CNBC International

Despite some threats from U.S. President Donald Trump, there are hopes the U.K. could avoid tariffs. ➡️ IRINA SURDU Nardella, a professor of international business and strategy at University of Warwick - Warwick Business School, told CNBC that even if the U.K. does get hit with tariffs, the impact may be more muted than expected. ➡️ Neri Karra Sillaman, Ph.D. of the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School, University of Oxford said that avoiding tariffs altogether is the ideal scenario as it could bolster Britain’s key industries. Read more here: cnb.cx/4gAkV6V

Even if the U.K. is not the “direct recipient” of potential tariffs imposed by the U.S., “it will have an effect,” warned Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey on Thursday. ➡️ If tariffs are announced, their effect on the global economic growth and inflation would need to be looked at, Bailey told CNBC’s Stephen Sedgwick. ➡️ Bailey also pointed out that services are a large part of U.K. trade, which classic tariffs do not affect in the same way as other goods. Read more here: cnb.cx/3Q8qY8k

China has toughened its tone following the Trump administration’s opening salvo of trade tariffs. ➡️ “In the face of one-sided acts of bullying, [China] will definitely take necessary measures to firmly protect its own rights and interests,” Chinese Ministry of Commerce Spokesperson He Yongqian told reporters Thursday, according to a CNBC translation. ➡️ Beijing’s official commentary previously emphasized the willingness to negotiate. Read Evelyn Cheng's report here: cnb.cx/3Q4ygtw

The Bank of England made its first interest rate cut of 2025 on Thursday, resuming monetary easing amid ongoing concerns over sluggish growth in the British economy. ➡️ The central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.5%. ➡️ Economists had widely expected the central bank to trim rates, following a spate of lackluster U.K. growth data. Read Holly Ellyatt's report here: cnb.cx/4jO2pLh

Central banks, by and large, have one overarching mandate: to ensure price stability and control inflation in a country. Policymakers in South Korea need to contend with another responsibility: managing high household debt. ➡️ References to household debt often, if not always, come up in the Bank of Korea’s monetary policy decision. ➡️ The BOK looks at it because of the exceptionally high household debt in the country, which experts say could cripple growth if left unchecked. Read the full report here: https://cnb.cx/4jPg5Wj

Ukraine’s closest allies have warned against the European Union reopening Russian gas pipelines as part of a prospective peace settlement. ➡️ This comes shortly after the Financial Times reported that some EU officials had endorsed the idea as one way of lowering regional energy costs. ➡️ The report, which was published on Jan. 30 and cited unnamed sources familiar with discussions, said the idea had been endorsed by some EU officials as one way of lowering regional energy costs Swipe to see what the leaders of Ukraine’s allies had to say about the reopening of Russian gas pipelines. Read Sam Meredith's full report here: https://cnb.cx/3EudalR

India’s central bank will likely cut benchmark interest rates in its policy meeting that’s underway, as easing inflation offers it room to stimulate a faltering economy, though the rupee hovers at record lows. ➡️ The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to trim the interest rate by 25 basis points to 6.25% at the policy meeting concluding Friday, in what would be its first rate cut in nearly five years. ➡️ Indian government bonds have rallied in recent weeks, as traders ramped up wagers for an interest rate cut at the February meeting. Read the full report here: https://cnb.cx/4aMsYfM

Chinese online marketplace Temu and fast-fashion retailer SHEIN will be liable for the sale of unsafe and dangerous products on their platforms, the European Commission said on Wednesday, as part of a crackdown against a flood of cheap e-commerce imports into the European Union. ➡️ The measures by the EU executive echo a similar push by the U.S. government which ended a trade provision this week used by retailers including Temu and Shein to ship low-value packages duty-free to the United States. ➡️ The EU executive will also propose to EU countries a handling fee for e-commerce imports to meet the cost of supervising such imports. Read more here: https://cnb.cx/3Q2M7AJ

Argentina will pull out of the World Health Organization (WHO), a presidential spokesperson said on Wednesday, following President Donald Trump's executive order last month to pull the United States out of the global health group. ➡️ Trump, who Argentina's libertarian President Javier Milei considers a close ally, moved to exit the organization on his first day in office on January 20. ➡️ Milei ordered Argentina's withdrawal because of "deep differences" regarding the WHO's management of health issues, notably the COVID-19 pandemic, presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni said, citing Argentina's months-long lockdown under the previous leftist government. Read more here: https://cnb.cx/410AzEj

Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk now expects to be able to bring a weight loss pill to the U.S. market before Eli Lilly. ➡️ CEO and President, Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen said that both Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly and Company’s current weight loss treatments are administered via injection, but oral formats are considered the next frontier in expanding patient accessibility. ➡️ Jørgensen said that Novo Nordisk would submit its oral treatment for U.S. regulatory approval “within a couple of months” with a view to launching next year. Lilly is currently developing an oral obesity pill, Orforglipron, which it said last month could receive regularly approval by early 2026. Read more here: cnb.cx/3WOkgYu