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Powerful property and farming firm Grosvenor Group says knock-on effect of Iran war could arrive next yearFertiliser shortages caused by the Iran war have driven up costs for UK farmers by up to 70% and will have a “dramatic” impact on food prices globally next year, according to one of Britain's most powerful property and farming companies.Mark Preston, executive trustee of the 349-year-old Grosvenor Group, controlled by the Duke of Westminster, said fertiliser “was already quite expensive” before the 50% to 70% surge in prices since the start of the Iran war in late February. Continue reading......

Zilis, an executive at Musk's brain implant startup Neuralink, served on OpenAI's board from 2020 to 2023Shivon Zilis, a Neuralink executive and the mother of four of Elon Musk's children, took the stand on Wednesday as one of the most highly anticipated witnesses in Musk's case against OpenAI. The ChatGPT maker has argued that, while Zilis worked with OpenAI between 2016 and 2023, she was also involved in a secret relationship with Musk, acting as an informant for him.Musk's case against OpenAI alleges that the company's CEO, Sam Altman, and president, Greg Brockman, co-founders of the company with Musk, broke a founding agreement when they restructured it from a non-profit to a for-profit enterprise. The Tesla CEO accuses Altman and Brockman of unjustly enriching themselves and wants both removed from their positions at the startup, one of the most valuable in the world. He is also seeking the undoing of the for-profit restructuring and $134bn in damages to be redistributed to OpenAI's non-profit...

Latest proposal, derided by Tehran as a 'wishlist', could yet be a way out – but with 5,000 dead, it comes at an awful priceMiddle East crisis – live updatesAnother day, another hairpin turn in the world of Donald Trump's foreign policy.The weekend was all about war, and Trump insisting Iran had not yet “paid a big enough price”. Tuesday was Project Freedom, styled as a grand “humanitarian gesture” to allow trapped ships and their crews to escape the Gulf, but also aimed at weakening Iran's chokehold on the strait of Hormuz. Continue reading......

Markets rally as US president announces 'short' pause to operation escorting ships through strait of HormuzBusiness live – latest updatesOil prices have fallen below $100 and stock markets rose as Donald Trump touted “great progress” towards a “final agreement” with Iran, and Tehran indicated it was ready to reopen the strait of Hormuz.The US president said he would briefly pause his “Project Freedom” operation escorting ships through the strait, which carries about a fifth of the world's oil supplies but has been blockaded by Iran since late February, triggering a global energy crisis. Continue reading......

New owner Modella Capital, which rebranded shops to TG Jones, blames weak consumer spending Dozens of former WH Smith stores are likely to close, putting thousands of jobs at risk under a radical restructuring plan by their new owner, which had rebranded the shops to TG Jones,The investment company Modella Capital, which bought WH Smith's chain of 480 high street stores for £76m last year, blamed “weak consumer spending” as it set out the plan to landlords on Wednesday. Continue reading......

Profits jump to £122m at ticketing retailer but it expects flat or declining revenues over the coming year Business live – latest updatesTrainline has said the US standoff with Iran is hitting its revenues, with rail ticket sales to foreign visitors to Europe affected.The UK-based ticketing retailer said it expected revenues to stay flat or decline over the coming year, citing “the effects of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East on inbound air traffic into Europe”. Continue reading......

Firms raising prices at fastest rate in three years, driven by soaring energy and wage bills but also extra materials costsBusiness live – latest updatesOil prices fall as Trump hails 'progress' on Iran dealAirlines and other companies are increasingly using fuel surcharges to cover soaring costs, a survey has found, in a further sign of Iran war-linked inflation hitting the economy.A poll of companies in the services sector, which includes airlines, found rising fuel prices had contributed to businesses raising prices at the fastest pace in more than three years in April. Continue reading......

G77 nations spend $8tn a year servicing debts, but analysis shows how comprehensive relief could benefit social spendingCutting debt servicing costs for the world's poorest countries could free up $900bn (£660bn) a year for development, a new report to the UN secretary general has claimed.Prepared by advocacy group Development Finance International (DFI) with the support of the Norwegian government and launched in Oslo today, the analysis warned that the world is facing “the worst ever debt-provoked development crisis”. Continue reading......

Chair Tim Martin says pub chain could miss expectations, in latest sign UK hospitality sector buckling under higher billsBusiness live – latest updatesThe boss of JD Wetherspoon has said the pub chain could miss profit expectations because of rising costs, in the latest sign the UK hospitality industry is buckling under the pressure of higher energy, food, labour and tax bills.The company's chair, Tim Martin, told investors on Wednesday: “As many hospitality operators, including Wetherspoon, have reported, there have been substantial increases in costs.” Continue reading......

British crew member among those evacuated from MV Hondius, which is heading for Canary Islands after Spain said vessel could dockEurope live – latest updatesWhat is hantavirus?Three people including a British crew member with suspected hantavirus have been medically evacuated from the cruise ship linked to the outbreak.The crew member, along with a Dutch colleague and another passenger, were taken from the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius for onward travel to the Netherlands, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed. Continue reading......

The head honcho thinks splurging nearly $10 on a beverage during a cost-of-living crisis is fine for a 'special experience'. It's time to offer my own valuable adviceI don't mean to vent, but what is up with Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol's obscenely large compensation package? Niccol, who joined the company in 2024, is one of the best-paid executives in the US, raking in $96m (£70m) in just his first four months on the job. The man makes 6,666 times more than the company's typical employee, according to a 2025 Executive Paywatch report. He also regularly commutes to work via private jet. Can't expect a strategic genius to live next to the office like the rest of the hoi polloi.Still, while he might be good at flogging drinks, Niccol apparently has trouble reading a room. As the cost of living surges, and the federal minimum wage remains at $7.25, the CEO is getting roasted for calling a $9 coffee “a really affordable premium experience”. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Niccol noted that the ...

With most major European cities well-served by trains and buses, bringing US transit up to par would cost $4.6tnThe only train station in Houston, the US's fourth-largest city and one of the fastest-growing conurbations in the country, is a diminished, morose sight. Intercity trains arrive at this squat, shed-like Amtrak building, which cringes in the shadows of roaring highways, just three times a week.That such a meager train station could ostensibly serve a metropolitan area of about 7 million people is a stark symbol of how the sprawling, car-dominated US has fallen behind cities around the world where people can rely on extensive, high-quality public transport to get around. Continue reading......

FCA focuses on marketing, misleading ads, unfair exit fees and people being signed up without their permissionThe City regulator has launched a review of claims management companies amid concerns that firms are misleading victims of financial scandals, such as car finance, about their compensation.The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said some companies were pursuing “aggressive marketing, misleading advertising and unfair exit fees”. Continue reading......

Michael O'Leary says his airline is forced to divert average of one flight a day because of disruption from passengersAirports should be banned from serving alcohol to passengers before early morning flights, the Ryanair boss, Michael O'Leary, has said. He said the measure would reduce the number of passengers who were disruptive onboard aircraft.O'Leary said Ryanair was being forced to divert an average of nearly one flight a day because of bad behaviour onboard, up from one a week a decade ago. Continue reading......

Bargains are disappearing and the cost of gadgets such as MacBooks and PS5s is rising as AI competes for memory chipsThe end of the cheap laptop, the bargain phone and affordable games consoles may be on the horizon. Not because new models are more hi-tech, but because the cost of computer components has shot up.Recently, the biggest manufacturers of laptops and phones, including Microsoft, Samsung and Dell, started putting up prices and pulling cheaper models – which is going to make finding budget phones and laptops under £400 much harder. Continue reading......

Taking on its US rival in Britain is expected to lead to 'collateral damage' for UK retailers“We're here to shake up the UK e-commerce market,” says Matthew Nobbs, the UK boss of Joybuy which is spearheading a European charge by China's version of Amazon.“I see our competitors as everyone,” he adds, reflecting the scale of ambition of the online retailer that sells home appliances, groceries, makeup and more. Continue reading......

US president pauses 'Project Freedom' to work on 'final agreement' with Tehran; stocks also ride high on AI euphoriaGood morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.Asian stock markets hit record highs, following in Wall Street's footsteps, and oil prices retreated after Donald Trump hailed “great progress” towards a “final agreement” with Tehran.on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran”.Investors bought and continue to add to positioning in the 2026 winners. There has been some buying in S&P 500 materials stocks, but it's tech that continues to attract the bulk of flows, notably in Apple and the memory plays.9am BST: Eurozone services and composite PMIs for April9.30am BST: UK services and composite...

Financial Stability Board report reveals tech, healthcare and services sectors as the biggest borrowersThe private credit industry's role in fuelling the AI boom could backfire, with a sharp correction leading to “sizeable” losses, the Financial Stability Board has warned.A new report into private credit by the global watchdog, which monitors financial authorities including central banks in 24 countries, found that the healthcare, services, and tech sectors have become the biggest borrowers of private credit. Continue reading......

Wastewater from nearly 40,000 people and businesses pumped straight into sea as island still has no treatment plantRaw sewage from nearly 40,000 people and businesses is being pumped straight into the sea because the British overseas territory of Gibraltar does not have, and has never had, a wastewater treatment plant.For decades, untreated sewage has poured into the Mediterranean from the southern tip of the peninsula at Europa Point, where the government of Gibraltar says there are “high levels of natural dispersion”. Continue reading......

White male editor at newspaper claims he was unfairly passed over for promoted role despite qualificationsIn what appears to be a new front in the Trump administration's pressure campaign against the media, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the New York Times, charging that the news organization improperly passed over a white, male employee for promotion because of his race or sex.The employee believed he had been passed over for a promotion to deputy real estate editor, a position that had been listed in January 2025, despite believing himself to be a “significantly” more qualified candidate. Continue reading......