UK consumer confidence up but fragile amid tariff and Middle East concerns

Confidence among UK consumers has improved but remains fragile in the face of expected petrol price rises amid escalating conflict in the Middle East, according to a leading index.The latest snapshot from the data company GfK says sentiment improved by two points in June but remained in negative territory at -18, well below the -12 of a year ago. A reading above zero indicates optimism; below indicates pessimism.The last time the headline index, which is closely watched by the government and the Bank of England, was positive was in January 2016, when it was at 4. It has had double-digit negative readings since September 2021 when Britain was in the grip of Covid-19

UK manufacturing set for a funding boost to reduce energy costs

UK manufacturing is expected to receive support to ease energy costs and boost skills, the Guardian understands, as part of a long-awaited industrial strategy due to be unveiled next week.Energy-intensive industries have long complained that they pay too much for electricity compared with competitors in the EU, while the wider industrial sector has struggled to recruit skilled staff.As Nigel Farage’s Reform party targets support in Britain’s industrial heartlands, ministers are poised to pour funds into boosting the manufacturing workforce with proposals similar to a £600m package for the construction sector announced earlier this year, which underpins plans to build 1.5m homes.Ministers have drawn up plans to take aim at energy costs through two policies, one targeted at businesses that use the most electricity – such as steel and aluminium – and another designed to support manufacturing more broadly

Rough ride: how Uber quietly took more of your fare with its algorithm change

More than a decade after being one of 19 Uber drivers who took the company to court in 2015, Abdurzak Hadi continues to drive for – and fight with – the ride hailing app.The group won their claim confirming their entitlement to the legal minimum wage – but the Silicon Valley company’s insistence that its drivers were self-employed contractors meant the case went all the way to the supreme court. In 2021, Hadi and friends won there too.If that sounds as if the British legal system left the former Somalian refugee in the driving seat, he argues that life for Uber workers is now as precarious as ever.On Thursday, academics at the University of Oxford – in conjunction with the non-profit gig worker organisation Worker Info Exchange (WIE) – launched a report analysing a mass of data relating to 1

Trump signs order granting TikTok a third reprieve from US ban

Donald Trump has signed an executive order to delay the ban or sale of TikTok for the third time. The order gives the Chinese-owned social media company another 90 days to find a buyer or be banned in the US.“I’ve just signed the Executive Order extending the Deadline for the TikTok closing for 90 days (September 17, 2025),” the president said in a Truth Social post.Trump’s first executive order giving TikTok a reprieve came on his first day in office – just three days after the supreme court ruled to uphold the ban. Trump issued the second executive order in April

Ruthless Pacers throttle Thunder to push NBA finals to decisive Game 7

Fueled by defense, depth and defiance, the Indiana Pacers stormed to a 108-91 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night, leveling the NBA finals at three games apiece and setting up a decisive Game 7 in Oklahoma City.Obi Toppin came off the bench to score 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-7 from three. Andrew Nembhard added 17 points with four assists and Pascal Siakam had 16 points and 13 rebounds as Indiana bounced back from back-to-back losses. Tyrese Haliburton, cleared to play only hours before tipoff due to a strained right calf, delivered 14 points, five assists and two steals in 22 high-impact minutes.ScheduleBest-of-seven-games series

England and India face red-hot series opener and Jasprit Bumrah conundrum

If there was an enduring image from the last Test series between India and England, it was probably that of Jasprit Bumrah detonating Ollie Pope’s stumps in Visakhapatnam – a feet-seeking yorker so ridiculously sweet that the Food Standards Agency could have marked it red on their traffic-light system.A year and a bit on from England’s 4-1 defeat in India on Friday, Bumrah remains the standout in the two attacks going into the first of five blockbuster Tests, beginning at Headingley on Friday. Even saying this sells him a bit short. Of the 86 bowlers to go past 200 Test wickets, none have done so at a lower average than Bumrah’s 19.4