From Rachel Reeves in Washington to Elon Musk’s Tesla troubles and a surprise dividend at Heathrow - here’s your midweek business roundup.
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00:00Hello and welcome to the latest Business Bulletin on Wednesday, the 23rd of April.
00:05Chancellor Rachel Reeves is in Washington for IMF talks.
00:09She says she'll defend Britain's interests and push for a US trade deal.
00:13The visit comes as global uncertainty grows,
00:15with the IMF warning Trump's tariffs will hit world growth.
00:19Meanwhile, the UK government borrowed more than expected last year.
00:23Public sector borrowing hit £151.9 billion in the year to March.
00:28That's £14.6 billion above forecast.
00:32Elon Musk says he'll focus more on Tesla from May.
00:35This follows a sharp fall in profits and criticism over his role in Trump's government.
00:40Tesla's Q1 profits dropped 71% down to $409 million.
00:46Heathrow's passenger numbers held steady in early 2025.
00:50The airport welcomed 18.2 million travellers in Q1, just below last year's 18.5 million.
00:56Revenue rose 2.1% to £825 million,
01:00thanks to more long-haul flights and stronger retail and property income.
01:04Reading FC have agreed terms with a buyer,
01:07and the EFL has extended the deadline to complete the deal.
01:10They now have until May 5th to finalise the sale.
01:13The buyer's identity is still officially under wraps.
01:16Hobbycraft will close at least nine UK stores.
01:19126 jobs are at risk under a new restructuring plan.
01:24Medela Capital, who bought the firm last August, is leading the changes.
01:28And finally, online retailer THG has turned down a major offer.
01:32A £600 million bid for its MyProtein brand was rejected.
01:37The approach came from Selkirk, led by THG's former chair.
01:40The company called it unsolicited, unfunded and non-binding.
01:44That's all for today. Thanks for listening.