Bloomberg UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond scrapped a plan to increase tax on the self-employed, after a storm of criticism from legislators in his own ruling Conservative Party. Hammond was accused of breaking a manifesto pledge not to hike national insurance contributions, made by the Tories before they won the 2015 election, when he announced the proposal …

  Bloomberg The UK jobless rate matched its lowest since 1975 in the three months through January but Britons are seeing their wages go nowhere. Unemployment unexpectedly declined to 4.7 percent, matching the rate it last reached in 2005, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday. The number of people in work rose by 92,000 to 31.9 million, the …

  WASHINGTON / AP Americans spent only slightly more last month at retail stores compared with January, a sign of consumer caution despite rising optimism about the economy. The Commerce Department said Wednesday retail sales ticked up a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent in February, after a much bigger gain of 0.6 percent the previous month. January’s gain was revised higher. …