THE BIG STORIES
Combative Trump vows to press on | Findlay calls for cut to school leaving age | Football drink ban trials?

📣 A combative Donald Trump told the US Congress he would press on with his “swift and unrelenting” agenda in a prime-time speech last night.

He promised further shifts to the country’s economy, immigration and foreign policy, and read out a letter sent by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which said Ukraine was ready to come back to the negotiating table. (AP)

• Read the full transcript (New York Times - free to view)

• Seven big takeaways from the speech (BBC)

• Trump said Vladimir Putin has sent “strong signals” he wants a peace deal (Daily Mail)

• Some Republicans are bristling at Trump’s tariffs, having been happy to go along with them when they were theoretical… but fearing the damage now they are becoming real. (Semafor)

• Depending on the headline you scan today, John Swinney either thinks a visit to Scotland by Donald Trump is “unthinkable” (Daily Record) or “a possibility” (The Herald). In fact, he said both: it’s “unthinkable” if Trump doesn’t change his stance on Ukraine, but “a possibility” if a visit will help peace.

• Ben Wallace (former Secretary of State for Defence): Trump and Vance aren’t clever: they’re clueless (Telegraph)

📣 The school leaving age should be cut to 14 or 15, Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay will say today.

In a speech unveiling what he’s calling a “bold” proposal, he’ll argue the move could give young people - who would have to remain in education - a “fast track” to an apprenticeship or college place.

He’ll say it is an idea that could “transform opportunities for those young people who are being left behind”. Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth, however, has branded the proposal “Dickensian”. (The Scotsman)

📣 Police Scotland has said it is “open to discussions” on lifting Scotland’s ban on alcohol sales at football matches, according to The Herald.

Documents revealed through Freedom of Information requests show “a limited number of pilot projects” are being considered to allow fans to buy alcoholic drinks on stadium concourses, as they can in England.

As recently as September last year, John Swinney had appeared to rule out a lifting of the ban, introduced by the Thatcher government after crowd trouble at the 1980 Scottish Cup Final between Rangers and Celtic. (The Herald has the exclusive)

IDEAS
Vowel play: Abrdn is gone. But - you decide - which is the worst rebrand?

🗣️ One of the worst rebrands of recent corporate history was finally rolled back after investment firm Abrdn announced it would now be known as aberdeen group (with no capital letters). Roundly mocked since its introduction in 2021 (one executive memorably said the mockery amounted to “corporate bullying” last year, which… didn’t help) the company has now finally relented.

So, today, a little fun: here are some other terrible rebrands of venerable institutions. And a chance for you to vote: which of the five was the worst?

1. BA’s “World Tails”

   In 1997, British Airways wanted to portray a more global image, and commissioned a series of striking tain-fin art as well as a new corporate logo. The livery was a move away from the traditional flag-carrying colour scheme of the carrier, and the company’s famous slogan “To Fly. To Serve.” was also dropped. Critics loved it, business travellers not so much. Famously, former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher draped a paper tissue over one fin when shown it at Conservative Party conference, declaring: “We fly the British flag, not these awful things”.

2. The Post Office becomes… Consignia

   The Post Office wanted a more “modern and meaningful” name to match its global ambitions (are we seeing a theme emerge?) and spent £2m with branding agency Dragon Brands to develop something new. Their rationale: “It's got consign in it. It's got a link with insignia, so there is this kind of royalty-ish thing in the back of one's mind…” The media got the blame for its rapid demise, as Consignia quickly became Royal Mail.

3. Twitter becomes… X

   Twitter might have been a struggling social media network when Elon Musk bought it, but at least it was famous. In the end the brand was one of many things - including thousands of staff - jettisonned when Musk took over in the summer of 2023. It was thought to be part of his plan to turn the service into a “super app” that does everything from messages to payments. But the link between X and Musk is now not the positive it might once have been, to put it gently.

4. Tropicana’s new packaging

   The fruit drink attempted to modernise its branding and packaging in 2009. If you haven’t heard of this one, it’s because the bland new look lasted barely a few weeks: sales dropped by 20%, and the company had to revert to the old style - which more or less survives today - as quickly as it could. It cost the company an estimated $50 million.

AROUND SCOTLAND

📣 A group campaigning for tunnels to link the two most northerly islands in Shetland has raised money for ground investigations to help build their case. (Scotsman)

📣 Police are investigating a potential lynx sighting in Dumfries and Galloway. (STV)

📣 A man who arrived at Edinburgh airport with £5m of cocaine in his luggage claimed he had only acquired some sombreros during his trip to Mexico. (STV)

AROUND THE UK

📣 The Treasury has earmarked billions in spending cuts to welfare and other government departments after Rachel Reeves’ £9.9 billion “room for manoeuvre” was all but wiped out by global economic shifts and the UK’s faltering economic performance. Proposals will be put to the Office of Budget Responsibility today, ahead of the Spring Statement which is due later in the month.

• Trump’s tariffs will harm the UK even if they’re not directed at us, Rachel Reeves has warned (The Independent)

📣 British MPs have condemned as “deeply disrespectful” comments by US vice-president JD Vance after he appeared to describe a proposed Anglo-French peacekeeping deployment to Ukraine as “20,000 troops from some random country that has not fought a war in 30 or 40 years”. (Guardian)

📣 There will be a four-day celebration of the 80th anniversary of VE Day in May. (BBC)

AROUND THE WORLD

🌎 Arab leaders have endorsed a $53 billion plan to reconstruct Gaza by 2030 without removing its population - seen as the region’s collective response to Donald Trump’s proposals for redevelopment. (CNN)

• Cut off, with aid groups scrambling: what’s happening in Gaza now? (AP)

🌎 Half of the world’s CO2 emissions come from just 36 fossil fuel firms, a study has claimed. The biggest emitters were all state-owned: Saudi Arabia’s Aramco came top, with Coal India and China’s CHN Energy in second and third. (Guardian)

🌎 Taiwan is learning from companies in Ukraine on how they have continued to operate during Russia’s invasion of the country. (Reuters)

BUSINESS & ECONOMICS

💰 The private equity industry has shrunk for the first time in decades, with buyout firms managing $4.7 trillion in assets as of June last year - around 2% down on 2023. (Financial Times)

💰 As well as dropping its controversial brand (see above), Abrdn has announced its first profit growth in three years. (Daily Business)

💰 Loganair is opening a new base at Southampton airport and expanding routes from Scottish airports, with new routes opening up between the south coast city and Manchester, Inverness and Aberdeen. (Herald)

SPORT

⚽️ It was a terrific night of Champions League football last night…

• Arsenal enjoyed a record-breaking 7-1 win over PSV Eindhoven, on an evening when many pundits had been wondering “where the goals will come from” because of the club’s injury crisis among its forwards… (BBC)

• It was a tighter affair in Madrid, where Real beat Atletico 2-1 in the first leg of their last 16 tie. (BBC)

• Tonight’s fixtures include PSG v Liverpool and Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen. Both those games kick off at 8pm.

⚽️ The “brutal reality” of Barry Ferguson’s audition at Ibrox is becoming clear, says the Daily Record: he now faces the “genius” of Jose Mourinho in the Europa League tomorrow night. (Daily Record)