Vodafone terminates contracts of 12 franchisees who joined £120m lawsuit

Vodafone has terminated the contracts of 12 franchisees who have continued running the brand’s high street stores while also being part of a £120m high court claim against the telecoms group.The legal case was launched in December, when 62 franchisees claimed Vodafone had “unjustly enriched” itself at the expense of scores of vulnerable small business owners by slashing commissions to franchisees operating the mobile phone company’s retail outlets.A dozen of the claimants had remained in the franchise programme even though they had joined 50 former colleagues in pursuing the legal case. Some of the 62 said they had had suicidal thoughts because of the pressure exerted by the telecoms group – while many claimed the company’s actions made them fear they would lose their livelihoods, homes or life savings after running up personal debts of more than £100,000.Vodafone, which says the legal claim is worth £85

Letting banks loose is back on the agenda as UK politicians chase growth at any cost

As the old ways of turning a profit become more difficult – from assembling cars to selling soap powder – politicians of all stripes want the City to inject some dynamism into the economy.From Labour to Reform, the siren call of London’s financial district is strong. If only, they ask, the wheels of the banking industry could be cranked to spin faster, surely much more money could be generated and we would all be rich.While Rachel Reeves boasted of the huge benefit to economic growth from public investments in rail and renewable energy as central pillars of the government’s spending review, in truth it is not enough to propel the economy forward.To generate the kind of income that will pay for the next 30 years of an ageing society, plans to link Manchester and Liverpool by a marginally faster and more reliable train, though good in itself, is not the answer

Hey AI! Can ChatGPT help you to manage your money?

Artificial intelligence seems to have touched every part of our lives. But can it help us manage our money? We put some common personal finance questions to the free version of ChatGPT, one of the most well-known AI chatbots, and asked for its help.Then we gave the answers to some – human – experts and asked them what they thought.We asked: I am 35 years old and want to ensure I have a comfortable retirement. I earn about £35,000 a year and have a workplace pension, in which I have saved £20,000

Workers in UK need to embrace AI or risk being left behind, minister says

Workers in the UK should turn their trepidation over AI into “exhilaration” by giving it a try or they risk being left behind by those who have, the technology secretary has said.Peter Kyle called on employees and businesses to “act now” on getting to grips with the tech, with the generational gap in usage needing only two and a half hours of training to bridge.Breakthroughs such as the emergence of ChatGPT have sparked an investment boom in the technology, but also led to forecasts that a host of jobs in sectors ranging from law to financial services will be affected.However, Kyle said: “I think most people are approaching this with trepidation. Once they start [using AI], it turns to exhilaration, because it is a lot more straightforward than people realise, and it is far more rewarding than people expect

Tyrrell Hatton cool but Matt Fitzpatrick rages as Sam Burns keeps US Open lead

If a quiz question was to ask which English golfer a) lacerated the setup at the US Open, as another b) fired himself into contention before offering a much calmer assessment, the answers from the vast majority of observers would be obvious: a) Tyrrell Hatton, b) Matt Fitzpatrick. The reality at Oakmont was the complete opposite.First to Fitzpatrick. The 2022 champion finds himself unimpressed by this golfing brute, as he was happy to declare after a third round of 72 left him nine over par. “I personally don’t think it’s fair,” said the Yorkshireman

US Open golf 2025: Sam Burns keeps hold of lead at Oakmont – as it happened

Moving Day took a while to get going, but once it did, it produced some exciting golf. Plenty of players are still in with a shout, so hopefully you’ll join us for the final round tomorrow. Thanks for reading this report!-4: Sam Burns -3: Adam Scott, JJ Spaun -1: Viktor Hovland E: Carlos Ortiz +1: Tyrrell Hatton, Thriston Lawrence +2: Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen +3: Robert MacIntyre, Cameron YoungThe final stroke of the day is made by Sam Burns. He makes his par putt, he remains one of just two players yet to three-putt this week – Ryan Fox is the other – and he’s got sole ownership of the lead going into the final round. A 69 for Burns, which is exactly what his playing partner JJ Spaun shot as well