Scottish rocket startup nears collapse despite £26m in taxpayer loans

A British space company hoping to launch the first homegrown rocket from Scotland is on the brink of collapse, threatening 150 jobs and throwing doubt over the UK’s extraterrestrial ambitions.Orbex, which is based in the Scottish Highlands, is lining up administrators as hopes fade that it will strike a rescue deal or raise funds, despite having been handed £26m in government loans last year.The startup had planned to launch a rocket from a base on the Shetland Islands and was “on the cusp” of holding its first test flights in 2026, according to its chief executive, Phil Chambers.The company had also been in talks to raise fresh cash from the Treasury-backed National Wealth Fund, but that deal fell through at an “early stage” of discussions late last year, a source with knowledge of the situation said.Launch plans were also hit by repeated delays and Orbex eventually turned to a potential German buyer, The Exploration Company, which is developing a reusable spacecraft

US added 130,000 jobs in January, surpassing expectations as 2025 growth is slashed

The US jobs market added 130,000 jobs in January, according to a highly anticipated labor market report released on Wednesday, a surge of job growth after months of fatigue in the labor market.The unemployment rate was 4.3% in January, a slight cooling since the fall. Economists predicted 70,000 in job gains and an unchanged unemployment rate for January.The gains are still 13,000 jobs less than the the 143,000 jobs added a year ago in January 2025, but more than double the 50,000 jobs that were added in December

US jobs report beats forecasts with 130,000 increase in January – as it happened

US employers hired 130,000 more workers in January, which was stronger than expected (and despite warnings from the White House of smaller numbers because of its deportation programme).Non-farm payrolls figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the unemployment rate dipped to 4.3% last month from 4.4% in December.Economists had pencilled in an increase of 70,000 jobs, on average, and forecast the rate would stay at 4

Will the government finally deliver a housing policy that stops making a bad situation worse? | Greg Jericho

Excuse me while I let out a long sigh of frustration.Australia’s housing policy has for so very long been about making the problem worse by juicing up demand. This is undeniable. The evidence is long and clear.Whether it be the 50% capital gains tax discount John Howard introduced in 1999, the continuation of negative gearing, or the use of first home buyer grants, government policies have overwhelmingly ensured more people are bidding for houses at auctions

Oatly banned from using word ‘milk’ to market plant-based products in UK

The Swedish-based drinks manufacturer Oatly has been banned from using the word “milk” to market its plant-based products, after a ruling by the UK supreme court.The alt-milk manufacturer has been in a long-running legal battle with the trade association Dairy UK after Oatly trademarked phrases associated with the dairy sector.On Wednesday the supreme court unanimously ruled that Oatly can no longer trademark, or use, the slogan “Post Milk Generation”.“It has taken the highest court in the land to decide once and for all whether a plant-based milk alternative can be branded as ‘milk’ and marketed as such,” said Laurie Bray, a senior associate and trademark attorney at the European intellectual property company Withers & Rogers. “And the outcome is not what Oatly was hoping for

Heineken to cut 6,000 jobs as people drink less beer

Heineken is to cut up to 6,000 jobs globally over the next two years – close to 7% of its workforce – as the Dutch brewer struggles with falling demand for beer.The company, which makes Heineken, Amstel and Tiger, said the cuts would come from brewing and white-collar roles among its 87,000-strong global workforce as it faced “challenging market conditions”.It came as the world’s second-largest brewer by market value lowered its forecasts for profit growth in 2026.“We really do this to strengthen our operations and to be able to invest in growth,” the brewer’s head of finance, Harold van den Broek, told reporters after the company released its annual results.Some jobs would be lost in Europe as well as other markets, he said, adding that some cuts would come from previously announced measures affecting Heineken’s supply network, head office and regional business divisions