Deliveroo takeover, ABF talks, northern start-up boom & global inequality warning – today’s UK business headlines in under two minutes

From a £2.9bn Deliveroo deal to rising small business growth in the North, here are today’s top stories in UK business, trade and economic sentiment.And if you want a bit more detail on one of the stories, you can read our short comment piece below: Donald Trump's tariff tirades and trade spats with China are making global business more difficult - no doubt about that. Half of April’s UK profit warnings cited fallout from the trade war. But let’s be honest: blaming America’s unpredictability is becoming a little too convenient for explaining why British firms, and more generally the British economy, are underperforming.Today’s consumer confidence figures are the worst since 2022. Inflation might be easing on paper, but the cost-of-living crisis is still biting. Travel inflation alone is above 30 per cent, foreign holidays are slipping out of reach for many families. Food and energy bills are much higher than they used to be. Meanwhile, the Labour government has already lost the confidence it was handed. Its economic plan is incoherent at best, anti-business at worst. Last week’s local election bruising wasn’t just a warning - it was a verdict. People are already fed up with drift and decay.Yes, choppy global conditions don’t help. But Britain’s economic stagnation wasn’t made in Washington. It’s time to stop hiding behind foreign headlines and start taking responsibility at home.Get daily business news from your region by subscribing to Insider’s free newsletters: www.insidermedia.com/newsletters/subscribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.