situations as nuclear incidents, even without actual damage,” said the official. Core functions such as fuel enrichment, spent-fuel reprocessing, and heavy water production will remain exclusively under Centre’s control.Anujesh Dwivedi, partner at Deloitte India, said continuing with the existing legal framework would make it difficult for nuclear energy to replace thermal power in the long run. “Over decades, India added only about 8GW of nuclear capacity. Scaling this up to 100GW by 2047- and potentially 300GW or more by 2070 – required major reforms, which these regulations seek to address,” he said.Meanwhile, PM Modi said passing of the bill marks a “transformational moment for our technology landscape”.



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American Airlines no longer lets basic economy flyers earn miles

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American Airlines no longer lets basic economy flyers earn miles


American Airlines

Grant Baldwin | Getty Images

American Airlines customers flying on basic economy fares will no longer earn frequent flyer miles or points toward elite status, the carrier said this week.

“We routinely evaluate our fare products to remain competitive in the marketplace. Customers who purchase a Basic Economy ticket on December 17, 2025 and beyond will not earn AAdvantage miles or Loyalty Points towards AAdvantage status,” it said. “Basic Economy customers will continue to receive one free personal item and one free carry-on bag, free snacks, soft drinks and in-flight entertainment.”

Elite loyalty members will still be eligible for first-class upgrades on domestic flights if they’re on basic economy tickets, an American spokeswoman told CNBC.

Basic economy tickets are airlines’ cheapest but most restrictive fares, rolled out across the industry over the past decade. Generally, they do not allow customers to change their tickets without fees or pick their seats in advance.

The move comes as airlines across the board have been chasing customers who are willing to spend more to fly. American has fallen behind large rivals Delta Air Lines and United Airlines in the post-Covid luxury travel boom.

Read more CNBC airline news

American’s change, posted earlier by X user JonNYC, follows a similar policy by competitor Delta Air Lines, which said travelers on its Delta Main Basic, or basic economy tickets, wouldn’t receive Delta SkyMiles.

United Airlines does allow its MileagePlus loyalty program members to earn miles on basic economy tickets, but it has a different limitation: Basic economy customers on most flights aren’t allowed to bring a carry-on bag.

American had the same restriction after it launched basic economy fares but backpedaled in 2018.

Southwest Airlines this year launched its first no-frills basic fares that stipulate those customers will board last and get a seat assignment at check-in and earn miles at a lower rate than more expensive fares.



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