Business

Image copyright Getty Images Alibaba chief executive Daniel Zhang has praised Hong Kong’s “bright” future as the Chinese e-commerce giant prepares to list in the embattled financial hub. The firm, which is already traded in the US, hopes to raise up to $13.4bn (£10.4bn) in its secondary listing. That would make it the biggest share […]

Image copyright Getty Images Plans from the two biggest political parties to raise the minimum wage would boost pay for millions of people, a leading economic research group says. The move would also double or treble the number of people whose wages are set by government, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said. The minimum

Steph McGovern explains how the government raises money from you to pay for the services you use. There’s a tax on your pay, a tax on your car, even a tax on fizzy drinks. But it still isn’t enough to pay for everything… so there’s a deficit. This video is part of a series produced

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media captionLabour’s John McDonnell pledged “free broadband for the country” if the party gets elected Labour has promised to give every home and business in the UK free full-fibre broadband by 2030, if it wins the general election. The party would nationalise part of BT to deliver the

Image copyright Getty Images The European Union is to stop funding oil, gas and coal projects at the end of 2021, cutting €2bn (£1.7bn) of yearly investments. The European Investment Bank (EIB), the EU’s financing department, will bar funding for most fossil fuel projects. The ban will come into effect a year later than originally

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Australia said beef and lamb exporters had been hit by Brexit delays Countries including Australia have asked for trade compensation from the UK and the EU over Brexit disruption. Fifteen countries, including the US, India and New Zealand, have been setting out Brexit concerns at a World Trade Organization

Image caption Zipporah Kuria: “It makes me shudder that Boeing and Ethiopian Airlines are at my father’s funeral and I’m not” Zipporah Kuria is fighting back tears. “It is absurd,” she says. “It makes me shudder that Boeing and Ethiopian Airlines are at my father’s funeral and I’m not.” Eight months after the Boeing 737

Image copyright Getty Images Argos has issued a recall for some Cuggl brand baby gates after tests showed they were faulty. The catalogue company said customers should stop using them and return them to one of their stores for a refund. Tests showed some gates failed safety standards for durability. The firm said some gates’

Image copyright EPA Germany has narrowly avoided a recession, according to new official data. The country’s economy grew by 0.1% in the third quarter of the year after contracting in the previous three months. A recession is often defined as two consecutive quarters of declining economic activity. Germany’s strength as an exporter of manufactured goods

Image copyright BBC/Reuters Image caption Zoe Sugg (Zoella), singer Rita Ora and model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley are all social-media influencers The money made by social-media influencers has risen meteorically in the last few years, according to a new report. Marketing firm Izea found the average price of a sponsored photo on Instagram has jumped from $134