Oil price tumbles as Saudi and Russia act after Trump pressure

Trump's tariffs are 'big' and could be 'disastrous' for the economy

Markets are down across the board this morning as the impact of Donald Trump's tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico takes hold. 

Our economics and data editor Ed Conway says there is no way to know where the tariffs are heading. 

"It could be by the time we talk tomorrow, or this evening, that the tariffs are removed but nonetheless the amount of disruption that kind of uncertainty is causing is enormous," he explains. 

"That's part of what's happening in markets." 

He adds that the US, Canada and Mexico have worked as a single economic area  - in a similar way to the UK and Europe before Brexit - for decades. 

"25% tariffs are big in one of the biggest economic zones in the world so it is potentially disastrous economically," he says. 

He explains that the US looks like it might be in a recession right now, and this "tips it further towards that". 

"It looks like inflation is potentially going up because people are buying in lots of goods very quickly and stockpiling. All of this is quite dramatic. 

"The White House would argue there are reasons for this but it's just very unclear whether this is another negotiating ploy or whether they want to change the economy." 

Barclays launches lowest mortgage rate on the market - but it comes with a catch

Barclays has launched the lowest fixed rate mortgage deal on the market today. 

Making reductions of up to 0.48%, the bank is offering a five-year fix at 3.96%. 

But there is an important detail to take note of... 

The new deal is a Green Home mortgage - meaning it's only available to customers who are buying an energy-efficient new-build home directly from the builder or developer.

Eligible borrowers will also need a 40% deposit and be able to pay a £899 product fee. 

Other deals in the new range include a two-year fixed-rate mortgage for borrowers with a 10% deposit, at 4.93%, with no product fee.

Rachel Springall, finance expert from Moneyfactscompare.co.uk, told Money: "A headline grabbing rate is exciting, but it is essential for borrowers to assess the whole package of any deal before they commit.

"Some deals are also exclusive to certain customers, so it's wise for borrowers to seek independent advice to navigate all the options available to help them save time and hassle." 

On Friday, Nationwide Building Society reduced some of its rates to 3.99%.

Greggs reports a record breaking year after putting up prices and opening more stores

Pricier products, a record number of new shops and later opening hours have helped Greggs' profits and sales jump.

The high street bakery grew by 145 shops last year and is hoping to have 140 to 150 more this year. 

It was a record-breaking year with the 2,600th shop opened and total sales reaching £2bn for the first time ever - up from £1.8m a year earlier.

Extended opening hours and more home deliveries with an Uber Eats partnership also gave the business a boost.

Evening trade was the fastest-growing part of sales. Pretax profit hit £203.9m, up from £188.3m in 2023. 

It means £20.5m is to be divvied up by anyone working in Greggs for six months or longer as part of the staff profit share scheme.

Oil price tumbles as Saudi Arabia and Russia respond to Trump pressure

Oil prices have reached their lowest level for months after OPEC+, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, agreed to boost production.

They have been under pressure to do so from US President Donald Trump.

Opec+, unexpectedly, said it would increase production from April - by 138,000 barrels a day to begin with.

As a result, Brent futures fell 1.4% to $70.61 a barrel yesterday - a level not seen since early December.

President Trump said in a speech to the World Economic Forum last month that the Saudi Arabia-led group should "bring down the cost of oil". 

Linking it to the war in Ukraine, he said: "Right now the price is high enough that that war will continue. You gotta bring down the oil price. That will end that war. You could end that war."

For Britons, falling prices could mean good news is on the way at the forecourt - though it takes weeks and weeks to translate through.

European markets open in the red

It was a sea of red this morning as European stock markets opened.

All the major indexes were down as investors digested news that Trump's tariffs - taxes on US imports - were actually going ahead.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 dropped 0.88% while the biggest indexes in major European economies fell sharply.

Spain's IBEX 35 dropped 1.05%, France's CAC fell 1.15%, Italy's FTSE MIB shed 1.02%, Germany's DAX lost 1.6% and the Netherlands AEX was down 1.02%.

Not even massive arms company rises could bring the UK's benchmark FTSE 100 up.

The index of most valuable companies on the London Stock Exchange fell 0.52% after breaking another record yesterday on the back of expected military spending increases.

The pound strengthened against the dollar, however, and at $1.272 is at a high not seen since December.

Sterling values have fallen against the euro this morning but still remain high at €1.2093.

Forget Sundays - Tuesdays are now the most popular night to sit indoors

People across the UK are embracing Tuesdays as the new "big night in", new broadband data has shown. 

Tuesdays are now the busiest day of the week for broadband traffic, beating Saturdays and Sundays, Virgin Media O2 data suggests. 

Sporting events and gaming releases have seen more people spending Tuesday nights indoors. 

Tuesday 11 February was the second-biggest day of traffic in recent years as people tuned in to watch the Champions League match between Manchester City and Real Madrid, it said.  

But the biggest day for internet traffic was Wednesday 6 December 2023 - the day seven Premier League games were broadcast on Amazon Prime and the video game Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Season 1 was released. 

The data covers the company's 5.8 million broadband customers from 2020 to 2025. 

When asked about their habits, customers said they were prioritising their downtime earlier in the week to save cash and energy for Friday night. 

More than 40% said they were keen to balance out busy weekends and 67% said they were skipping weekday socials to save money.

US markets are reacting badly to Trump's tariffs - but it looks like they might open higher today

You'd be forgiven for feeling a bit of deja vu. Essentially, President Donald Trump has announced - again - a slew of import taxes on Chinese, Canadian and Mexican goods going into the US.

After his first announcement, the tariffs were paused but now they have come into effect. 

Canadian and Mexican goods will be charged a 25% US import tax, while China's 10% levies have doubled to 20%. Canada and China have retaliated, with the US's North American neighbour adding 25% to US imports to Canada.

Familiarly, stock markets have reacted badly as businesses face higher costs of importing in the US or less demand in the tariffed states.

Yesterday major US stock indexes fell. 

The biggest drop since December was seen on the S&P 500, made up of companies relied on to be stable and profitable, having fallen 1.76%, while the tech company-heavy NASDAQ shed 2.64%. The index of 30 major companies listed on US stock exchanges, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) shed 1.48%.

Based on after-hours trading, however, it looks like US markets will open higher.

Across Asia today the reaction was similar. The Japanese Nikkei lost 1.2%, the South Korean Kospi dropped 0.15% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.13%. 

Mr Trump's announcement stoked fears of a trade war in North America, prompting a financial market sell-off.

Consumers in the US could see price hikes within days, an expert has said.

Gustavo Flores-Macias, a public policy professor at Cornell University, New York, said "the automobile sector, in particular, is likely to see considerable negative consequences".

'First ever' online prenup calculator launched

An online calculator to help couples work out whether they need a prenup has been launched. 

The tool, made by Winston Solicitors, has been designed to help people evaluate the potential financial impact of popping the question before forking out on a prenuptial agreement. 

What is a prenup?

A prenup is an agreement between two individuals before they get married. It outlines the rights and obligations regarding assets and financial matters in the event of a divorce or separation.

This is how the prenup calculator works: 

Couples enter several pieces of information, such as the equity they have in property and personal savings, and how much they might earn in inheritance. 

The calculator then uses that financial information and works out what each person stands to lose if a prenup isn't signed.

"Despite being an estimate due to personal legal advice being required, we feel we've designed the first ever online calculator that gives couples a strong indication of the potential financial pitfalls of not signing a prenup," said head of family law at Winston Solicitors, Teresa Davidson. 

"Many couples can obviously enter into a marriage or civil partnership without fully considering the financial impact, whereas this tool starts to educate them on the assets they need to consider and even how financially vulnerable they could be in the event of a divorce." 

She said there has been a rise in the number of prenups, particularly among people getting married for a second or third time. 

They can be a great solution if either partner is going to inherit or be gifted assets they want to protect, she explained. 

'My Match.com subscription auto-renewed - and doubled in price. Is that allowed?'

Today, we are tackling this issue sent to us by Jeremy... 

Hi. I took out a six-month subscription from Match.com at £9.99 a month after getting an email offer. In January, it auto-renewed at £19.99. Match.com didn't send an email or any reminder to say it was going to double, and didn't mention it in the offer email. They say it's in the T&C's and tough, you have to pay for the full six months. Are companies allowed to do sharp practices like this in 2025 - they must be catching an awful lot of people?

We started off by approaching Match.com and while we didn't get a response, Jeremy got an email confirming he would get a £19.99 refund as a "goodwill gesture".

The site also confirmed no other payments would be taken from his account and sent him another special offer to continue using Match. 

We also spoke to consumer expert Scott Dixon from The Complaints Resolver about whether companies were still allowed to put up prices without sending customers a reminder. 

He said this was a common problem with trial periods and subscriptions. 

Looking at TrustPilot reviews, he said many Match.com users had complained about trials, particularly about cancellation procedures and unclear terms and conditions. 

"Many users also say customer service is non-existent and the cancellation process is tricky and problematic, which doesn't surprise me," Dixon said. 

"It appears that auto-renewals are set without users knowing, meaning you have to actively turn it off.

"These issues are not just confined to dating apps, and span all subscriptions, including broadband contracts and mid-term price hikes." 

Match.com should be making it easy for users to exit a contract and send reminders on auto-renews: "UK consumer laws protect consumers against unfair terms and misleading practices.

"Interestingly, the Competition and Markets Authority have published an at-a-glance guide on subscriptions and automatic rollovers with tips for writing fair terms." 

It advises businesses... 

Your terms are more likely to be fair if:

"It is made clear to the customers at the outsethow their subscription or contract will be renewed and the contract requires that they are sent a reminder at a reasonable time before it is due to be renewed. The reminder should include clear information about the terms of the proposed renewal of the contract and the steps customers need to take to stop the renewal, if they wish to.

They give your customers the right to cancela contract once it has been renewed, without having to pay a cancellation fee, and any requirement to provide notice of cancellation is reasonable and does not tie the consumer into the contract unfairly."

Terms that may be unfair include:

"Automatically renewing your customer's contract or subscription without requiring you to take sufficient steps to inform them before doing so."

Dixon said this would be classed as a key term of a contract and cannot be buried in the small print. Key terms of a contract must be bold, fair, transparent and balanced. 

For a practice to be unfair under the rules set out in the Consumer Rights Act, he said, it must harm, or be likely to harm, the economic interests of the average consumer. 

"Although I haven't seen the paperwork, I would expect this to be clear, bold and prominent with reminders sent by Match.com," he said. 

"Match.com should be clearer in their terms and conditions when a trial period ends and timely inform customers when a trial ends so they can make an informed decision.

"I take the view that Match.com have breached the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2018 and should refund the payments made after the six-month period." 

So what should you do next? 

Dixon said Jeremy should follow the complaints process with Match.com first, and if that fails, he should raise a chargeback with his bank or credit card provider.

He said this should be done within 120 days of the payment to get a refund.

"You need to cite 'breach of contract' under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 to enact a chargeback," he said. 

"Your bank or credit card provider will temporarily reverse the payment and give the retailer an opportunity to present their case, although this can be overturned if the retailer successfully defends the disputed claim."

Advice for anyone taking out a subscription 

Read the terms and conditions carefully before taking out a subscription, particularly when it comes to trial offers, Dixon said. 

He advised making a diary note before the trial period ends so you remind yourself to exit in good time. 

"Cancellation rights can be disputed in certain circumstances, so don't be afraid to question any terms and conditions that don't seem fair or right," he said. 

"Firms relying on you not doing so to trap you into paying for unwanted subscriptions." 

It's the start of Free Wills Month - here's what you need to know

Today marks the start of Free Wills Month - so if you've been putting off sorting one out, this could be the time to do it. 

The initiative has been running since 2005 and allows people to get a solicitor-drafted will for free. 

More than 20 charities are working with local solicitors across the country to offer the service for free. 

Here's everything you need to know. 

Who can take part?

Anyone aged 55 and over can sign up to the scheme - but it's important to note that not all areas of the country are taking part. Here's where is:

What charities are involved? 

The charities will pay for a limited number of wills to encourage more people to leave charitable gifts in their legacies. 

While there is no obligation for you to leave a gift to the charity if you use the service, it is likely that you will be asked.

How do you sign up? 

All you have to do is call one of the participating solicitors listed on here before 5pm on Monday 31 March.

Make sure you mention the Free Wills Month programme.  

Appointments are limited and can fill up quickly, so it's better to call sooner rather than later to avoid missing out. 

If you're not sure if your area is taking part, you can put your details into the Free Wills Month website to check. 

If not, they should be during the October edition of the scheme. 

Asda 'scraps bonuses' for 10,000 managers after terrible year

Asda has scrapped bonuses for more than 10,000 managers after a year of falling sales, according to reports. 

The struggling supermarket's market share shrank to 12.6% in 2024, ending the year with its worst Christmas performance in a decade. 

Staff were told that they will not be rewarded with planned payouts due to the retailer's performance, according to The Telegraph. 

Managers tend to get bonuses in the first three months of the year, with around 14,000 receiving the pay award last year. 

While Asda isn't expected to post its result for the last financial year for a few weeks, industry data from Kantar suggests its sales have dropped 5.2% in the three months to January. 

Asda declined to issue a comment to Money. 

Deadline to top up state pension 'softened'

The government has slightly relaxed the 5 April deadline to top up your state pension. 

Anyone with less than 35 qualifying years - years when they were paid or been credited with NI contributions - do not qualify for the full state pension.

Usually, people can pay voluntary top-ups for the past six years, but the last government opened this up so contributions can be filled in all the way back to 6 April 2006.

To cope with a rush of last-minute inquiries, the government has launched a "call back" system. 

The provision means that as long as people log an inquiry with the Future Pension Centre before 5 April, they will be able to make payments after the deadline. 

-SKY NEWS