Rachel Reeves has been urged to turn to seized cryptocurrency in an attempt to address the much lamented £22bn black hole in the nation’s finances.

Britain has “no choice” but to engage with China if the government is to meet its mission of growing the economy, Reeves wrote in an op-ed for the Times at the weekend. “Reeves: UK needs China” was the headline on the newspaper’s front-page report.

European and US markets were in positive territory as investors continue to digest the potential impact of DeepSeek.

It comes after Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves’ own cosying up to Beijing, which experts have seen as an attempt to “hedge” against Trump’s unpredictable presidency, an approach which the EU had previously looked on dimly but is now aping.

The Chancellor claimed Britain has its 'best days ahead' in a new interview - with multiple drops in interest rates forecasted, and a plan in hand to fix Britain's 'perverse' benefits system.

Companies are cutting jobs at the fastest pace since the global financial crisis, barring the pandemic, after Rachel Reeves announced £40bn of tax rises in the Budget, according to a closely watched survey.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she wanted the tax burden to come down but that would depend on the economy and public finances improving.

I’m not going to apologise for the Budget, because although I hear criticism, what I don’t hear is any real alternatives'

China's relations are starting to improve with Japan, India and other countries that former U.S. President Joe Biden courted, just as Donald Trump brings his more unilateralist approach back to the White House.

Netflix beats expectations and reports stellar growth and forecasts for 2025. China could see 10% tariffs on goods going to the US from next month, which is lower than expected. UK public borrowing figures for Dec likely to weigh on bond market, and put pressure on UK to cut public spending quickly and rapidly.

Presented by Klarna By SAM BLEWETT with NOAH KEATE PRESENTED BY Send tips here | Subscribe for free | Listen to Playbook and view in your browser Good Wednesday morning. This is Sam Blewett.

Exclusive: Insiders say the UK has no choice but to accept Trump’s terms for on trade as neither the EU or China has produced significant deals