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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The UK stands apart as a place to do business, not because of one advantage, but many working together. Over Ā£10 trillion in capital, four of the world's top universities, a 10-year industrial strategy in action, its stability with dynamism, global reach with local depth. It all adds up to greater growth. Find out more at business.gov.uk slash growth.
News when you want it with Bloomberg News Now. I'm Caroline Hepker.
Chapter 2: What were the latest GDP growth figures for the UK in Q4?
And I'm Stephen Carroll.
The UK economy grew less than expected in the fourth quarter, adding to the pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer as he fights to shore up his leadership. GDP rose by a modest 0.1% in the final three months of 2025, matching the equally weak growth recorded in the third quarter. Now, for 2025 as a whole, the UK economy expanded by 1.3%.
UK Treasury Minister Dan Tomlinson says the economy is turning a corner.
The growth in investment in the UK economy was twice as high in 2025 than it was in 2024, from 1.7% to 3.4%. That investment will drive long-term growth, and that's from both public and private sector. Yes, we've increased public sector investment. We need to do that in the UK. We've been living off our past for too long, our roads, our railways, our infrastructure.
We need to invest in them, but alongside the private sector.
Despite Tomlinson's words to Bloomberg, the latest figures deal a further setback to Starmer in a week in which he has faced calls to resign over his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US despite his known links to Jeffrey Epstein.
Well, a UK government-owned investment firm has suspended its relationship with global ports operator DP World over the CEO's alleged links to Jeffrey Epstein. The move follows a decision by Canada's second largest pension fund to pause future investment with the company. With more, here's Bloomberg's James Wilcock.
Among the elite businessmen who carried on friendly, crude and sometimes disturbing correspondence with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, few kept up their exchanges as long as Sultan Ahmed bin Sulaim. Emails show the men exchanged contacts in business and politics, attempted to broker deals with one another and made explicit references to sexual encounters.
Now, in the wake of those emails being made public, both the UK's development finance bank, British International Investment, and Canadian pension fund, Caisse de Depot et Placement du QuƩbec, have halted their investments with Sulaim's firm, DP World. Bloomberg investigated the emails last summer, and Sulaim has not responded to repeated requests for comment since then.
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Chapter 3: How did UK Treasury Minister Dan Tomlinson describe the economy's performance?
All divisions performed better than expected in the fourth quarter, except for perfume and beauty, where sales fell by almost 15%. Now, the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation aimed at ending President Trump's tariffs on Canada.
The move signals growing anxiety over the White House's economic agenda ahead of midterm election campaigns that are expected to focus on affordability issues. President Trump can still veto the bill, meaning that the vote was largely symbolic and a way to get lawmakers on the record regarding their support for tariffs on Canadian goods. Here is our senior U.S.
Chapter 4: What impact did the investment growth have on the UK economy?
government editor Derek Warbank.
these votes sort of represent an increase in political pressure on the president to change course just months before the midterm elections. They also, though, represent a big difficulty for some swing district Republicans whose districts may be heavily affected by tariffs, but who have to face a very real question about whether or not they want to cross the president on his signature issue.
Derek Warbank was speaking as sources have told Bloomberg that President Trump is privately considering quitting the US-Mexico-Canada trade pact that he signed during his first term.
And those are your top stories in the programme this morning on the markets. The stock 600 is six tenths higher. The Cat Caron in Paris up by 1.1%. The DAX in Frankfurt 1.2% higher. Plenty of companies earnings moving those markets this morning. Hermes shares up by 1.8%. Siemens shares up by 6.2%. Mercedes-Benz though their shares down by 2.7% this morning.
And in France, Michelin up by 6.6% at the moment.
That's news when you want it with Bloomberg News Now. I'm Caroline Hepker.
I'm Stephen Carroll. And this is Bloomberg.
As a place to do business, the UK stands apart. Not because of a single advantage, but a uniquely powerful combination of many. As one of the world's leading financial centres, the UK puts over Ā£10 trillion to work every day, fuelling innovation across every sector. Home to four of the world's top universities, it provides exceptional talent and breakthrough research.
This sits alongside a clear 10-year industrial strategy, unlocking smarter regulation and making it faster and easier to operate. Stability with dynamism. Global connectivity with local depth. It all adds up to greater growth. Visit business.gov.uk slash growth.
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