

**Share price declines on Wall Street have eased somewhat after Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said the US economy might go through “detox” rather than “recession”.**

Bessent also said that the White House under Donald Trump wants to protect strategic industries and jobs.

The Guardian’s Gwyn Topham has more from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders’ Electrified conference:

**David George**, the UK and Ireland chief executive of **BMW**, said:

> We’ve made huge investments in the transition – but retail demand really isn’t in line with the ZEV mandate. We’ll see incredible challenges this year if the landscape doesn’t change.

**Paul Philpott**, the chief executive of **Kia** UK, said:

> We’re feeling we’ve got swords hanging above our heads … We’re forced to incentivise and discount the very best technology we have.

_(And it’s Jasper Jolly here stepping in on the blog.)_

**Chris Southworth**, the UK secretary general for the International Chamber of Commerce, a business group, says the UK government will come under “tremendous pressure” to retaliate, and it may still do so. However, Starmer’s  may open the way to talks that could roll back tariffs for the UK.

**Keir Starmer** told parliament on Wednesday he was “disappointed”, while adding that the UK “will take a pragmatic approach” as it . “But we will keep all options on the table,” he said, leaving open the possibility of future retaliation.

**Chris Southworth**, the UK secretary general for the International Chamber of Commerce, a business group, says the UK government will come under “tremendous pressure” to retaliate, and it may still do so. However, Starmer’s  may open the way to talks that could roll back tariffs for the UK.

**David George**, the UK and Ireland chief executive of **BMW**, said:

> We’ve made huge investments in the transition – but retail demand really isn’t in line with the ZEV mandate. We’ll see incredible challenges this year if the landscape doesn’t change.

**Paul Philpott**, the chief executive of **Kia** UK, said:

> We’re feeling we’ve got swords hanging above our heads … We’re forced to incentivise and discount the very best technology we have.

_(And it’s Jasper Jolly here stepping in on the blog.)_

**Chris Southworth**, the UK secretary general for the International Chamber of Commerce, a business group, says the UK government will come under “tremendous pressure” to retaliate, and it may still do so. However, Starmer’s  may open the way to talks that could roll back tariffs for the UK.



**Model train maker Hornby is to delist from the stock market as it restructures in an attempt to reduce costs and return to profitability.**

The Guardian’s Gwyn Topham has more from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders’ Electrified conference:



**Wall Street has opened lower after Donald Trump’s latest salvo on tariffs, while the UK stock market has turned positive again.**

The Dow Jones industrial average fell by 70 points, or 0.17%, to 41,280 while the S&P 500 index edged nearly 5 points lower to 5,594 and the Nasdaq lost almost 50 points or 0.3%, to 17,598.

The FTSE 100 index in London is nearly 20 points or 0.2% ahead at 8,557 while the German, French and Italian markets are between 0.3% and 0.4% lower.

The dollar is now trading 0.3% higher against a basket of rival currencies such as sterling and the euro.



**A failure to boost demand for electric vehicles (EVs) will put jobs in the UK automotive sector at risk, a major industry group has warned.**

**Mike Hawes,** chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), warned of the danger of “de-industrialisation” if more support for EV purchases is not introduced.

He described the decision to remove EVs’ exemption from vehicle excise duty and the expensive car supplement as “disincentives” for people to switch to electric motoring.

Hawes also said the automotive industry “doesn’t want to see an increase in tariffs”, after Donald Trump announced a 25% tax on US imports of steel and aluminium. The SMMT chief praised the UK government for “treating things very calmly” in its response, adding: “Cool heads can hopefully prevail.”

Under the UK’s zero-emission vehicles (Zev) mandate, at least 28% of new cars sold by each manufacturer in the UK this year must be zero-emission, which generally means pure electric. Pure electric vehicles now make up a quarter of the market.

Failure to abide by the mandate or make use of flexibilities – such as buying credits from rival companies or making more sales in future years – will result in a requirement to pay the government £15,000 per polluting car sold above the limits.

Hawes said:

> We need to be pulling every lever to grow this demand because the consequences of this regulatory framework and an inability to meet it, you’re beginning to see play out in terms of flattening of sales, production is down, plants unfortunately closed or certainly consolidated, jobs lost.
>
> Nobody wants that, because this should be a driver of growth, not a driver of de-industrialisation.

**Stellantis**, which owns Peugeot, Fiat and Jeep, will close its van-making factory in Luton in Bedfordshire next month, affecting around 1,100 jobs.

**Joanna Partridge**



**Parents who are worried about their children gaming on Roblox should not let them use it, the platform’s chief executive has said.**

There have been , and fears that children are being exposed to explicit or harmful content, on the site, which is the most popular platform in the UK among gamers aged eight to 12.

Roblox’s co-founder and chief executive, **David Baszucki**  the platform was vigilant in protecting its users, and said “tens of millions” of people had “amazing experiences” on the site.

But he added: “My first message would be: if you’re not comfortable, don’t let your kids be on Roblox. That sounds a little counterintuitive, but I would always trust parents to make their own decisions.



**Farmers’ incomes have remained stagnant since the 1970s despite improvements in productivity and a fall in the workforce, research has found.**

This has been driven by falling prices for farm produce; as the UK has become more reliant on imports, supermarkets have taken over grocery shopping, and households are eating more ultra-processed food, .

Over the past five years, the average income for a farmer has been £32,272. After adjusting for inflation, this is the same level as in the mid-1970s. During the same period, the economy has grown and real-terms wages have risen in other sectors.

Farmers in the UK have been  after the government introduced  on their assets. They argue the meagre income they make from their farms will probably not be enough to pay the charges, meaning their children will have to sell the land. This change has coincided with the 18 wettest months on record, as well as the ending of EU farming subsidies.

**UK farmers’ incomes stagnant since the 1970s, report finds**



**Parents should stop children gaming on Roblox if they are worried, says CEO**

There have been , and fears that children are being exposed to explicit or harmful content, on the site, which is the most popular platform in the UK among gamers aged eight to 12.

Roblox’s co-founder and chief executive, **David Baszucki**  the platform was vigilant in protecting its users, and said “tens of millions” of people had “amazing experiences” on the site.

But he added: “My first message would be: if you’re not comfortable, don’t let your kids be on Roblox. That sounds a little counterintuitive, but I would always trust parents to make their own decisions.



**If you’re not comfortable, don’t let your kids be on Roblox. That sounds a little counterintuitive, but I would always trust parents to make their own decisions.**





**Parents should stop children gaming on Roblox if they are worried, says CEO**







**If you’re not comfortable, don’t let your kids be on Roblox. That sounds a little counterintuitive, but I would always trust parents to make their own decisions.**











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