Oil price jumps and markets slide after Trump warning to Iran

Oil prices have soared after Donald Trump vowed in a televised speech to hit Iran “extremely hard” over the coming weeks, knocking hopes of a near-term end to the conflict in the Middle East.Brent crude prices jumped by as much as 8% on Thursday to $109.74 a barrel, reversing Wednesday’s drop when hopes of a de-escalation in the Iran war pushed the international benchmark below the $100-a-barrel mark at one point.The cost of oil produced in the US also jumped, with a barrel of West Texas Intermediate – crude that is drilled and processed in the US – rising by 11% to $111.60 a barrel, over the $110 mark for the first time since 9 March

US crude oil hits $110 a barrel and markets drop as Trump dashes Iran de-escalation hopes – as it happened

US crude has surged over $110 a barrel today, for the first time in over three weeks.The price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate has jumped by 10% today, after US President Donald Trump vowed to hit Iran “extremely hard” for the next few weeks, dashing hopes of de-escalation and an early end to the conflict.US crude is trading at $111 a barrel, the highest level since 9 March.This puts a barrel of WTI above the international benchmark, Brent crude, which has jumped more than 8% to $109.32 a barrel

Stellantis recalls 44,000 UK vehicles over fault that could cause fires

The European carmaker Stellantis has issued a recall for 44,000 UK vehicles after discovering a fault that could result in its cars catching fire.The fault has been found in certain models across its Peugeot, Citroën, DS Automobiles, Vauxhall, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Jeep and Fiat brands, produced between 2023 and 2026. Key vehicles affected by the recall include the Citroën C3, Peugeot 208 and Vauxhall Mokka.The manufacturer said the issue related to a lack of clearance between the gas filter pipe and a component of the belt starter generator, which could cause water to leak into the engine bay during wet driving conditions. That created a “potential risk of fire” in the engine, in the worst-case scenario

UK firms expect to raise prices more quickly as Iran war pushes up costs

Companies in the UK expect to raise their prices more rapidly over the coming months as the war in the Middle East drives up costs, Bank of England research shows.The Bank’s regular survey of more than 2,000 chief financial officers conducted last month, after the Iran conflict began, shows they now expect to raise their prices by 3.7% over the coming year.That was a rise from 3.4% in February, while the bosses’ expectation of inflation across the economy has risen from 3% to 3

‘From high flyer to dead parrot’: former billion-dollar eco-shoe brand Allbirds sold for $39m

Allbirds, the San Francisco sustainable trainer brand once valued at more than $4bn, is being sold for just $39m (£29.6m) after global demand for its wool-based footwear failed to materialise.American Exchange Group, the owner of a string of brands including the fashion label Ed Hardy and the accessories maker Born, is snapping up the struggling company once touted as the future of footwear.Allbirds listed on the US stock market in 2021, but its shares have since tumbled by more than 99%, leaving it valued at just over $20m.In its early years, the brand enjoyed rapid success, and in the first two years since its official launch in March 2016, Allbirds sold more than 1m pairs of its original merino wool trainers

‘If he’d stayed on the golf course, we’d be in a better place’: experts on Trump’s tariffs, one year on

Before Donald Trump declared “liberation day” on 2 April 2025 and shocked the world by raising import tariffs on nearly every country the US did business with, he had spent almost three months causing chaos in Washington.The wholesale slashing of government jobs under Doge (the “department of government efficiency”) and the defunding of US aid agencies had shown White House watchers that the US president was in a hurry to upset institutions he considered profligate or useless.Investors quickly understood that chaos was an essential tool in Trump’s armoury. Almost as soon as he was inaugurated, there was a steady decline in the value of the dollar against other currencies. Investors sold assets denominated in dollars and bought assets elsewhere: Europe, Asia, South America