(Sharecast News) - The UK risks losing its position as a major manufacturing hub after a sharp rise in energy costs forced around 40% of firms to scale back investment, according to a report from the CBI and Energy UK, cited by The Guardian.
The report delivered a blunt warning to ministers, saying businesses across sectors - from chemicals to hospitality - were being undermined by the failure to cap prices and modernise the country's ageing gas and electricity networks. It also called for a comprehensive overhaul of outdated energy‑market regulations to unlock investment and support economic growth.
Energy UK said electricity costs for businesses remain about 70% above pre‑Ukraine‑war levels, while gas prices are still 60% higher. Nearly 90% of companies surveyed reported higher energy bills over the past five years, with four in ten cutting investment as a result. Without meaningful reductions in energy costs, the report warned, the risk of job losses, production cuts, plant closures and offshoring will continue to rise.
Donald Trump said on Saturday that he would raise the temporary tariff rate on all US imports from 10% to 15%, less than a day after the US Supreme Court ruled that he had exceeded his authority in imposing his earlier tariff regime, according to The Guardian.
The court ruled on Friday that Trump's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose sweeping tariffs was unlawful, prompting an angry response from the president, who criticised the justices and immediately ordered a fresh 10% levy under a separate statute.
In a subsequent post on Truth Social, cited by The Guardian, Trump said he would lift the new across‑the‑board tariff to the "fully allowed" 15% level under section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 - a provision that has never previously been used. The law permits a temporary tariff of up to 15% for 150 days, though legal challenges are possible. Trump said his administration would use that period to develop new "legally permissible" tariff measures.
Lawyers for Ghislaine Maxwell have moved to block the release of around 90,000 pages of documents linked to Jeffrey Epstein, arguing that new legislation requiring their disclosure is unconstitutional, according to The Independent.
The legal challenge, filed in Manhattan federal court, seeks to prevent the publication of material from a decade‑old civil defamation case brought by Virginia Giuffre. Maxwell's team contends that the newly enacted Epstein Files Transparency Act breaches the US Constitution's separation‑of‑powers principle, claiming Congress cannot override the judiciary's authority to control access to its own records.
According to The Independent, Maxwell's lawyers say the documents - which include more than 30 deposition transcripts - contain private financial and sexual information relating to Maxwell and other individuals, and should remain sealed.
UK defence secretary John Healey has said he hopes to be the first minister to deploy British troops to Ukraine once the war ends, according to The Independent. Writing ahead of the four‑year anniversary of Russia's invasion, Healey told the Telegraph that "2026 must be the year this terrible war ends", adding that the deployment of UK forces would only take place after a negotiated peace.
"I want to be the defence secretary who deploys British troops to Ukraine - because this will mean that this war is finally over," he said, as reported by The Independent. "It will mean we have negotiated peace in Ukraine. And a secure Europe needs a strong, sovereign Ukraine."
Healey said he was "proud" of the UK's leadership and "determined" to help make 2026 the year the conflict concludes. His comments follow remarks from former prime minister Boris Johnson, who argued that the UK should send non‑combat troops to Ukraine immediately and that it had been "too slow" to respond to Russian aggression.
A takeover bid for troubled craft brewer BrewDog by its co‑founder James Watt could preserve a stake for thousands of retail investors who have backed the company over the years, according to The Times.
Watt, who launched BrewDog in 2007, is reportedly seeking to regain control of the business after it brought in restructuring specialists from AlixPartners to oversee a sale following several years of losses. The Times said Watt has secured private‑equity support for a proposal that would retain parts of the pub estate as well as the firm's manufacturing site in Ellon, Scotland, where hundreds of staff are employed.
Under plans understood to have been discussed, around 20% of the company currently held by retail investors could be rolled over into the new structure, with Watt taking roughly half the equity and his financial backers the remainder. The bid is also thought to include reinstating the Real Living Wage - £13.45 per hour nationally and £14.80 in London - after BrewDog scrapped the rate in 2024, prompting a backlash from employees, The Times reported.
Brompton Bicycle has scaled back its US presence and shifted investment towards China, citing uncertainty created by Donald Trump's policies, according to The Times. The British folding‑bike maker closed its stores in New York and Washington last year when their leases expired, while simultaneously expanding in China - opening a new site in Shenzhen over the summer and doubling the size of its Shanghai store following a major refurbishment before Christmas.
Managing director Will Butler‑Adams told The Times that the company had changed its US strategy because the policy environment had become too unpredictable. He said Brompton was unwilling to commit to long leases when tariff policy could shift abruptly.
"Everything that is coming out of the US is too unpredictable," he said. "Whether tariffs are on or off, I wouldn't trust them. I'm not going to sign a five‑year lease in this environment [...] It's very difficult for business." He added that Brompton's own stores sell only its products, meaning any tariff increase - potentially up to 25% - could immediately render the business uncompetitive.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com