United Kingdom

LONDON, March 14 (Reuters) - Global shares fell for a sixth day on Tuesday as a brewing U.S. banking crisis prompted investors to downgrade their expectations for interest rate hikes, even ahead of key inflation data later in the day.

As recently as a week ago, investors were just recovering from a reality-check that prompted many to assume that rates around the world were likely to head much higher and stay there for longer than previously expected.

BARNSLEY, England, March 14 (Reuters) - Frustrated with England's education system, Simon Biltcliffe spends a lot of time training new hires at his marketing firm in the "soft skills" he and many employers say the country's sluggish economy badly needs.

Finding that new starters often struggle to think on their feet, he sets them workplace challenges to learn to solve problems at pace and in teams. Many don't adapt, leading to high attrition after three- and six-month reviews.

LONDON, March 13 (Xinhua) -- British stocks plunged on Monday, and the pound climbed against the U.S. dollar as the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapse spooked financial markets and raised expectations that U.S. rate hikes would slow down.

The FTSE 100 index, the leading benchmark for blue chip companies listed in the United Kingdom (UK), ended the session down 2.58 percent, or 199.72 points, at 7,548.63. Standard Chartered and Barclays were among the worst performers.

13 Mar 2023; MEMO: Further pressure has been piled on former footballer and BBC Sports presenter, Gary Lineker, over a tweet last year in which he deplored the killing of a Palestinian footballer, with UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) slamming it as misleading.

LONDON, March 13 (Reuters) - Britain approved a sharp increase in exports of submarine parts and technology last year to Taiwan as it upgrades its naval forces, a move that could impact British ties with China.

LONDON, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Had COVID-19 vaccines been shared equitably with the world, at least 1.3 million lives could have been saved in the first year of the rollout, or one preventable death every 24 seconds, an open letter said on Saturday.

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged Monday to increase U.K. military funding by 5 billion pounds ($6 billion) over the next two years in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the “epoch-defining challenge” posed by China.

LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Sunday the British government was working to find a solution to limit the potential hit to companies resulting from the failure of U.S. lender Silicon Valley Bank and its UK subsidiary.

Sunak said he understood "the anxiety and the concerns customers of the bank have", in comments made to reporters flying with him to the United States. He and the government were "making sure we can work to find a solution that secures people's operational liquidity and cash-flow needs", he said.

LONDON, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Had COVID-19 vaccines been shared equitably with the world, at least 1.3 million lives could have been saved in the first year of the rollout, or one preventable death every 24 seconds, an open letter said on Saturday.

LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - Britain's BBC was forced to axe much of its sports coverage on Saturday after presenters refused to work in a show of solidarity with Gary Lineker, as a row over freedom of speech threatens to turn into a crisis for the national broadcaster.

Former England soccer captain Lineker, the BBC's highest paid presenter and the anchor of the football highlights programme "Match of the Day", was taken off air by the broadcaster on Friday after he criticised Britain's migration policy earlier in the week.