EU's Kallas warns that China needs to rebalance trade relationship with EU
"She also called on China to put an end to its distortive practices, including its restrictions on rare earths exports, which pose significant risks to European companies and endanger the reliability of global supply chains," the EU readout said.
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BBC News
24 minutes ago
- BBC News
Home Office unaware if foreign workers leave UK after visas end, MPs say
The Home Office does not know whether foreign workers are leaving the UK or staying to work illegally after their visas expire, a cross-party committee of MPs has said. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which scrutinises government spending, said the Home Office had failed to analyse exit checks since the skilled worker visa route was introduced in 2020 under the 1.18 million people have applied to come to the UK via this route between its launch in December 2020 and the end of Home Office said earlier this year that it was working to modernise border security and boost digital checks. The BBC has approached the Home Office for comment on the report. The skilled worker visa route replaced the Tier 2 (General) work visa after the UK left the European Union. The route was expanded in 2022 by the previous Conservative government to address skill shortages and job vacancies in health and social care in the wake of the Covid pandemic, driving net migration to record the PAC has accused the Home Office of failing to gather "basic information" on whether people leave the UK after their visas expire and showing "little curiosity about how the route was operating".Its report said the department still relied on airline passenger records to check if someone had left the country and that there had been no analysis of those records since 2020. It added that the Home Office needed to set out what measures would be put in place to record when people had left the report also said there was "widespread evidence of workers suffering debt bondage, working excessive hours and exploitative conditions" and accused the department of being "slow and ineffective" to tackle May, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the government would end overseas recruitment for care workers as part of the plans to curb near record net Office Permanent Secretary Dame Antonia Romeo has also said overstaying is a "problem" the department was "fixing".
NBC News
39 minutes ago
- NBC News
Trump says call with Putin yielded no progress on a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire
President Donald Trump said Thursday that he "didn't make any progress" on a potential ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war when he spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "No, I didn't make any progress with him today at all," Trump told reporters when asked about any movement toward an agreement between the two countries during his call with Putin earlier in the day. "We had a call. It was a pretty long call. We talked about a lot of things, including Iran, and we also talked about, as you know, the war with Ukraine. And I'm not happy about that, I'm not happy," Trump said. Putin aide Yury Ushakov said in a readout of the call that the two leaders held a 'frank and substantive' and that Trump raised the possibility of an immediate ceasefire in Russia's war with Ukraine but that Putin did not agree. Putin said Russia "will pursue its stated objectives" in the conflict, and continues to look for a political resolution to the conflict through negotiations, Ushakov added. The last publicly known call between Putin and Trump took place last month in a discussion that involved the Israel-Iran conflict, according to a Truth Social post by Trump. They also spoke in May about the Ukraine-Russia war. Representatives from Russia and Ukraine held direct talks in Istanbul in May, but there weren't any breakthroughs. Trump and some of his allies on Capitol Hill are seeking to secure a permanent ceasefire. Trump repeatedly said on the campaign trail that he would bring an end to the conflict within the first 24 hours of his second term. During a presidential debate in September, he said he could resolve the conflict "before I even become president." Speaking to reporters Thursday, Trump was also asked about a U.S. pause in shipping missiles and ammunition to Ukraine. Trump denied there was a pause. "We haven't, we're giving weapons because we've given so many weapons, but we are giving weapons, and we're working with them and trying to help them," Trump said. "But we haven't, you know, Biden emptied our whole country giving 'em weapons, and we have to make sure that we have enough for ourselves." NBC News reported this week that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had ordered a shipment pause over concerns about the U.S. military's stockpiles, according to two congressional officials and two sources with knowledge of the decision.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Are you a 'self-made' saver? The high earners who risk losing out as they are cautious to invest
Ian Anker, 56, has always known the value of money. His parents - his mother working in administrative roles and his father in 'various jobs' before becoming a teacher - instilled in him the importance of having savings. After failing his A-Levels and going to work at what was Midland Bank in the mid-1980s, Anker became the first person in his family to go to university. Since then, he's worked his way up through a series of IT jobs and is now a management consultant earning £54,000 a year, pushing him into the higher income tax bracket. But despite his success and commitment to saving, Anker only started investing this year. He's not alone. Anker is one of a million 'self-mades' - those who have a modest upbringing, and are less likely to invest despite being among the country's highest earners. Santander UK and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) say that self-made individuals are sitting on £40.7 billion worth of cash savings - or an average of £40,000 - that could be invested. While Ian went to university, self-mades are twice as likely as other high earners to leave school and head straight into work or apprenticeships, and more likely to work in construction and skilled trades. Some 28 per cent of 'self-mades' don't invest their monthly earnings at all, compared to 15 per cent of other high earners. Those that do invest typically put in 11 per cent of their income, compared to the average 17 per cent of their peers. How talking about money can affect your wealth One of the biggest differences between the two groups is the lack of conversations about money growing up. Anker says that while he 'didn't feel we were wanting for anything, we didn't have lots of money'. He was encouraged to save, but there was little discussion about investing. He says: 'My two older brothers and I were all encouraged to save. I've always thought it's important to have some savings and tried to live within my means. 'I've always recognised the need to have savings for emergencies, and if I want to go on holiday, I always make sure I'm saving and paying for it, rather than putting it on the credit card.' Santander and CEBR's research shows that just 52 per cent of self-mades spoke about money at home, compared to 74 per cent of high earners in general. It means that only 45 per cent say they consider themselves financially savvy or literate, despite 13 per cent owning their own business. And while almost half say they know investing is important, 22 per cent say they don't know where to start. Santander says it indicates that early financial conversations and education are more of a barrier to lower-income households, which places them at a disadvantage when trying to build wealth in adulthood, even if they are higher earners. Is it better to invest or have cash? Anker had largely avoided investments, other than an insurance policy that gave him some shares, before this year. But after three years as a management consultant, he thought he'd turn his hand to investing. The father-of-three had already opened a cash Isa with the investing platform Trading212, but opened a stocks and shares Isa five months ago as an 'experiment'. After watching some Youtube videos and reading online, he learned that over the long term, fluctuations in markets 'generally always smooth out.' 'I then decided I was going to try it. I aim to retire in 10 years, which is a long enough period that I can do this for at least the next 5 years.' While it comes with its risks, savers can often grow their pots more effectively if they consider investing their money instead of holding cash. Figures from Vanguard show that a savings pot of £10,000 at the end of December 1998 would have risen to just over £19,000 over the past 26 years, a 90 per cent increase when not adjusted for inflation. In comparison, the same £10,000 invested in a globally diversified portfolio, would have increased by more than 650 per cent to over £75,000. Anker is aiming to set aside between £200 and £300 a month, with two-thirds going into his cash Isa and the rest into his stocks and shares Isa. He aims to put another £100 into his savings from next year. He is already beginning to learn about what has and hasn't worked, moving some of his money into European defence companies, as well as renewables and tech. He is mostly focused on European and UK-based companies. 'I've recognised the importance of trying to spread the companies across lots of sectors, so hopefully it will even itself out,' he adds. His portfolio has already grown 5 per cent, which is more than current cash Isa rates. Moneyfacts data shows that the average 1-year fixed cash Isa rate is 3.95 per cent, while the easy access Isa is 2.93 per cent. Like his parents, Anker says he and his ex-wife have 'always instilled in our children the importance of saving and having money just in case.' Despite his recent foray into investing, he is more cautious about encouraging his three daughters to invest as they are trying to build house deposits. 'I'm conscious the world is in a different place. They can't afford their own houses. I'd be loathe to say they should put money in a stocks and shares Isa in case they might make a loss on it.' Santander is calling on the Government include financial education as part of apprenticeship schemes, to give future self-mades the 'best chance for financial success'. Kitty McCormick, head of wealth at Santander UK said: 'This is a story of unlocking potential. It's more than just a missed opportunity for individual growth; bridging the investment gap among the self-mades through targeted financial education could inject billions into the UK economy, with benefits for communities and the wider economy. 'The self-mades have proved their earning potential. Now it's time to back them with the tools, knowledge and confidence to make their income work harder for them.'
