Global oil inventories falling at record pace amid Iran war; US producer price inflation hits four-year high – as it happened

Global oil stocks are being run down at a record pace as supply losses mount due to the ongoing Iran war, the International Energy Agency has warned.In its latest outlook report, the IEA reports that global oil inventories fell by 129 million barrels in March, and by a further 117 million barrels in April, as countries dipped into their reserves to cover the shortfall following the Middle East conflict.The IEA, which ordered the largest release of government oil reserves in its history in mid-March, reports:double quotation markMore than ten weeks after the war in the Middle East began, mounting supply losses from the Strait of Hormuz are depleting global oil inventories at a record pace.The IEA also forecasts weaker demand this year, as the jump in prices for crude oil and refined products leads to demand destruction.World oil demand is forecast to contract by 420,000 barrels per day this year, to 104m bpd, which is 1

Lab testing group Intertek to back £10.6bn takeover by Swedish firm EQT

The laboratory testing company Intertek has become the latest FTSE 100 business to agree to a takeover, backing a £10.6bn approach from a private equity firm owned by Sweden’s billionaire Wallenberg family.After rebuffing three previous approaches, Intertek’s board said it was “minded to recommend” the £60-a-share tilt from the Swedish buyout firm EQT to shareholders, if there was a firm offer.The deal is worth £10.6bn including debt, or £9

Fortescue ordered to pay Yindjibarndi traditional owners $150m in record native title payout

Mining company Fortescue has been ordered to pay $150m in compensation to traditional owners over cultural losses caused by the multibillion-dollar Solomon Hub iron ore mine – the largest compensation payout in native title history.The mine, which has extracted millions of tonnes of iron ore and generated an estimated $80bn in revenue for Fortescue since operations began in 2013, was approved by the Western Australian government without the consent of the Yindjibarndi traditional owners.The Yindjibarndi Ngurra Aboriginal Corporation (YNAC) launched the compensation claim in 2022 and sought $1.8bn, including $1bn for cultural damage, $678m for economic loss, $34.85m for the destruction of sites, and $112

British Steel: more questions than answers on the future | Nils Pratley

“One of the proudest things we have done in government,” said Keir Starmer in Monday’s big speech about the decision a year ago to recall parliament in order to take control of British Steel at Scunthorpe.It was an odd boast because last year’s action was merely an emergency exercise in saving the patient, as opposed to getting British Steel on its feet and out of the hospital. Taking control meant the Chinese owner, Jingye, could not turn off the two blast furnaces but meant the government was on the hook for operational losses, which will be £615m and counting by next month according to the National Audit Office (NAO).Full nationalisation is now on the cards, which will end the limbo-land state of ownership and give some comfort for 4,000 workers. But it is also the point at which the government will have to choose between its barely described “potential future options” for British Steel

E.ON agrees to buy Ovo in deal to create UK’s biggest energy supplier

The German energy group E.ON has agreed to buy struggling UK rival Ovo in a deal that would create Britain’s biggest gas and electricity supplier by number of households served.The combined company will supply about 9.6 million customers, overtaking the market leader, Octopus, which serves almost 8m homes in the UK.The value of the deal was not disclosed, but reports have estimated it at £600m

Thinktank calls for ‘double lock’ England private rent cap to ease living costs

One of the thinktanks closest to the Labour government is urging ministers to introduce private sector rent controls in England, as the chancellor weighs up how to ease a surge in living costs caused by the Iran war.The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has published a paper calling for a rent “double lock”, which would link rent increases to either wages or inflation, depending on which was lower.While others on the left have previously called for rent controls, the IPPR’s extensive links inside government will increase pressure on ministers to include the idea in a cost of living package to be announced by Rachel Reeves later in May.The Guardian revealed last month that Reeves had been considering a one-year rent freeze to deal with a rise in inflation which economists say is now inevitable, but the idea was quickly dismissed by Downing Street.Maya Singer Hobbs, the author of the paper, said: “There are millions of people living with unaffordable housing costs, and if you want to bring those down quickly there are not many options

Democrats are playing with fire in trying to reclaim tax cuts from Republicans

Senator Chris Van Hollen and other Democratic lawmakers are embracing a policy that hardly benefits the middle classSoul-searching within the Democratic party is to be expected after its loss in the 2024 election. Donald Trump’s edge over Kamala Harris in voters’ perceptions of economic competence (perplexing though it now appears following a year of erratic policymaking) was bound to inspire a call to rethink the party platform.Yet the second-guessing is steering the Democrats down a dangerous path to embracing a tax-cutting strategy that risks defeating the project to enable a healthier, more equitable society.The most prominent proposal bouncing around Democratic circles comes in a bill from Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland senator. In a nutshell, it proposes cutting taxes for Americans earning up to $80,500 ($161,000 for married couples) and funding the $1

Milka maker milked shoppers over size of chocolate bars, German court rules

Many chocolate lovers consider shrinkflation a serious crime – and they have been vindicated after a German court ruled that the makers of Milka cheated consumers by cutting the bar’s size, while keeping the wrapper the same.The three-week case in a regional court was brought by Hamburg’s consumer protection office. It accused the chocolate brand’s US owner Mondelēz of deceiving shoppers by cutting the weight of Milka’s classic Alpine Milk bar from 100g to 90g without significantly altering the distinctive purple packaging.Shrinkflation, where product sizes are reduced but prices stay the same (or even go up), has become all too common as manufacturers try to offset rising business and ingredient costs.After last year’s changes, the Milka bar was a millimetre thinner and the price increased from €1

How new owner became all powerful in ‘high stakes’ attempt to revive former WH Smith chain

Shoppers at WH Smith were once accustomed to being offered cheap chocolate stacked high at the counter while buying their morning newspaper. Now, the chain’s former high street stores have themselves become the subject of a cut-price deal – as the low-profile investment group that snapped them up appears set to pay less than half of the original cash price.The paperclips to books chain had notched up 233 years on the British high street when it was bought by Modella Capital last summer.In less than a year, the future looks very different for the chain, which was hastily rebranded to TG Jones. First established in Little Grosvenor Street in London by Henry Walton Smith and his wife, Anna, WH Smith grew rapidly in the 19th century, building a newspaper distribution business as the railway network expanded

GameStop hits the limits of credibility with $55.5bn eBay bid | Nils Pratley

“Neither credible nor attractive.” No, not a line from a junior minister’s resignation letter on Tuesday. It was eBay’s succinct appraisal of the bizarre $55.5bn (£41bn) takeover offer from video games retailer GameStop, an affair that offers light distraction from the sight of UK 10-year gilt yields at 5%-plus.To recap: GameStop is the “meme stock” company that became famous a few years ago when amateur traders on a Reddit forum piled in furiously in an attempt to burn the short-sellers who were betting on the struggling retailer’s demise

The budget in seven graphs: no big surprises but this may be one of the most ambitious moves to fix Australia’s finances | Greg Jericho

This year’s budget is an odd affair. So much had been leaked and dropped to the media that there are barely any surprises. But that does not mean it does not live up to the billing of being ambitious – basically killing off the capital gains tax 50% discount is a huge deal.The lack of changes on gas tax, an absence of increased assistance for the unemployed and renters, and cuts to the NDIS, however, show that this is still a government where ambition is not in surplus.Jim Chalmers really should send Donald Trump a big exploding cake as an up-yours present for what the US president is doing to the global economy

Labour must offer more than ‘better managed decline’ on economy, MPs urge

An influential group of MPs has said Labour needs an urgent renewal of economic strategy to offer voters “more than better management of decline” before the next general election.With Keir Starmer fighting to ward off a leadership challenge, the leading backbenchers from the soft-left Tribune group published a series of essays calling for bolder action to salvage the party’s remaining time in power.In a foreword by the former cabinet minister Louise Haigh and Yuan Yang, a prominent figure from Labour’s 2024 intake, the MPs issued a thinly disguised attack on Starmer amid pressure on him to set out a timeline for his departure.“We do not present this as the final word. They are an invitation – to challenge assumptions, test ideas and help build a broader coalition for economic renewal

How to make arancini – recipe | Felicity Cloake's Masterclass

Before I wrote this recipe, it hadn’t occurred to me that the word “arancini” means “little oranges”, and, plump, round and golden as they are, it makes sense, too. Indeed, these robust rice balls, which are said to have come to Sicily with Arab invaders in the 10th century, are now, according to the late Antonio Carluccio, the local equivalent of a sandwich lunch.Prep 25 min Cook 45 min Makes 8 large ballsFor the risotto700ml chicken stock, or vegetable stock100ml white wine (optional)250g short-grain rice (eg, arborio)½ tsp salt, plus extra to season1 very generous pinch saffron (optional)50g parmesan, or grano padano or vegetarian alternative, gratedBlack pepperFor the arancini2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk100g mozzarella, drained and cut into chunksOptional other fillings of your choice – meat ragu, pesto, sauteed mushrooms, wilted or defrosted greens170g plain flour 250g fine dried breadcrumbs (preferably not panko)Neutral oil, for fryingFlaky sea salt, to finish (optional)Risotto is a northern Italian dish, so Sicilian arancini weren’t designed with it in mind, but they are great vehicles for risotto leftovers. My recipe is intended for 700g cooked rice, but adjust the fillings and coating according to what you have; these are also a great way to repurpose small amounts of ragu, cooked vegetables, fish or meat.If you’re cooking the rice from scratch, put the stock and wine (or substitute 100ml extra stock, if you prefer) in a medium pan and bring to a boil – I like chicken stock, because I find it the most neutrally savoury, but use whatever suits the fillings you’re using

Navel gazing: oranges, mandarins and persimmons top Australia’s best-value fruit and veg for May

“Sweet, low seed and great for snacking” imperial mandarins have just started their season, says Josh Flamminio, owner and buyer at Sydney’s Galluzzo Fruiterers. The tangy-sweet citrus is selling for between $2.99 and $3.99 a kilo in major supermarkets. At Galluzzo, Queensland-grown imperial mandarins are $3

Australian supermarket sauerkraut taste test: one is ‘like eating the smell of McDonald’s pickle’

It’s ‘Gut Coachella’ for Nicholas Jordan and friends, who blind taste a line-up of 20 shredded and fermented cabbage productsIf you value our independent journalism, we hope you’ll consider supporting us todayGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailI cannot tell you how many times I’ve been introduced to a fatty, salty hunk of meat and thought, “my god, I’m going to need a pickle”. I feel the same eating cheese toasties or deli sandwiches with rich mayo-based sauces. Where is the pickle, hot sauce, citrus or ferment? Even the most savoury, juicy slab of umami is a bit much without acidity to balance it.What is the point of sauerkraut without acidity? It’s just wet, salty cabbage, and what is that for, other than deflating my spirits and inflating my gastrointestinal system? Sauerkraut should be sour; it’s the hallmark of the very thing that created it – fermentation.Why am I saying all this? After eight friends and I tasted 21 supermarket sauerkrauts, I was shocked to find some lacked not just acidity but any vigour at all

Spring soup and bean and cheese quesadillas: Thomasina Miers’ Mexican-inspired seasonal recipes

I have always loved the evident (though not proven) link between how foodie a country is and its love of soups. In Mexico, where nose-to-tail eating is a given, broths maintain a steadying presence in any self-respecting cantina, and soups are commonplace on most menus. We don’t eat a crazy amount of meat at home, but having homemade stock in the freezer is an ingenious fast track to flavour and goodness. Here, whether your stock is chicken or vegetable, homemade or shop-bought, the joy is in the gentle spicing, a scattering of herbs, zingy tomatillos and some lovely spring leaves.There are so many different herbs in Mexico that are impossible to find here, so I’ve used bundles of more common soft herbs to try to capture the lovely breadth of flavour in this soup

Willy’s, Margate, Kent: ‘It chortles in the face of small plates’ – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants

This cute and jovial eatery is reason enough to make a break for the coastAs summer looms, and with it the urge to stampede towards the edges of Britain in search of paddling opportunities, I proffer another coastal dining idea: Willy’s in Margate – and, yes, that name does have about it something of the naughty seaside postcard. Tucked away in the back of Margate House hotel on Dalby Square, a few minutes’ walk from the seafront, Willy’s is a blur of frilly red-and-pink seaside adorableness. It’s cool, cute and jovial, with pork scratchings and apple chutney on the menu, as well as black pudding scotch eggs, sticky toffee pudding and Sunday lunches of beef rump and baked cauliflower cheese. This menu is short, intentional and hearty, rather than airy-fairy, and it chortles in the face of small plates.But, for the foodie/sippy crowd, the signifiers are all here: there’s a paper plane and a penicillin on the cocktail menu, throwbacks to New York’s iconic Milk and Honey bar

Why sweet, chewy dates go perfectly with chocolate – and the best ones to try

I first cemented the allure of the “chew” aged 14, working illegally as a chambermaid (I lied about my age) and finding a guest’s Gummy Bears laid open – a breach I heavily exploited. Recently this chew need has been sated by dates and their use in chocolate as a healthy caramel. Dates do have nutritional benefits over mere sugar: fibre, minerals, antioxidants and make a great pre-workout boost.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link

Georgina Hayden’s quick and easy recipe for spanakopita orzo | Quick and easy

For me, it isn’t really spring until the first May bank holiday; the days are longer, the flowers are out, and an abundance of green graces our shelves. This spanakopita orzo is a celebration of all things light, bright and spring. It’s a great weeknight dinner that will instantly transport you to Greece.This dish should be oozy, like a good risotto, so if your orzo absorbs all the stock, add a little more hot water to give it that requisite creamy finish.Prep 15 minCook 25 min Serves 425g butter 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve1 bunch spring onions, trimmed and sliced2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced220g baby leaf spinach, chopped1

‘We don’t want to make the same mistakes’: Jamie’s Italian reopens in London

Jamie Oliver’s head of restaurants is optimistic about new recipe of smaller site, slimmed-down menu and no burgersWhen Jamie’s Italian crashed and burned in 2019, with the company in £83m of debt and causing 1,000 job losses, no one imagined the celebrity chef would try again.But seven years later, Jamie Oliver has opened a flagship site under the same name in Leicester Square in central London, and believes he has a new recipe for success: a smaller restaurant with a slimmed-down menu, which features cheaper cuts of meat and no burgers.At its peak the chain, which opened in 2008, had 47 UK restaurants. Now it just has the one.Ed Loftus, the global director of Jamie Oliver Restaurants, has worked with Oliver for 20 years and is charged with making the reopening a success

Helen Goh’s springtime spinach sponge cake with cream cheese icing – recipe | The sweet spot

There is a particular green that belongs to spring: pale and luminous, it’s softer than the dark foliage of winter, and quieter than the glossy abundance of summer herbs. Spinach, the colour of new growth, captures this moment perfectly. Tender and almost impossibly vivid, this cake loses its metallic edge in the heat of the oven, leaving a gentle, vegetal brightness. Baked in a shallow tin and spread with cream cheese icing, when sliced into squares, it produces the perfect ratio of cake to icing and tastes uncommonly good.Prep 10 min Cook 50 min serves 8-10For the cake120g baby leaf spinach, stems removed 120ml milk 200g plain flour 1½ tsp baking powder ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) ¼ tsp fine sea salt 3 large eggs, at room temperature180g caster sugar Finely grated zest of 1 lime 120ml solid coconut oil, melted and cooled to tepid1 tsp vanilla extractFor the icing200g cream cheese 100g icing sugar, sifted Finely grated zest of 1 lime, plus 1 tsp juice80ml double creamLine the base and sides of a standard 23cm x 33cm x 5cm baking tin and heat the oven to 185C (165C fan)/360F/gas 4½

When it comes to wines, it pays to look beyond the fashionable

The sommelier Honey Spencer, of Sune in east London, struck a real chord on Instagram earlier this year: “I’m so fucking sick of expensive wine,” she lamented. There followed an angry plaint about the “unrelenting rise” in the cost of bottles from “artisans making wine properly … and FORGET BURGUNDY”. In a difficult climate, this is “one of the hardest pills to swallow” for the restaurateur.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link

Rachel Roddy’s recipe for spaghetti with crab, chilli, herbs and lemon | A kitchen in Rome

My copy of the River Cafe Cookbook is silver, having lost its original blue sleeve some years ago. Naked, the hardback cover is completely plain, so it is my handwriting of “River Cafe blue” along the metallic spine, even though there is little chance of mixing it up with the yellow softback River Cafe Cookbook Two or the emerald cover of River Cafe Cookbook Green.Blue was first published in 1996, a sobering fact, because that’s the same year I enrolled at the Drama Centre London, as well as the year when Pierce Brosnan took on rogue agent Alec Trevelyan (played by Sean Bean) in GoldenEye. That was Brosnan’s debut as James Bond and Dame Judi Dench’s first appearance as M. Brosnan trained at Drama Centre between 1973 and 1976, which is why, when I bought the blue book in 1996, I had good reason to imagine my future career as looking a little like that of Pierce, or Judi, or both

Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for green chilli eggs with coriander and coconut | Quick and easy

This might look like a shakshuka, but with lemongrass, ginger and lime, you couldn’t really get away with calling it one – particularly because the noodles make this an easy, flavour-packed one-pan dinner. The crunch of the peanuts is particularly good against the lime-spiked coconut milk – a perfect transitional “is it spring yet?” dinner.Prep 15 min Cook 15 min Serves 21½ tbsp neutral oil 2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated½ stick lemongrass, finely chopped½-1 green chilli, finely chopped (remove the pith and seeds first if you want less heat)5cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely gratedJuice and zest of 1 lime 2 large echalion shallots (or small onions), peeled and finely sliced1 tsp freshly ground coriander seeds 1 tsp flaky sea salt 320g baby spinach400ml tin coconut milk, whisked smooth150g packet straight-to-wok medium noodles2 eggsTo serve 15g coriander, roughly chopped 50g salted peanuts, finely chopped½ green chilli, finely sliced (remove the pith and seeds first if you want less heat)Heat the oil in a large, deep frying pan on a medium heat, then add the garlic, lemongrass, chilli, ginger, lime zest and shallots. Stir-fry for four to five minutes, until the shallots are soft and the mixture is aromatic and starting to brown lightly, then turn down the heat and add the ground coriander and salt. Stir-fry for 30 seconds, add the spinach and cook for two minutes, until it is just wilting