UK Ikea boss backs calls to pedestrianise Oxford Street as flagship store opens

The UK boss of Ikea has backed calls to pedestrianise Oxford Street as the world’s largest furniture retailer finally opens its delayed store in London’s prime shopping destination.The Swedish company’s three-floor shop in the building that used to be Topshop’s former flagship store, with a mix of meatballs, lampshades and kitchen design assistance, opens on Thursday, 18 months later than planned.Sitting in one of the mini-room sets designed to show off Ikea’s range of furnishings at the new store, Peter Jekelby, the chief executive of Ikea’s UK business, said he thought a plan to pedestrianise Oxford Street, backed by London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, would be “good for the street” and “make it easier to move around”.Khan said the Ikea store was “a huge vote of confidence in London, in our economy and in our plans to rejuvenate Oxford Street” and that attracting new companies would help “create new jobs and increase footfall”.He said the “bold proposals” to pedestrianise Oxford Street were subject to consultation that closes on 2 May “so I encourage everyone to have their say”

The grass is not always greener on US stock markets

Donald Trump is doing an excellent job of demonstrating that US stock markets don’t always outperform European ones.On-off tariff wars, threats to fire the head of the Federal Reserve and general unpredictability have prompted a reappraisal of boring old Europe. The S&P 500 is down 6% this year, versus a gain of 2.5% for FTSE 100 index and a 3% improvement in the pan-European Stoxx Europe 600. The differences aren’t enormous but they mark a reversal from recent years

White House calls Amazon ‘hostile’ for reportedly planning to list tariff costs

The White House accused Amazon of committing a “hostile and political act” after a report said the e-commerce company was planning to inform customers how much Donald Trump’s tariffs would cost them as they shopped.The press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, was responding to a report in Punchbowl News, which, citing a person familiar with the matter, reported that Amazon would begin displaying on its site how much the tariffs had increased the prices of individual products, breaking out the figure from the total listed price.“Why didn’t Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?” Leavitt asked during a press briefing.Trump himself called Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s billionaire founder, shortly after the report published to complain about the change, according to multiple reports.Amazon’s online marketplace has seen prices rise across the board since Trump announced sweeping tariffs at the start of April, particularly on China, where many products listed on Amazon

Can US monopoly laws rein in Silicon Valley?

The European Union fined Apple and Meta hundreds of millions of dollars last week.My colleague Jennifer Rankin reports:The European Commission has fined Apple €500m (£429m) and Meta €200m for breaking rules on fair competition and user choice, in the first penalties issued under one of the EU’s landmark internet laws.The fines under the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA), which is intended to ensure fair business practices by tech companies, are likely to provide another flashpoint with Donald Trump’s administration, which has fiercely attacked Europe’s internet regulation.The Trump administration was indeed quick to rebuke the fines: a national security council spokesperson told Politico that the EU’s moves were a “novel form of economic extortion” that “will not be tolerated by the United States”.Interesting, too, is that while the penalties are no small amount of money, their impact likely pales in comparison to the scrutiny the tech companies are facing in the US

Jacob Fearnley bows out of Madrid Open as tennis resumes after power outage

Jacob Fearnley has not been a full-time professional player for a full year, yet on an unforgettable Monday afternoon in Madrid, he found himself in a bizarre scenario that many of the best players in the world would struggle with.Fearnley, a qualifier at the Madrid Open, had been mounting a courageous last stand against the veteran 14th seed, Grigor Dimitrov, when the city and country came to a standstill. With Dimitrov leading 6-4, 5-4 in Manolo Santana Stadium, both players were sent off the court as it became clear that Monday’s power outage that left Spain and Portugal without electricity would force the tournament to suspend all matches for the day. For Fearnley, this meant he had over 24 hours to ponder how exactly that crucial service game would pan out: “It’s impossible not to overthink it,” he said.After about 10 hours without ­electricity and mobile internet for most people in Madrid, power to homes and phones returned late on Monday night, prompting cheers in the streets

Stick or twist? England’s selectors weigh up options for Zimbabwe Test

If Zak Crawley’s form is a worry the middle-order is not, but Ben Stokes’s role as an all-rounder remains unknownIt may be viewed as an amuse-bouche before the main course of India in June, but England’s one-off Test against Zimbabwe is fast approaching. Selection is imminent – for the four-day match Trent Bridge that gets under way on 22 May and a training camp in Loughborough that precedes it – and after four rounds of the County Championship, the contenders are beginning to take shape.Had the New Zealand series before Christmas been five Tests, there is every chance Zak Crawley would have been compassionately hooked before its conclusion, such was his ordeal at the hands of Matt Henry. But England may well point to Crawley’s average of 46.6 in his most recent outings against India and Australia as reason to persist