SAJID Javid is the first Asian chancellor, one of the great offices of state.
The son of a Pakistani immigrant bus driver moves to 11 Downing Street, a short distance from the Home Office, where he was the first BAME politician to head it.
The 49-year-old father of four, who represents Bromsgrove, left a lucrative career in banking to enter politics in 2010.
After studying economics and politics at Exeter University, Javid joined Chase Manhattan bank. During an almost 20-year career in banking, he also oversaw trading in debt instruments blamed for causing the global financial crisis.
Javid’s promotion signals new prime minister Boris Johnson's intent with the economy - he wants to see a more interventionist approach - but also underlines Johnson’s desire to have someone who will help, rather than hinder, his "do or die" pledge to leave the EU by October 31.
One of the new chancellor’s biggest challenges might be in balancing his free-market views with the high-spending pledges the prime minister made during his campaign – he also promised major tax cuts.
The prospect of a messy divorce after 46 years has unnerved the markets and seen the pound slump to a two-year low against both the dollar and the euro.
But Javid, who recalls with fondness his chance to shake the late Margaret Thatcher's hand as a young boy, has first-hand experience navigating financial turmoil. Her passion for free markets and low taxes seems to have rubbed off on a relatively shy man who, in contrast to his new boss, is not known for his oratory.
Javid made big bets - and big profits - as a risky derivatives trader for Deutsche Bank during the 2008-2009 global financial crisis.
Economists view him as a liberal who knows banking and the drawbacks of bureaucracy and red tape.
"Javid will be a great choice as chancellor," said Iain Anderson, executive chairman of Cicero, a public affairs company that has represented many FTSE 100 firms. "He cares about business and wants to incentivise it."
Javid has also called for a big increase in public investment infrastructure projects, a policy more associated with the opposition Labour than his Conservative Party.
Asked by a Conservative what being a party member meant to him, Javid said: "Conservatism is how I got to where I am."
"It provides two essential things in life: a strong foundation of values and society and a springboard of freedom and opportunities."
Javid will have to manage the economy at a time when it could be abruptly wrenched out of the European Union, pick the next Bank of England Governor and protect London's position as one of the world's top two finance centres.
He will probably also to have to find a way to relax austerity with the economy facing a slowdown, and possibly a recession. Some investors are worried about Britain's large balance of payments deficit.
During his failed bid to lead the Conservative Party Javid said he would prepare for a no-deal Brexit with an emergency budget that would include tax cuts for businesses and individuals.
He also has proposed the creation of a £100 billion National Infrastructure Fund to take advantage of ultra-low borrowing costs and invest in projects that would rebalance the economy, taking a leaf out of the book of the Labour Party.
However, as a eurosceptic who voted to remain in the 2016 referendum, Javid must persuade the hardline Brexit supporters within his own party that he will now work to deliver Britain's departure from the EU.
"He's not got star quality. He's the kind of bloke you'd want to hire as your accountant," said one veteran Conservative and Brexit supporter on condition of anonymity.
"He's nerdy, a bit like Hammond, which isn't a compliment," he said of Javid’s predecessor Philip Hammond, who Brexit supporters felt talked Britain down by failing to promote the country's future outside the EU.
Being a "nerd", though, might just be what Johnson needs in his chancellor, a role just one step away from the pinnacle of British power which can make or break a prime minister's reign.
With Johnson banking on his optimism and "can do" spirit to break an impasse over Brexit, he will need someone who can ensure the economy weathers Britain's departure from the EU.
Javid's instincts saw his vote in 2016 to remain in the EU because of its economic benefits to trade.
But he has since rallied to the Brexit cause and Johnson's leadership challenge after himself bowing out early in the campaign.
Javid grew up in a tough area of Bristol, where he recalled being called the racist term "Paki" in school.
He also faced initial questions about his background in his early days in finance, but persevered and became the first from an ethnic minority to get a top government job.
He won promotions to business and then housing secretary before arriving in April 2018 at the Home Office.
Javid developed a reputation as a loyal minister who was tough on crime but also sensitive to the racial injustices of Britain's past immigration policies.
His predecessor Amber Rudd quit amid a scandal over the "Windrush" generation, Britons born in the Caribbean who migrated legally in the 1960s but were being deported because of a lack of papers.
Javid’s first pledge was to promote "decency and fairness". He has also apologised for the way in which Windrush migrants were treated.
However, Javid also faced criticism for stripping the UK citizenship of Shamima Begum, a 19-year-old mother who as a teen to join the Islamic State Group in Syria and wanted to return to London.
Javid, who said he felt like an outsider at the age of six, may have to draw on some the resilience he described during his party leadership campaign.
He said: "I'm optimistic and determined about what we can do, together, as a party to break through the barriers that people say can't be broken, to heal the divisions that people say can't be healed, and to make post-Brexit Britain the success that so many naysayers insist it can never be."
His wife Laura is a church-going Christian and he is not a practising Muslim himself. Some of his four children are looking at future careers in finance.
Starlink will next need to acquire spectrum from the government, build ground infrastructure, and carry out testing and trials to meet the agreed security requirements. (Photo: Reuters)
INDIA’s space regulator on Wednesday granted Starlink a licence to begin commercial operations in the country, removing the final regulatory barrier for the satellite internet provider.
The company, led by Elon Musk, has been waiting since 2022 for licences to start operations in India. It received an initial approval last month from India’s telecom ministry and was waiting for clearance from the space regulator.
The licence, issued by the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe), is valid for five years.
Earlier on Wednesday, Reuters reported, citing sources, that Starlink had secured the licence from IN-SPACe.
Starlink is now the third company to receive approval to enter the Indian satellite communications market. India has previously cleared applications from Eutelsat’s OneWeb and Reliance Jio.
The company will next need to acquire spectrum from the government, build ground infrastructure, and carry out testing and trials to meet the agreed security requirements.
Musk and Reliance Jio’s Mukesh Ambani had disagreed for several months over how spectrum should be allocated for satellite services. The Indian government later supported Musk’s position that spectrum should be assigned, not auctioned.
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Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) reported a 10.7 per cent drop in sales for the April–June quarter, as a temporary pause in shipments to the United States and the phase-out of Jaguar’s legacy models weighed on volumes.
The company, owned by India’s Tata Motors, sold 87,286 units to dealers worldwide during the quarter, compared to 97,755 units in the same period last year.
Retail sales dropped 15.1 per cent in the three months to the end of June, JLR said in a statement on Monday. The company cited a halt in exports to the US in April as one of the main reasons behind the decline. The pause followed the imposition of a 25 per cent duty by President Donald Trump on all foreign-made vehicles sold in the US, one of JLR's key markets.
JLR does not manufacture cars in the US. Its Range Rover lineup is produced in Britain, subject to a 10 per cent levy, while its top-selling Defender SUVs are built in Slovakia, which falls under the higher 25 per cent tariff.
North America, which accounts for around one-third of JLR’s global sales, saw a 12.2 per cent drop in volumes in the first quarter. Jaguar’s luxury sedans, SUVs and sports cars saw a 72 per cent decline in sales, falling to 2,339 units, as part of a planned wind-down of legacy models. Jaguar is set to become a fully electric brand by 2026.
Excluding Jaguar’s performance, JLR’s overall sales declined by 5.1 per cent.
In the UK, Jaguar’s sales were also affected by the phase-out of older models in preparation for its electric vehicle line-up. According to automotive trade body SMMT, British car exports to the US dropped by over 50 per cent in May. However, a new trade agreement between the UK and US is expected to support future sales. The agreement reduces tariffs on UK car exports to 10 per cent from 27.5 per cent, up to an annual limit of 100,000 vehicles.
JLR is among the top car exporters from Britain and contributes about two-thirds of Tata Motors' revenue. Both JLR and Tata Motors are expected to announce their first-quarter earnings in August.
In June, JLR revised its forecast for earnings margin before interest and taxes for the fiscal year 2026 to 5–7 per cent, down from the earlier target of 10 per cent, citing global uncertainty triggered by US tariffs.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Workers are engaged at their sewing stations in a garment factory in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, on April 9, 2025. (Photo by MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images)
BANGLADESH, the world's second-biggest garment manufacturer, aims to strike a trade deal with the US before Donald Trump's punishing tariffs kick in next week, said the country's top commerce official.
Dhaka is proposing to buy Boeing planes and boost imports of US wheat, cotton and oil in a bid to reduce the trade deficit, which Trump used as the reason for imposing painful levies in his "Liberation Day" announcement.
"We have finalised a draft reciprocal trade agreement," Mahbubur Rahman said on Wednesday (3), adding the government was "hopeful of reaching a win-win agreement".
Rahman said a meeting between officials from both countries was slated for July 8, with the US representing 20 per cent of Bangladesh's ready-made garments exports.
Textile and garment production accounts for about 80 per cent of exports in Bangladesh and the industry has been rebuilding after it was hit hard in a student-led revolution that toppled the government last year.
Trump hit Bangladesh with 37 per cent tariffs in his April 2 announcement, which is more than double the 16 per cent already placed on cotton products.
He suspended the tolls' introduction until July 9, as he did with other global trading partners, though a baseline 10 per cent levy was kept in place.
Bangladesh exported $8.36 billion worth of goods to the US in 2024, while imports from there amounted to $2.21bn, according to the Bangladesh Bank and the National Board of Revenue.
"As part of the initiative to reduce the trade gap, the government already decided to import a large volume of wheat, purchasing 14 aircraft from US manufacturer Boeing, buying cotton and more oil and gas from the US farms," Rahman said.
He did not give further details on the exact timing or extent of the proposed deals, but said the government had held around 28 meetings and document exchanges in a bid to reach an agreement.
Interim leader Muhammed Yunus spoke to US secretary of state Marco Rubio on Monday (30) and told him Dhaka was "working with your officials to finalise a package of measures to effectively respond to president Trump's trade agenda".
Mahmud Hasan Khan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), the national platform of the garment makers, expressed concerns about any deal.
"The already enacted additional 10 per cent tariff is hitting our exporters, and if it goes further, we might lose US buyers," he warned.
But Mohammad Hatem, president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), said he was optimistic.
"We are hopeful of a positive outcome on the US tariff before July 9," he said.
"There will be a temporary problem if the US administration does not revise the tariff. But it will largely and ultimately hit the US buyers, as they would have to buy goods at higher prices."
(AFP)
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The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
THE COST of UK government borrowing fell on Thursday, partially reversing the rise seen after Chancellor Rachel Reeves became emotional during Prime Minister’s Questions.
The yield on 10-year government bonds dropped to 4.55 per cent, down from 4.61 per cent the previous day. The pound also recovered slightly to $1.3668 (around £1.00), though it did not regain all its earlier losses.
The movement followed comments from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who told BBC Radio 4's Political Thinking with Nick Robinson that he worked “in lockstep” with Reeves and said she was “doing an excellent job as chancellor.”
Analysts told the BBC that markets appeared to back Reeves, with concerns that her departure could lead to a weakening of fiscal discipline. “It looks to me like this is a rare example of financial markets actually enhancing the career prospects of a politician,” said Will Walker Arnott of Charles Stanley. “If the chancellor goes then any fiscal discipline would follow her out the door and that would mean bigger deficits.”
Mohamed El-Erian of Allianz warned that risk premiums may persist. “I suspect that we will see some moderation, but we will not go back to where we were 24 hours ago,” he said.
Reeves, who became tearful during PMQs after a U-turn on planned welfare reforms that left a £5bn gap in her financial plans, said on Thursday she had been upset due to a personal issue. A Treasury spokesperson also confirmed it was a personal matter.
Reeves told the BBC that the welfare changes would be reflected in the Budget and reaffirmed her commitment to fiscal rules. Jane Foley of Rabobank said Reeves now faces difficult choices but added, “investors do place a lot of store in political stability.”