Australia’s generation Alpha faces $185k bill over lifetime without urgent action on climate crisis, report finds

The next generation of Australian workers will cop a $185,000 bill over their lifetimes if the country does not act more urgently to address the climate crisis, according to new modelling by a team of young economists at Deloitte.The new report finds that global heating consistent with the current projections would cost the average millennial approximately $130,000 over the rest of their lives, increasing to $165,000 for gen Z.A gen Z Australian’s lifetime income could be $165,000 lower by 2070 without further global action.For generation Alpha, the eldest of whom turn 16 this year, the bill stretches to $185,000 a person by 2070.The report estimates the damage to worker productivity, infrastructure and property, as well as increased health risks and healthcare costs

UK mortgage interest rates expected to rise despite Trump’s Iran pause

Homeowners’ choice of mortgage deals has shrunk and interest rates on home loans are expected to rise this week despite financial markets reacting positively to Donald Trump’s pause on his threat to attack Iranian power plants.Early on Monday, as the end of a two-day deadline set by Trump for a deal with Iran grew closer, financial market data implied that investors believed the Bank of England would attempt to tackle rising prices with four quarter-point increases in rates before the end of December.After Trump instructed US defence officials to postpone airstrikes against Iranian energy infrastructure for five days, investors reduced the number of rate rises they expect to two quarter-point increases, from 3.75% to 4.25% this year

Workers who fall for ‘corporate bullshit’ may be worse at their jobs, study finds

Ever sat in a meeting where someone declares that your company is “growth-hacking” and “working at the intersection of cross-collateralization and blue-sky thinking” and called bullshit? Turns out you were right.A new study out of Cornell University published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences found workers most excited and impressed by corporate speak may be the least equipped to make effective, practical business decisions, and it can leave companies with dysfunctional leaders.Academically, “bullshit” is broadly defined as “a type of semantically, logically or epistemically dubious information that is misleadingly impressive, important, informative or otherwise engaging”, according to the study.“Corporate bullshit” is a specific type of bullshit that uses puzzling corporate buzzwords and jargon and is ultimately “semantically empty and often confusing”, according to the research. It is often used by management to persuade and impress, sometimes to inflate perceptions of the company to workers and investors

World’s broadcasters urge EU to tighten rules for big tech in smart TV battle

The world’s largest broadcasters have pushed for the EU to enforce its toughest regulations against virtual TVs and smart assistants built by Google, Amazon, Apple and Samsung.The call came in a letter from the Association of Commercial Television and Video on Demand Services in Europe (ACT), whose members include Canal+, RTL, Mediaset, ITV, Paramount+, NBCUniversal, Walt Disney, Warner Bros Discovery, Sky and TF1 Groupe.The letter argues that big tech companies have growing control over the operating systems of smart TVs and voice assistants, allowing them to act as “gatekeepers” funnelling users towards some content and away from others.Services such as Amazon’s Fire TV and Google TV have recommendation systems, as well as search functions, that may prioritise some content over others. These systems, built into many smart TVs, stand to shape how millions of users consume television

Stock markets swing and oil prices fall after Trump postpones strikes on Iran power plants

Global stock markets swung wildly and oil prices fell on Monday after Donald Trump postponed US attacks on Iranian power plants for five days.European stock markets, which had been falling sharply in the hours before Trump’s social media post, mostly rose on Monday as relieved investors digested the update.The French Cac 40, the Spanish Ibex and the German Dax, which all also opened lower, were up by 1%, 1.4% and 1.9% respectively

HS2 firm says new steel tariffs will ‘exacerbate’ cost pressures for UK construction industry

One of HS2’s biggest contractors has warned the government that raising tariffs on foreign steel imports will “exacerbate” cost pressures for the UK construction industry, amid growing concern over the £100bn railway’s rising budget.Ministers said last week they would double the tariffs on imported steel and slash the amount that can be bought from overseas, in an attempt to save Britain’s struggling steelmakers.However, the move will also raise the cost of the metal, crucial for infrastructure projects such as HS2, at a time when an energy shock from the Iran war is already inflating steel and concrete prices.Mark Reynolds, the chair of the construction company Mace, said that amid the rising energy costs and an already depressed construction sector, the tariffs were “ill-timed and unhelpful and will only exacerbate the challenges” facing the UK industry.Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, is due to update the Commons on Monday on Labour’s drive to “reset” the cost of HS2 amid concern over its rising price tag