The most dangerous form of mainstream debt in the UK

Precious metal prices have risen after the US capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro increased investors’ concerns about geopolitical risks. In Monday morning trade in Asia, gold was about 1.8% higher at around $4,408 (£3,282) an ounce, while silver was up close to 3.5%, as money was moved into so-called “safe-haven” assets. Meanwhile, crude oil…

Katy AustinTransport correspondent BBC At a rail yard near Milton Keynes, a group of men in orange outfits are making final checks on huge slabs of railway track, preparing them so that they are ready to be installed over Christmas and New Year. At a time when many commuters stop work to enjoy celebrations with…

Just 50 miles from the thriving Somerset grapevines, in a field near Devizes, Phil Collins shows me a much sadder sight. “Six and a half thousand cauliflowers here, which have just basically cooked,” he explained. The leaves are brown and crispy. Inside there are tiny cauliflowers, brown and dried up. We walk on, through a…

The Trump administration will invest $1.6bn (£1.2bn) in a US critical minerals firm, marking officials’ latest push to reduce China’s dominance over the rare earths sector. The agreement with USA Rare Earth, which will give the government a stake in the firm, emerged days after US President Donald Trump claimed to have secured the “framework”…