Trump tariffs of 25% on steel and aluminium come into effect globally as Europe says it will retaliate – as it happened

Here is European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announcing the EU’s countermeasures this morning.As of this morning, the United States is applying a 25% tariff on imports of steel and aluminium. We deeply regret this measure.Tariffs are taxes. They are bad for business and worse for consumers

Donald Trump’s tariffs are disrupting markets around the world – here’s why it could be hurting your super

The Trump administration has imposed taxes on imports from a number of important trading partners, prompting fears of a global trade war.This is creating major disruption in global share markets, including in Australia, which is having a flow-on effect on superannuation balances.Why is this happening? And what can you do about it?The Trump administration has imposed taxes on imports from important trading partners.This includes new tariffs of 25% on all imported steel and aluminium, including against allies and major suppliers Canada and Mexico.The Trump administration rejected Australia’s plea for an exemption from the tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, which came into effect on Wednesday

Gone are the days when a ‘good job’ gets you a house – and now we have the data to prove it | Greg Jericho

A decade ago, the then treasurer, Joe Hockey, told Australians that if they wanted to buy a house, the first thing they should do is “get a good job that pays good money”. But new research from the Australia Institute shows that even a good job is no longer enough to afford to buy a home.The latest housing price figures out on Tuesday suggested that prices in Sydney and Melbourne over the past year have moderated, while in Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth the boom times continue.If the graph does not display, click hereFor many, though, regardless of what the figures say, the idea of being able to afford a house is so far beyond reality that they might as well envisage buying a place in a neighbourhood of hobbits.Too often the difficulty is rendered in abstract terms, but the Australia Institute (where I am the chief economist) can now reveal just how cruel things are – and have been for many years

Top City watchdogs drop new diversity and inclusion rules for firms

The City’s top two regulators have said they will not bring in new diversity and inclusion rules for financial firms because they want to avoid imposing extra “regulatory burdens” and costs, in the latest sign of a retreat from efforts to help underrepresented groups.The Bank of England’s regulatory arm, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said they would instead support “voluntary industry initiatives” aimed at boosting diversity and inclusion in the financial sector.The announcement coincides with a rollback in the US of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies that has accelerated under Donald Trump, and with a push by the UK government to reduce regulation to help stimulate economic growth.Sam Woods, a deputy governor at the Bank who leads the PRA, wrote in a letter to Meg Hillier, the chair of parliament’s Treasury committee, and the FCA’s chief executive, Nikhil Rathi, were choosing to “remain alert to the risks of groupthink” within its existing supervisory framework rather than asking companies to report what measures they were taking to improve representation of women and minorities in their organisations.The move comes after an inquiry into sexism and misogyny in the City, by the influential Treasury committee, which examined barriers faced by women in financial services, and looked into whether progress had been made on the gender pay gap, stigma against working mothers, and the sector’s “alpha male” culture

Her grandpa brewed beer in his cellar in Iran. Last month she canned 30,000 brews that taste like home

Zahra Tabatabai’s Back Home Beer features select Middle Eastern flavors, and she’s looking to expand its reach nationallyBusiness heats up for Zahra Tabatabai in March, the month of Nowruz, the 13-day Persian new year festival, which begins this year on 20 March. The Iranian American Brooklynite’s craft beers are infused with Middle Eastern flavors such as sumac and sour cherry, and packaged in design-forward cans featuring poetry in intricate Farsi lettering.Tabatabai’s grandfather used to make his own beer with ingredients from his garden in Shiraz, before the Iranian government instituted a ban on alcohol consumption in 1979. More recently, her grandmother longed to taste her husband’s beer again, so Tabatabai set out to satisfy her yen. During the Covid-19 pandemic, while working as a freelance writer and overseeing the home schooling of her son, who is now 11, she started looking at recipes and enrolled in a home-brewing class, and began watching YouTube videos about the art of making beer

Financial watchdog scraps plan to ‘name and shame’ UK firms under investigation

The UK’s financial watchdog has bowed to longstanding pressure and ditched a plan to frequently “name and shame” companies it is investigating.The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has decided not to go ahead with applying a new public interest test for announcing investigations into regulated firms “given the lack of consensus” over the plans.The decision comes as the government puts pressure on regulators to help “rip out bureaucracy that blocks investment” as part of its growth agenda.Critics had pushed back against the FCA’s plan to be more transparent with the public and whistleblowers when investigating potential wrongdoing in the City.The FCA had already watered down the proposals, first announced early last year, after an outcry from businesses and criticism from the then-City minister, Tulip Siddiq