UK house prices rebound as market recovers from June dip

House prices in the UK returned to growth last month, as the market recovered from a dip in June after the end of a tax break on stamp duty.The average price of a home rose 0.6% in July to £272,664, bouncing back from the biggest month-on-month fall in more than two years in June, according to Nationwide.Britain’s biggest building society said that the annual rate of house price growth also improved to 2.4%, up from 2

Trump threatens drug giants with crackdown over prices

Donald Trump has threatened to use “every tool in our arsenal” to crack down on pharmaceutical giants if they fail to cut drug prices for Americans within 60 days.The president wrote to executives at 17 companies on Thursday, demanding they match their US prices for prescription drugs with the lowest price offered in other developed nations.Current prices were an “unacceptable burden” on US families, Trump said, claiming they could be up to three times higher than in other countries.After returning to the White House earlier this year and pledging to bring down drug prices, the president claimed that “most proposals” from the pharmaceutical industry amounted to “more of the same”, accusing firms of seeking to shift blame and requesting policies that would pave the way for handouts worths billions of dollars for the sector.“Make no mistake: a collaborative effort towards achieving global pricing parity would be the most effective path for companies, the government, and American patients,” Trump wrote

Apple quietens Wall Street’s fears of China struggles and slow AI progress

Apple has been under pressure this year. It’s playing catch-up to its fellow tech giants on artificial intelligence, it’s seen its stock fall by double digits since the year began, it closed a store in China for the first time ever this week, and looming US tariffs on Beijing threaten its supply chain. On Thursday, the company released its third-quarter earnings of the fiscal year as investors scrutinize how the iPhone maker might turn things around.Despite the gloomy outlook, the company is still worth more than $3tn, and it beat Wall Street’s expectations for profit and revenue this quarter. Apple reported a massive 10% year-over-year increase in revenue to $94

Amazon fails to calm tariff worries with worse-than-expected financial outlook

Amazon failed to quiet concerns over how Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs would affect its e-commerce business as it reported its latest quarterly results on Thursday. Wall Street’s affinity for the tech giant faltered in response.The top line numbers from Amazon’s second quarter earnings report exceeded Wall Street’s projections. The tech company beat expectations with its revenue up 13.3% year over year to $167

Chess: 10-year-old targets world record alongside grandmasters at British Championship

England’s grandmasters are in action on Saturday, as round one of the British Championship gets under way at St George’s Hall in the centre of Liverpool. Former Russian Nikita Vitiugov, 38, the national No 1, is top seeded while the No3 and world senior champion, Michael Adams, is the man in form after the 53-year-old from Taunton, Somerset, won the English title in July.The continuing chess boom, reflecting the easy availability of online blitz games, the popularity of the world No 1, Magnus Carlsen, and the success of Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit, have combined to spark a record entry of more than 1,600 players for the championship and its subsidiary tournaments.Vitiugov, who switched federations in response to the invasion of Ukraine, and Adams, who defies the years and was impressive when winning the English title at Kenilworth, can expect several challenges to appear during the nine-round tournament, which ­finishes on Sunday week.Gawain Jones, 37, is the defending champion and No 3 seed

Wallabies ready to rip into Lions after moving on from second Test controversy

Australian captain Harry Wilson has declared the Wallabies have “flipped the switch” and are primed to overcome the disappointment of last week’s loss in Melbourne to prevent a British & Irish Lions series sweep in front of a sell-out 83,000 crowd in Sydney on Saturday.But the hosts’ camp has been rocked by late injuries to hooker David Porecki and backup Matt Faessler during training after the team for the third Test was announced on Thursday, and an 11th-hour SOS has been sent for Brandon Paenga-Amosa.Billy Pollard moves from the bench into the starting XV, while the man teammates call “BPA” is set for another chance at the Lions having played them three times already, including for both the AUNZ Invitational XV and the First Nations & Pasifika side.Wilson said he was “gutted” to lose Porecki and Faessler but Paenga-Amosa – having represented the Wallabies as recently as last year – has fitted in quickly.“He’s been around this group for quite a long time over the last year, year and a half, and he’s obviously versed [played against] the Lions already three times, so he’s got a lot of confidence,” he said