Financial Times - April 8

The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

Headlines

- BoE asks banks whether clients have funding problems after Trump-induced market rout

- Diageo swaps Ciroc vodka for LeBron James-backed tequila brand

- Starmer vows not to raise taxes despite Trump's tariffs

- EU drops bourbon, wine and dairy products from tariffs list against US

Overview

- The Bank of England has asked lenders in the City of London for information about market liquidity and whether any of their clients are having funding problems, as investors reel from U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs.

- Diageo DGE said it had formed a joint venture with celebrity advisory firm Main Street Advisors, with Diageo taking a majority stake in its tequila and mezcal brand Lobos 1707, which is backed by basketball star LeBron James, in exchange for the rights to Ciroc in North America.

- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has insisted he will not put up taxes even if U.S. President Donald Trump's global trade war blows a hole in Britain's public finances, as he vowed to prepare the country for "an era of global instability".

- The EU will hit the U.S. with 25% tariffs on a range of goods in response to its duties on aluminium and steel, but has exempted bourbon after heavy lobbying from France, Italy and Ireland, which are seeking to shield their alcohol industries from the escalating trade war.