Author: Eka Gerona

ReutersDemonstrators hold signs during a protest outside the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on SaturdayThe Trump administration and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) have moved to take control of – and possibly shut down – an agency set up to protect consumers in the wake of the 2007-8 financial crisis.The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) oversees banks and holds vast troves of consumer data.As part of the US Federal Reserve, the CFPB is an independent agency, however Trump’s budget director was installed as its director on Friday, and Doge officials have gained access to the agency’s computer systems.About 100…

Watch: Ros Atkins on… Musk, Doge and the US governmentA federal judge has blocked Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) from accessing the personal financial data of millions of Americans in Treasury Department records, according to court documents.US District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer issued a preliminary injunction on Saturday to prohibit access, ordering Musk and his team to immediately destroy any copies of records.The move comes after 19 state attorneys general sued the Trump administration after Doge, a cost-cutting initiative led by Musk, was given access to the records.They argued access for Musk, a “special government employee”, and Doge,…

Nada TawfikNew York correspondentGetty ImagesDonald and Ivana Trump disembark the Trump Princess yacht in New York in 1988When Donald Trump’s fortunes took a downturn in the 90s and he needed to raise cash fast, he sailed his 282ft (85m) superyacht, the Trump Princess, to Asia hoping he could attract Japan’s wealthy.It wasn’t the first time the businessman had sought out Japanese buyers or lenders for his projects.In the cut-throat world of New York real estate, Trump had a front-row seat from his Fifth Avenue skyscraper of Tokyo’s buying spree in the 80s of iconic US brands and properties, including Rockefeller…

Getty ImagesMore than three decades after leaving the Soviet Union, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are preparing to unplug from Russia’s electricity grid and join the EU’s network.The two-day process will begin on Saturday, with residents told to charge their devices, stock up on food and water, and prepare as if severe weather is forecast. Many have been told not to use lifts – while in some areas traffic lights will be turned off.A giant, specially-made clock, will count down the final seconds before the transition at a landmark ceremony in Lithuania’s capital on Sunday, attended by EU chief Ursula von…

Oliver SmithBBC business reporterVoltLyle and James Metcalfe run e-bike company Volt and have a factory in Milton KeynesA government decision to scrap tariffs on Chinese e-bikes coming into the UK has been described as a “kick in the teeth for British manufacturing”.Border taxes were imposed on Chinese e-bikes following Brexit, keeping the UK in line with the EU, but the Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has accepted a recommendation to lift them on non-folding e-bikes from Friday.The Trade Remedies Authority, the body responsible for reviewing tariffs, said the move allowing cheaper Chinese imports could save consumers £200.But UK-based companies have called…

Natalie ShermanBusiness reporter, BBC NewsGetty ImagesJob growth in the US slowed last month but unemployment remained low, in a sign of a solid, if more subdued economy.Employers added 143,000 jobs in January, while the unemployment rate slipped to 4% from 4.1%, according to the Labor Department report.The figures set the stage as US President Donald Trump enters the White House promising a major shake-up, including cuts to government spending and the federal workforce, mass migrant deportations and higher tariffs on many goods coming into the US. The proposals have raised uncertainty about the path ahead for the world’s largest economy.…

Liv McMahon & Graham FraserTechnology reportersHollie DanceHollie Dance and her son ArchieTikTok has been sued by the parents of four British teenagers who believe the children died after taking part in viral trends that circulated on the video-sharing platform in 2022.The lawsuit claims Isaac Kenevan, Archie Battersbee, Julian “Jools” Sweeney and Maia Walsh died while attempting the so-called “blackout challenge”.The US-based Social Media Victims Law Center filed the wrongful death lawsuit against TikTok and its parent company ByteDance on behalf of the children’s parents on Thursday.According to TikTok, searches for videos or hashtags related to the challenge are blocked.It says…

Two unions representing employees of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) have filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and his administration over the White House’s plan to drastically shrink the department’s staff.On Thursday, USAID employees were told to expect the agency’s staff to drop from about 10,000 to less than 300 globally, according to US media reports.The lawsuit filed by the labour groups in Washington DC argues the president does not have the authority to shut down the agency.Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the US is “not walking away from foreign aid”. The BBC has asked…

A US judge has temporarily halted President Donald Trump’s plan offering incentives to federal workers to voluntarily resign before a Thursday midnight deadline.Federal Judge George O’Toole Jr said the plan would be paused until a hearing on Monday when he could determine the merits of a lawsuit filed by federal employee unions, reports CBS, the BBC’s US partner. The offer is part of an ongoing effort by the Trump administration to slash the size of the federal government.The White House says more than 40,000 employees have accepted the offer to resign in exchange for pay until 30 September – though…

Another cut in interest rates, and the surprise here was that more consideration was given to a bumper half a percentage point cut in rates today, as the UK’s economic stagnation is forecast to extend into the first part of this year.If everything was equal, the assumption would be that the weak economy would now lead to further gradual cuts this year, bringing interest rates down to 4% or lower by the end of the year.But the stagnant economy is now accompanied by sharper inflationary risks from higher energy prices. Inflation is expected to “rise quite sharply” into the autumn,…