UK unemployment hits 5.2%, highest rate for nearly five years

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world It has taken the fatal shootings of two US citizens, but something has shifted in America. The violence by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis, and above all the killings of the…

Eimear DevlinBBC Money Box reporter Eve Craven Eve Craven had her child benefit halted after she went on a five-day trip to New York with her son The UK’s tax body is reviewing its decisions to strip child benefit from about 23,500 claimants after it used travel data to conclude they had left the country…

Stuart Maisner, Hsin-Yi Loand Daniel Sexton,South East Getty Images People have been advised to boil tap water before drinking Water misery has returned for about 24,000 households in Kent and East Sussex with a water firm saying they do not expect supplies to be restored to all affected customers until midday on Thursday. South East…

President Donald Trump has acknowledged that a $20bn (£15bn) US lifeline to help calm Argentina’s currency crisis is an attempt to sway elections this month in the South American nation. Welcoming Argentina’s libertarian leader Javier Milei to the White House, Trump warned that the US would not “waste our time” with helping Argentina if Milei’s…

Faarea MasudBusiness reporter Getty Images Boxing Day sales have seen a muted start as shoppers continued to shun bricks-and-mortar stores in favour of online. By 3pm, visits to UK high streets were down 1.5% on 2024, while shopping centres saw a 0.6% fall, according to data from MRI Software. MRI’s footfall data showed retail parks…