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Most of UK’s big build-to-rent developers owned by foreign private equity firms
One of the UK’s fastest growing property markets is dominated by corporate landlords focused on providing homes for couples and singles, excluding many families with children, according to a thinktank report.The build-to-rent (BTR) sector constructs one in five new homes – including almost 30% of new homes in London – the Common Wealth thinktank says. It is concerned that the Labour government is turning to a select group of private equity-backed developers for a quick fix to the housing crisis.In a report, Open for Business or Up for Sale, the thinktank says a boom in developments designated for renters is being backed by “profit-seeking institutional investors”, often based overseas. Common Wealth said its research showed that four of the top five operators were backed by private equity funds and several were based abroad
Trump has left a void that the EU and Britain must fill together | William Keegan
In July 1817, Lord Amherst, the leader of a British delegation to China, stopped on his return journey at Saint Helena and met the exiled Napoleon Bonaparte.Napoleon had seldom been out of the news, but Amherst himself was also in the news for having pointedly refused to kowtow when having an audience with the Chinese emperor.As Sir Brian Unwin notes in his book on Napoleon’s exile, Amherst was berated by Napoleon for having refused to kowtow – not to himself, the former emperor of France, but to the Chinese emperor. One should observe the customs of the country, was Napoleon’s view.But bully for Amherst, who is an example to the Starmer government in general and to Lord Mandelson, our new ambassador to Washington, in particular
If the AI Roundheads go to war with tech royalty, don’t bet against them | John Naughton
There’s a moment in the 1967 film The Graduate that has become renowned. At a party thrown by his parents to celebrate his graduation, Benjamin (Dustin Hoffman) is approached by Mr McGuire, an elderly bore who wants to say “just one word” to him: “plastics”. “Exactly how do you mean?”, asks the hapless Ben. “There’s a great future in plastics,” says McGuire. “Think about it
Tell us: how has artificial intelligence affected your work?
Just how much artificial intelligence will “enhance” our jobs or displace them and create different roles remains to be seen, but what impact has the technology already had on our work?We’d like your help to find out about the different ways that AI has affected your job. Has the technology been positive or negative in your experience? Or perhaps a bit of both? How much do you think might it impact your work in the future?You can tell us about your experiences of working with AI using this form.Please include as much detail as possible. Please include as much detail as possible. Please include as much detail as possible
Political tensions are redoubling Canada’s great hockey anxiety
Canadians have been booing the US anthem for weeks over Trump’s proposed tariffs. But it’s no wonder that tensions boiled over when the US finally met Canada on the iceAs usual, Canadians approached the latest international hockey tournament, the 4 Nations Face-Off, with worry. Despite top-tier talent and historic winning pedigree, the feeling that Canada could be off its game is a perennial concern. But in 2025, it is particularly profound – mostly because of the Americans.Since the last time Canada played the US at an elite tournament in 2016, Canadians have watched the American program grow stronger and deeper, while Canada’s own has lost focus
Unrivaled’s 1-on-1 tournament was everything the NBA All-Star Game wants to be
Nearly 50 years after it adopted the slam dunk contest from the ABA, perhaps it’s time to once again for the NBA to look outward for a solution to its perpetual All-Star problemTo paraphrase a Nobel laureate on the perennial crises facing another form of live entertainment, the NBA All-Star Game is an institution that has been dying for 70 years but has yet to succumb. The complaints are persistent, well-documented, and mainly attributed to a single factor: players’ lack of effort. An absence of defensive activity, in particular, is said to make All-Star Games almost unwatchable.For some players, the lack of effort is not an accident – the game falls in the middle of the NBA’s All-Star Break, a six-day pause in competitive play that serves as the only meaningful time off during the league’s 82-game regular season. Indeed, many of the players not named to All-Star teams use the break to go on holiday
UK rushes forward plans for £2.5bn steel investment after Trump announces tariffs
Chill of inflation threatens Britain again after Europe’s long, hard winter
Global disunity, energy concerns and the shadow of Musk: key takeaways from the Paris AI summit
Scarlett Johansson warns of dangers of AI after Kanye West deepfake goes viral
Hoop dreams in peril as British basketball’s crisis reaches boiling point
France hails a young heroine: Violette, conqueror of the waves