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Centrica has paused its share buyback after profits plunged, while new data shows Gen Z looking for AI-proof jobs in traditional tradesGood morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.Tough news for British Gas owner Centrica this morning, which announced it is putting share buyback plans ice after suffering a 39% drop for full-year 2025.2025 has been a year of real momentum and we have made bold investments as we continue the fundamental transformation of Centrica.The environment has been challenging, and performance has varied across the business.With major projects like Sizewell C, Grain LNG and our Meter Asset Provider laying the groundwork for more stable and predictable earnings, our long-term opportunities have never been better.Pausing the buyback enables us to prioritise investment that creates lasting value for shareholders, while continuing to deliver the reliable, affordable energy that households and businesses need to power economic g...

Once a PM is seen as hapless, there is no way back. But Labour has good plans – and with the political landscape fragmented, it could yet prevail Continue reading......

Threat of 9.5% property tax increase puts pressure on Governor Hochul, who is seeking re-election this yearZohran Mamdani, New York's democratic socialist mayor, has unveiled two new budget proposals for the city – one to raise income and corporate taxes, or another to raise property taxes – triggering resistance from some political figures in and out of the state.Mamdani's two proposals include either raising taxes on the city's wealthiest residents – which would require approval from New York's governor, Kathy Hochul – or a “last resort” measure of a 9.5% property tax increase, which could affect “more than 3 million single-family homes, co-ops and condos and over 100,000 commercial buildings”, according to the New York Times. Continue reading......

Report says common agricultural policy provides 'unfair' levels of support to unhealthy, meat-heavy dietsBeef and lamb receive 580 times more in EU subsidies than legumes, a report has found, despite scientists urging people to get more of their protein from less harmful sources.Analysis by the charity Foodrise found the EU's common agricultural policy (CAP) provides “unfair” levels of support to meat-heavy diets that doctors consider unhealthy and climate scientists consider environmentally destructive. Continue reading......

The restaurant can keep menu term despite claim product is 'essentially chicken nuggets', Illinois ruling saysA customer who sued the US restaurant chain Buffalo Wild Wings after finding out their “boneless wings” were not in fact made of wings has been told by a US judge that his claim has “has no meat on its bones”.Buffalo Wild Wings can continue using the term “boneless wings” on its menu even though the product is “essentially chicken nuggets”, John Tharp, a district judge, ruled, dismissing a lawsuit that claimed the chain was misleading customers. Continue reading......

In a fiery speech in Los Angeles, the Vermont senator criticizes 'grotesque' levels of economic inequalityBillionaires are “treading on very, very thin ice,” Bernie Sanders warned on Wednesday during a fiery speech in Los Angeles, imploring California voters to fight “grotesque” levels of economic inequality by approving a proposed tax on the state's richest residents.The Vermont senator railed against the “greed”, “arrogance” and “moral turpitude” of the nation's “ruling class”, calling it “fairly disgusting” that some ultra-wealthy tech leaders have fled California – or are threatening to do so, if the proposed wealth tax becomes law. Continue reading......

Television outranks laptops, tablets and smartphones across all age groups, according to audience reviewThe television has replaced laptops, tablets and smartphones as the most common device for UK viewers to watch YouTube at home, according to data confirming the platform's place as a living room mainstay.More than half of all YouTube viewing through a domestic wifi connection is now done through the traditional TV, making it the top-ranking YouTube device across all age groups. Continue reading......

Billionaire Microsoft co-founder pulls out of India's AI Impact Summit to 'ensure the focus' remains on event's 'key priorities'Bill Gates has pulled out of a keynote address at the AI Impact Summit in India as he continues to face questions over his relationship with the deceased child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.The billionaire Microsoft co-founder travelled to India, where his foundation works with the government on delivering AI for social good, earlier this week and was advertised as speaking at the international summit shortly after the country's prime minister, Narendra Modi. Continue reading......

Lawsuit is first by Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over workplace DEI in Trump's second termA US civil rights agency has sued a bottler and distributor of Coca-Cola products it accuses of sex discrimination over an employee networking event that excluded men, its first lawsuit over workplace diversity programs since Donald Trump took office. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, says Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast violated federal law when it hosted the event for about 250 female employees at a casino in Connecticut in September 2024.The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It is owned by Kirin Holdings, a Japanese company. Coca-Cola is not a defendant in the case. Continue reading......

Depop, which is owned by Etsy, has 7 million active buyers on its marketplace, nearly 90% of whom are under the age of 34The online seller eBay has agreed to purchase the secondhand fashion marketplace Depop from Etsy for about $1.2bn in cash, the companies announced on Wednesday, with eBay hoping the acquisition will help it capture a younger demographic.Used clothing has become increasingly popular, with Gen Z shoppers searching for unique items that cost less than new ones, and who want to keep older items from heading to landfill. Continue reading......

State regulators walk back suspension threat and say Tesla has stopped misleading drivers about the safety of its carsTesla will avoid a 30-day suspension of its dealer and manufacturer licenses in California, its biggest market, after the US electric vehicle maker stopped using the term “autopilot” in the marketing of its vehicles in the state.Tesla now uses the term “supervised” in references to its full self-driving technology and has stopped using “autopilot” entirely in its marketing in the state. Continue reading......

I see violence against women as a national emergency. The posting of non-consensual intimate images is part of that crisis, and it must stopTackling violence against women and girls is not just a priority for my government. It is central to who I am.Before entering politics, when I led the Crown Prosecution Service as director of public prosecutions, I worked with victims of rape, domestic abuse and sexual violence, and I saw, up close, the lifelong damage these crimes cause. And I learned that when systems fail victims, the harm does not end, it deepens.Keir Starmer is UK prime minister Continue reading......

PM says measure, also applied to deepfake nudes, is needed owing to a 'national emergency' of online misogynyDeepfake nudes and “revenge porn” must be removed from the internet within 48 hours or technology firms risk being blocked in the UK, Keir Starmer has said, calling it a “national emergency” that the government must confront.Companies could be fined millions or even blocked altogether if they allow the images to spread or be reposted after victims give notice. Continue reading......

BRC survey finds finance bosses expect technology to improve productivity, with 69% pessimistic about the economyUK retailers are planning to cut staff hours and jobs amid rising employment costs and pessimism about the economy.Almost two-thirds (61%) of finance bosses at retail companies said they planned to reduce working hours or cut overtime, according to the latest survey from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), the trade body that represents most big retailers. More than half (55%) said they would cut head office jobs and 42% said they would reduce jobs in stores. Continue reading......

The threat of Russian aggression makes a compelling case for urgent continental cooperationFor Vladimir Putin, peace talks with Ukraine are war pursued by other means. That is why progress has been so slow in negotiations, which resumed in Geneva this week. The Russian president demands the surrender of territory that his army has failed so far to win in combat. Since Mr Putin cannot be trusted to honour any agreement, Volodymyr Zelenskyy rightly insists on robust security guarantees. The Kremlin remains committed to restoring national pride through territorial expansion. Mr Putin might accept a lull in the Ukraine conflict, but only to regroup. He must be deterred from resuming a campaign aimed at extinguishing Ukraine's sovereignty.His country's economy and propaganda apparatus are increasingly oriented towards sustaining a long war. He has shown little sign of abandoning efforts to weaken Nato and punish European democracies for backing Kyiv. The intent is signalled by a campaign of constant pro...

The country's homelessness legislation is ambitious and humane. But too many people are still sleeping on the streets or in temporary accommodationRough sleeping in Scotland has risen by 106% over the past three years. Record numbers of children are now living in temporary accommodation, official figures released this month show. In Glasgow, the city council leader warned last year that the authority had run out of temporary housing. This looks like a system approaching crisis point.The paradox is that Scotland has some of the strongest homelessness protections in Europe. More than a decade ago, the Scottish parliament abolished the “priority need” test, creating a statutory duty on councils to secure permanent accommodation for all unintentionally homeless applicants. The charity Shelter considered Scotland to have had “the best homelessness law in Europe”. But having a legal right to a home doesn't mean having a home.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would lik...

Lawyers for the plaintiffs argue that Meta intentionally designed its social media platforms to be addictiveThe Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, is testifying at a landmark trial of social media companies on Wednesday.After arriving at the courthouse, Zuckerberg was asked by a security guard at a metal detector if he had any metal on him. “I have a gold chain on,” he responded, according to the New York Post. Continue reading......

While most hybrids are said to use one to two litres of fuel per 100km, a study claims they need six litres on averagePlug-in hybrid electric cars (PHEVs) use much more fuel on the road than officially stated by their manufacturers, a large-scale analysis of around a million vehicles of this type has shown.The Fraunhofer Institute carried out what is thought to be the most comprehensive study of its kind to date, using the data transmitted wirelessly by the PHEVs whilst they were on the road, from a variety of manufacturers. Continue reading......

Without AI you will be a 'weaker and poorer nation', says former UK chancellor two months into job at US firmThe former chancellor George Osborne has said countries that do not embrace the kind of powerful AI systems made by his new employer, OpenAI, risk “Fomo” and could be left weaker and poorer.Osborne, who is two months into a job as head of the $500bn San Francisco AI company's “for countries” programme, told leaders gathered for the AI Impact summit in Delhi: “Don't be left behind.” He said that without AI rollouts they could end up with a workforce “less willing to stay put” because they might want to seek AI-enabled fortunes elsewhere. Continue reading......

Hard disks and magnetic tape have a limited lifespan, but storage developed by Microsoft could last for millenniaSome cultures used stone, others used parchment. Some even, for a time, used floppy disks. Now scientists have come up with a new way to keep archived data safe that, they say, could endure for millennia: laser-writing in glass.From personal photos that are kept for a lifetime to business documents, medical information, data for scientific research, national records and heritage data, there is no shortage of information that needs to be preserved for very long periods of time. Continue reading......