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Forecasting service raises alarm over data from Paris airport used to settle Polymarket wagers on temperatureFrench police are investigating alleged tampering with national weather forecasting service equipment after a series of unusual temperature readings coincided with suspicious winning bets made on Polymarket.Data from a Météo-France weather station at Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport was used to settle bets between online gamblers on what the temperature would be in Paris for March and the first weeks of April. Continue reading......

More than 200,000 have signed petitions urging the government to break contracts, amid concerns about the company's 'supervillain' manifestoOver 200,000 people have called on ministers to break contracts with Palantir in an apparent groundswell of public concern about the US tech company's role in the NHS, police, military and councils.Two petitions have attracted 229,000 signatures, one calling for the government to end all public contracts with the firm, whose software is used by Donald Trump's ICE immigration enforcement programme and the Israeli military, and another urging the health secretary, Wes Streeting, to cancel its £330 patient data contract with the NHS. Continue reading......

Albert Manifold and his board refused to put a request from investor group on annual meeting agenda – leading to an investor revoltBP has fresh faces in the boardroom and a rigged strategy: it's pivoting back to oil and gas and away from its low-carbon assets in an attempt to improve a weak share price. One can agree or disagree with the approach. But it was a silly act of overreach for a newish chair to try to stifle debate on such matters.That, in effect, was what Albert Manifold did when he excluded a resolution for Thursday's annual meeting from Follow This, a Dutch investor group. The proposal itself cannot be described as explosive. It was pitched in investor-friendly terms and would merely have obliged BP to describe how it would protect shareholder value if demand for oil and gas falls. Nor is Follow This some two-bob outfit within the ranks of climate groups. It was claiming support from investors with $1tn under management. Continue reading......

The Tories' flagship scheme has aided higher earners most. The latest analysis of its flaws should lead to a rethinkThe results are in. The biggest winners from the Conservatives' help to buy scheme were high-earners who were already likely to buy a house. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) examined who benefited from the policy, and concluded that the top 10% of earners received the largest cash benefit. Rather than helping people to buy, it more likely helped the already fortunate to accumulate wealth quicker (by helping them buy earlier, or more expensive properties). Of course, this distorted the market: pushing prices up in some areas, and largely increasing competition rather than supply.That its flagship housing policy accelerated housing and wealth inequalities during a time when the government insisted deep cuts to public finances were needed is not just shocking – it underlines how deep the Tory project of redistribution went. In the 12 years to 2022-23, net spending ...

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Tech can scale cyber-attacks and defences alike, raising questions about private power, public risk and the future of a shared internetAnthropic announced its latest AI model, Claude Mythos, this month but said it would not be released publicly, because it turns computers into crime scenes. The company claimed that it could find previously unknown “zero-day” flaws, exploit them and, in principle, link these weaknesses in order to take over major operating systems and web browsers. Mythos did so autonomously, writing code and obtaining privileges. The implications are significant. It's like a burglar being able to target any building, get inside, unlock every door and empty every safe.The Silicon Valley company has so far named 40 organisations as partners under Project Glasswing to help mount a defence – asking them to “patch” vulnerabilities before hackers get a chance to exploit them. All are American, sitting at the heart of the US-led digital system. Anthropic shared Mythos with o...

Jim Taiclet spoke in earnings call as company expands contracts with the US government amid the Iran warLockheed Martin's CEO has called the Trump administration a “golden opportunity” for the company as it expands its contracting work for the federal government amid the conflict in the Middle East.In an earnings call on Thursday covering the first quarter of 2026, Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet told investors that the company is well positioned “based on more available resources for us”. Continue reading......

More than 50% of voters at first AGM under new leadership oppose plans to scrap climate reportingBP's board has suffered a triple climate rebellion in its first shareholder meeting since appointing new leadership to steer the embattled oil company.More than 50% of shareholders voting at the company's annual general meeting (AGM) came out against its plans to scrap its existing climate reporting, and its resolution to replace in-person annual shareholder meetings – a lightning rod for climate protest in recent years – with online-only events. Continue reading......

Figure hits three-year low but Iran war expected to blow hole in Reeves's fiscal 'headroom'Business live – latest updatesThe UK government budget came in below its annual borrowing target by £700m, official figures show – but the Iran war is likely to blow a hole in Rachel Reeves's carefully calculated fiscal “headroom” over the coming months.The government borrowed a net total of £132bn for the financial year ending in March, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. This slightly undershot the £132.7bn that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) had forecast just last month. Continue reading......

Consumer confidence hit its lowest level since October 2023 this month, with surveys showing the cost pressures companies are facingConfidence in the UK economy has fallen sharply amid the mounting economic fallout from the Iran war, surveys show, as businesses prepare to raise their prices and consumers brace for a fresh cost of living shock.Highlighting the knock-on impact of the Middle East crisis in Britain, several closely-watched surveys of business activity and consumer confidence blamed the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran for a marked deterioration in the outlook in April. Continue reading......

Fuel crisis from Middle East conflict could push airline into losses as it looks to offset costs with higher fares Business live – latest updatesThe soaring price of jet fuel will cost American Airlines another $4bn this year, the carrier has said, wiping out forecast profits.The airline, the world's largest by passengers flown, said that the fuel crisis from the US-Israel war on Iran could push it into losses during 2026, having forecast profits approaching $1.8bn before bombing started. Continue reading......

Firm insists it works only with licensed operatorsSportradar has deals with Fifa, Uefa, MLB and NBAThe betting and data company Sportradar has relationships with hundreds of illegal gambling operators including several that appear to operate in Iran and Russian-occupied Crimea, a new report alleges.A study compiled by the financial analysts Callisto Research claims to have identified more than 270 unlicensed betting companies offering a variety of services including sports betting, virtual gaming and crypto casinos that purport to be products of Sportradar, whose branding and tools are visible on many of their websites. Callisto Research is an activist research firm that has disclosed short selling Sportradar stock after releasing its report. Continue reading......

Lawsuit follows exchange on X in which airline suggested customer should clear cache or book with incognito windowSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxJetBlue has been sued in a proposed class action claiming it uses customers' personal data to set ticket prices, after its response to a social media post raised concern that the carrier employed “surveillance pricing” to make flying more expensive.According to a complaint filed late on Wednesday in Brooklyn federal court, JetBlue conceals its use of “trackers” to set prices dynamically, and shares data with third parties whose programs help it decide when to raise fares. Continue reading......

Top buyers promised access at Mar-a-Lago event as Democrats and watchdogs warn of pay-to-play risksDonald Trump is slated to star at a cryptocurrency bash on 25 April at his Mar-a-Lago club for scores of purchasers of his crypto memecoin $Trump that has enriched him while in office. The move is fueling renewed criticism from top Democrats and ethics watchdogs that he is using the presidency for financial gains in a break with ethical norms.The Trump-linked Fight Fight Fight LLC has hyped the event as “THE MOST EXCLUSIVE CRYPTO & BUSINESS CONFERENCE IN THE WORLD”. It's promising a luncheon with Trump as its keynote speaker, according to the memecoin's official website and its social media account. Continue reading......

Eurail, which sells passes, says data being 'offered for sale on dark web' after December breach affecting 300,000 peopleHolidaymakers across Europe are facing the stress and expense of getting new passports after their personal data was posted on the dark web after a hack of the Interrail company Eurail.Personal data, including passport numbers, names, phone numbers, email and home addresses and dates of birth of more than 300,000 European travellers were breached in December. But this week Eurail revealed to customers that “data copied during the security incident has been offered for sale on the dark web and a sample dataset has been published on Telegram”. Continue reading......

Britain's cybersecurity agency says companies must step up vigilance to prevent espionage attacksBusiness live – latest updatesBritish businesses are being urged to step up their vigilance against a China-linked hacking ploy that uses everyday devices for espionage.The UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and agencies in nine other countries have warned of persistent attempts by Beijing-backed groups to hack equipment such as wifi routers to launch cyber-attacks. Continue reading......

Trade body warns that changes are likely to drive up costs and push pupils to find somewhere to buy junk food Business live – latest updatesA government push to get schoolchildren eating more lentils, pulses and beans at lunch could have a “devastating effect”, making catering services unviable, school meal providers have warned.Proposals for healthier meals in English schools, which would limit the amount of desserts and reduce “grab-and-go” items such as pizzas and sausage rolls, would pile pressure on an already struggling sector, caterers said. Continue reading......

FoI data reveals that 438 people with criminal convictions were given licences in Wolverhampton, UK's 'taxi capital'More than 150 people convicted of violent crimes were granted taxi licences last year by Wolverhampton city council, dubbed the UK's “taxi capital”, data has revealed.The Guardian obtained data via a freedom of information request that revealed 438 people with criminal convictions were last year granted taxi and private hire driver licences by the West Midlands local authority – which has issued far more taxi licences than any other authority. Continue reading......

Australia's Corporate Travel Management is 'negotiating commercial arrangements' to refund the moneyThe Australian company that ran the Bibby Stockholm asylum barge has admitted it overcharged the British government by £118m.Corporate Travel Management (CTM) said its auditor had found evidence of “erroneous billing” of its UK clients, increasing its estimate of how much it owes the government by £40m. Continue reading......

Exclusive: Brussels seeks to stall awarding of contract to firm fronted by US president's lawyer in letter seen by GuardianThe EU risks a confrontation with Donald Trump after it sought to stall the awarding of a lucrative Balkans pipeline contract to a company fronted by his personal lawyer, documents seen by the Guardian show.Brussels has clashed with Trump over trade, Ukraine and military spending, but the intervention in the Southern Interconnection pipeline project appears to mark the first time it has challenged a commercial venture by those close to the president. Continue reading......