Bank of England warns of ‘elevated’ global uncertainty after leaving interest rates on hold – as it happened

Newsflash: The Bank of England has left UK interest rates on hold at 4.25%.The decision, which matches City expectations, comes as the Bank weighs up the risks to the UK economy from US trade wars and the conflict in the Middle East, which has pushed oil prices higher in the last week.But it’s a split decision – with six of the nine policymaker’s voting to hold, and three voting for a cut.Details and reaction to follow

Bank’s rate decision leaves frustrated Reeves praying for an August cut

Last week’s spending review revealed Rachel Reeves’s plan for reviving the UK’s struggling economy – but one of the most powerful levers for unleashing growth lies out of her reach, at the Bank of England.Thursday’s no-change decision on interest rates from the Bank’s nine-member monetary policy committee (MPC) was widely expected; but the chancellor and her colleagues will be fervently hoping for a cut in August, perhaps sooner – and more before the year is up.The Bank’s governor, Andrew Bailey, had already warned the pace of rate cuts looked uncertain, as a result of Donald Trump’s trade wars. The alarming prospect of a fresh conflict in the Middle East is likely to have made MPC members even more cautious.The minutes from Thursday’s meeting suggested the MPC would “remain sensitive to heightened unpredictability in the economic and geopolitical environment,” and would “continue to update its assessment of risks to the economy”

Garmin Forerunner 970 review: the new benchmark for running watches

Garmin’s new top running watch, the Forerunner 970, has very big shoes to fill as it attempts to replace one of the best training and race companions available. Can a built-in torch, a software revamp and voice control really make a difference?The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.The new top-of-the-line Forerunner takes the body of the outgoing Forerunner 965 and squeezes in a much brighter display, useful new running analytics and more of the advanced tech from Garmin’s flagship adventure watch the Fenix 8

Israel-linked group hacks Iranian cryptocurrency exchange in $90m heist

An Israel-linked hacking group has claimed responsibility for a $90m (£67m) heist on an Iranian cryptocurrency exchange.The group known as Gonjeshke Darande, Farsi for Predatory Sparrow, said on Wednesday it had hacked the Nobitex exchange, a day after claiming it had destroyed data at Iran’s state-owned Bank Sepah.Elliptic, a consultancy specialising in crypto-related crime, said it had so far identified more than $90m in cryptocurrency sent from Nobitex crypto wallets to hacker addresses.The hackers appear to have in effect “burned” those funds, rendering them inaccessible by storing them in “vanity addresses” for which they do not have the cryptographic keys, Elliptic said.Tom Robinson, Elliptic’s co-founder, told the Guardian it would take current computer technology “billions of years” to create the cryptographic key pairs that match the vanity addresses

Ben Stokes calls on England to adapt better ‘when we’re up against the wall’

Ben Stokes may have described England’s recent lack of Test action as “a bit odd” but playing just one game in the past six months has given the side space to reconsider their approach before the series against India.Stokes has won 23 of his 36 games in charge while losing 12 and insisted: “I don’t think it’s arrogant to say that we’ve been good over the last three years,” but with England’s next 10 Tests coming against either India – starting at Headingley on Friday – or Australia they have prepared for potential adversity.“We’ve had a lot of time to speak about what we want to do as a team and where we want to take ourselves,” Stokes said. “We’ve had time to identify areas where we know we are incredibly strong, but also areas that we think we need to get better at. One of those was adapting better when we’re up against the wall

Wallabies squad thin on playmakers may come back to bite Joe Schmidt

Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt named his 36-man squad to face Fiji and the British & Irish Lions, recalling the enigmatic Will Skelton from La Rochelle, rewarding the uncapped Nick Champion de Crespigny’s rousing form for Castres Olympique, and bringing giant lock Darcy Swain in from the cold.Former star prop Taniela Tupou had wondered publicly if he’d forgotten how to play the game but Schmidt believes he can rekindle his glory days. Perth-born Carlo Tizzano is in having led Super Rugby try-scoring and tackle counts all year. And Sevens bolter Corey Toole, who scored twice in the Brumbies’ semi-final loss, looks set for a Test debut with Queensland’s Tim Ryan missing out.With half-a-million fans set to attend nine sold-out games on this ninth Lions tour, Schmidt knows 2025 must be a gamechanger for Rugby Australia