Lions face new injury blow with Mack Hansen expected to miss first Australia Test
US inflation rose in June as Trump’s tariffs start to show in prices
Inflation accelerated in June as the impacts of Donald Trump’s tariffs slowly started to show in US prices.Business leaders have said for months that the high, volatile rates of Trump’s tariffs will force companies to raise consumer prices. Prices remained stable in the spring, particularly as many of Trump’s highest tariffs were paused; however, they started increasing in May and have continued to rise in June.Annual inflation rose to 2.7% in June, up from 2
Reeves unveils City strategy aimed at cutting red tape and fuelling UK growth
Rachel Reeves has unveiled a package of City changes meant to cut “unnecessary” red tape and encourage more financial risk-taking by companies and consumers in the hopes of spurring economic growth.In a financial services strategy dubbed the Leeds Reforms, the chancellor outlined initiatives designed to boost the financial services sector, including plans to cut “unnecessary costs” related to accountability rules for senior bankers, and to launch an advertising campaign to get consumers investing cash savings in stocks.The UK government will review ringfencing rules – introduced after the 2008 financial crisis – that are meant to protect consumer cash from a bank’s riskier business activities.The independence of the Financial Ombudsman Service, which settles complaints between consumers and businesses, will also be watered down, while the rate of interest – and total compensation – that banks and other City firms have to pay to wronged consumers will be reduced.There will also be a review of risk warnings attached to investment products to ensure that people are “accurately” judging risk levels
Thames Water warns nationalisation is likely if emergency creditor talks fall
Thames Water has said it could collapse into temporary nationalisation if emergency talks with creditors fail, as it slumped to a £1.6bn annual loss.The loss for the 12 months to 31 March comes after a profit of £154m the previous year, even though revenues climbed by 8.7% to £2.7bn
Starbucks tells corporate staff in US and Canada to work in office at least four days a week
Starbucks has ordered its corporate staff to work from the office at least four days a week from late September and is offering cash payments to those who choose to quit instead.Brian Niccol, the chief executive of the Seattle-headquartered coffee chain, said many of its employees would be required to work in the office for a minimum of four days a week, up from three, from Monday to Thursday.The edict will apply to its Seattle and Toronto support centres and its regional offices in North America. The change does not apply to the UK, where Starbucks has its head office in Chiswick, west London.“We do our best work when we’re together,” Niccol said in a message to employees, referred to as “partners”, on the company’s website about “re-establishing an in-office culture”
Thousands of vehicles sit idle at EU port as Trump’s tariffs leave their mark
The Port of Antwerp-Bruges has been turned into a giant car park with thousands of cars, vans, trucks and tractors bound for the US sitting idle as manufacturers try to avert the worst of Donald Trump’s tariffs.Figures released by the port show a 15.9% drop in the transport of new passenger cars and vans to the US in the first six months of 2025 compared with the same period last year, with a sharp decline emerging in May – one month after the US president announced his “liberation day” tariffs.Exports of trucks and what they call “high and heavy equipment” is down by almost a third at 31.5%
Fear of being ordered back to office affecting UK staff wellbeing, poll finds
A fear of being ordered back to the office is having an impact on workers’ wellbeing, according to a poll, after a string of companies issued return-to-office mandates.More than a third (38%) of workers surveyed said recent news stories about companies hardening their stance on office attendance had negatively affected their wellbeing, highlighting the tug-of-war between employers and their employees.More than four in five (84%) employees who work in a hybrid way – splitting their time between the office and a remote location, such as home – said it had a positive effect on their overall wellbeing, including their mental, physical, social and financial wellbeing.More women (87%) than men (80%) said they believed hybrid working had improved their wellbeing in the survey of 3,600 UK employers and employees across a range of industries in the public and private sectors between late April and early May by the recruitment company Hays.The main worry about returning to the office more frequently was cost, potentially additional commuting expenses, as almost six in 10 (59%) of those polled said worries about their finances would affect their willingness to spend more time in the office
FTSE 100 breaks 9,000-point barrier to reach new high
FTSE 100 share index hits 9,000 points for the first time; US inflation rate rises to 2.7% – as it happened
Elmo’s X account posts racist and antisemitic messages after being hacked
Musk’s giant Tesla factory casts shadow on lives in a quiet corner of Germany
Electric Archer lights up India classic to justify Test return for England
Onley and Blackmore lead the charge of young Britons at Tour de France