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With anger stoked by Channel 4's drama Dirty Business, we look at what has happened to some of the main playersWater companies have been in the public eye for the wrong reasons again recently. South West Water was in the dock pleading guilty to supplying water unfit for human consumption, while the regulator fined South East Water £22.5m for repeated supply failures that affected more than 280,000 people over three years.As the full scale of the sewage pollution scandal has been revealed to the public over the past six years, key figures working for the regulators and the privatised companies have been heavily criticised. Channel 4's drama Dirty Business has focused attention on individuals at the heart of the scandal. Continue reading......

Fossil fuel supply is more vulnerable to global shocks than renewable power sources and efforts to boost efficienciesSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxDonald Trump's war on Iran has triggered shocks in fossil fuel markets, exposing the perils of an agenda that prioritizes “drill, baby, drill” while sabotaging renewable power and energy efficiency in the US, experts and advocates say.The US-Israeli war on Iran has already led to hundreds of deaths, created an ecological crisis linked to strikes on oil depots and sent fossil fuel prices haywire across the globe. Continue reading......

Ministers face accusations of carrying out 'irresponsible deregulation' as they push through 'clean energy' proposalsEd Miliband has unveiled plans to cut regulations, costs and bureaucracy by the end of next year to speed up the development of nuclear power generation.The UK government said the changes, to be carried out this year, would deliver a “win-win for building critical infrastructure while protecting nature and the environment”. Continue reading......

Zero GDP growth in January will not help Rachel Reeves claim her policies have put UK in a stronger position to weather oil price stormBusiness live – latest updatesUK economy unexpectedly flatlined in January, ONS data showsEven before Donald Trump's Operation Epic Fury on Iran unleashed higher oil prices, threatening the outlook for growth and inflation, the UK economy was flatlining.That's the bleak message in the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which showed zero GDP growth in January. Continue reading......

University of Cambridge study finds AI-powered toys can misread emotions and respond inappropriately to childrenIt was all going well. Charlotte, five, was chatting with an AI soft toy called Gabbo at a London play centre about her family, her drawing of a heart to represent them and what makes her happy. She even offered a couple of kisses to the £80 plaything with a face like a computer screen.It was when she declared: “Gabbo, I love you”, that the fluent conversation came to an abrupt halt. Continue reading......

Trump administration announces 30-day waiver on Russian oil stranded at sea as concerns over US-Israel war on Iran unsettles marketsMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe United States has temporarily waived sanctions on Russian oil stranded at sea as Trump administration officials attempt to reverse a surge in prices that is causing mounting apprehension about global supplies.Scott Bessent, the US Treasury secretary, announced a “temporary authorization” late on Thursday, allowing countries to buy the stranded Russian oil for 30 days. Trump is “working to keep prices low”, he said, after average US fuel prices rose by 65 cents per gallon in a month. Continue reading......

As energy prices tripled in the 1970s due to Middle Eastern wars, Scandinavia, France and the Netherlands sped up green transitionWhen Middle Eastern wars sparked an oil crisis in the 1970s, tripling energy prices and throwing economies into chaos, some countries looked beyond short-term solutions. The French made nuclear the pillar of their power system. Scandinavians insulated buildings and funnelled waste heat into homes. The Dutch built bike lanes where others wanted motorways. The Danes developed wind turbines.Such steps cleaned filthy air and cut imports from autocrats but took a back seat when Russia invaded Ukraine half a century later. Europe raced to buy gas from the US and Middle East. Policies to roll out renewables by cutting red tape helped reduce dependence, but calls to use less energy and reduce waste were muted. Industry lobbying and populist backlash have since sabotaged efforts to phase out petrol cars and fossil boilers. Continue reading......

Strait of Hormuz, key transit passage for global oil trade, has been effectively shut down by Islamic Revolutionary GuardSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxUS intelligence reporting sees direct attacks by Iran as the greatest threat to oil tankers going through the strait of Hormuz, the key transit passage for the global oil trade that has been effectively shut down by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps since the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran.The Trump administration, spooked by possible preparations by Iran to mine the strait, carried out strikes against 16 mine-laying vessels near the strait on Tuesday. US Central Command posted a video showing munitions hitting nine vessels, most of which were moored as they were struck. Continue reading......

Cathay Pacific, AirAsia and Thai Airways join Qantas in increasing prices, as travellers flock to airlines that don't have Middle East stopoversCathay Pacific, AirAsia and Thai Airways are among a growing number of airlines hiking air fares as conflict in the Middle East boosts oil prices and sends travellers flocking to alternative stopover destinations in Asia.The US and Israel's war on Iran has sent the price of oil soaring while restricting access to refineries, with experts predicting air fares could be elevated for months even if the conflict ends. Continue reading......

The war on Iran has put fossil-fuel prices centre stage, but don't believe those who tout 'maximising the North Sea' as our salvationThese are burning, smoking lies. As oil and gas prices soar, thanks to the US and Israel's attack on Iran, the UK's opponents of climate policy become even shriller. Rightwing politicians, Tufton Street junktanks and the billionaire press tell us our energy security will be enhanced and our bills will fall if we abandon net zero policies, ditch renewables and reinvest in North Sea gas. These claims are not just a little bit wrong. They are the exact opposite of the truth.Two things have indeed happened in recent years. The price of electricity has soared, contributing greatly to the cost of living, and the proportion of the electricity we receive from renewables has simultaneously boomed: from 3% in 2000 to 47% today. So, they claim, one has caused the other: more renewables means higher prices.George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist Continue reading......

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsGood morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets, and the world economy.A lot has changed since January – with conflict in the Middle East driving oil prices to $100 a barrel, disrupting supply chains and fuelling stagflation fears.After a disappointing end to the year, we expect the economy to jump to a flying start in Q1-26. Indeed, activity data has thus far been encouraging. And we expect some catch up in the first couple of months of the year, after a weak Q4-25.The upcoming GDP report won't be front and centre for markets, however. Events in the Middle East continue to overshadow lagged data.7am GMT: UK GDP report for January7am GMT: UK trade report for January10am GMT: Eurozone industrial production report for January12.30pm GMT: US PCE inflation measure2pm GMT: US JOLTs Job Openings report2pm GMT: University of Michigan's survey of US consumer confidence Continue reading......

Committee says thousands of victims still waiting for compensation and 'face unacceptable delays and inadequate offers'The redress schemes for victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal have “serious structural failings”, a parliamentary committee has found.Thousands of post office operators are still waiting for the compensation they are owed and face “unacceptable delays, inadequate offers, and administrative processes that 'retraumatise' those who have already been wronged”, a report by the business and trade committee said. Continue reading......

TfL are also poised to increase 20mph zones and cut speed limits on the capital's fastest roads later this yearOwners of SUVs could face charges to drive in London, after the mayor and transport authorities said they were reviewing the increased danger posed by larger, heavier cars.Proposals to clamp down on the biggest vehicles could come later this year, with Transport for London (TfL) also poised to increase 20mph zones and cut the speed limits on its fastest roads from 50mph to 40mph to tackle road deaths. Continue reading......

The Academy CEO on his decidedly non-Hollywood beginnings, bonding with Robert Redford – and a formative watch of All That JazzIt's a boiling day in downtown Los Angeles; crowds are milling about outside the Dolby theatre where Sunday's Academy Awards ceremony is to be held, selfie-ing the giant Oscar statuettes. And this is where the man with whom the buck stops is looking at the set, going through the top-secret opening number and busy with a thousand admin details. Academy CEO, Bill Kramer, increasingly renowned as one of the most important people in Hollywood, meets me for a pre-ceremony chat in a suite in the next-door Hollywood Loews Hotel. “It's so nice that we're not on camera!” he says. “Yeah, so happy. Let myself relax!” He is approachable and diplomatic, revered for his fundraising wizardry at the Academy museum, where he was managing director of external development in 2012 before ascending to his current job at the Academy 10 years later. Kramer has a business degree and cam...

Remedy for partnership's post-Covid woes was the old-fashioned one of basic shopkeeping and cutting costsIt turns out, the remedy for the John Lewis partnership's post-Covid woes of a few years ago did not lie in seeking outside capital or building 10,000 buy-to-rent flats. Rather, the solution was the old-fashioned one of cutting costs and concentrating on basic shopkeeping.As it happens, the wild idea of seeking external investors was virtually dead the moment it was loosely aired, such was the uproar among customers and staff about the threat to the 100%-employee owned model. But the home-building adventure did get going until it was ditched by the newish chair Jason Tarry a couple of weeks ago. He accepted, in effect, a point that should have been obvious at the outset: if the building assumptions relied on interest rates remaining at near-zero for years, the project would not survive contact with events. Continue reading......

Competition and Markets Authority will closely monitor pump prices to stop profits being ramped up amid crisisThe UK competition watchdog has warned fuel retailers it is stepping up its monitoring of pump prices amid concern over profiteering as the US war with Iran drives up wholesale costs.The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said firms responsible for thousands of filling stations across the country had been “put on notice” amid a wider government crackdown to stop bosses ramping up profits at the expense of consumers. Continue reading......

Vast release of emergency crude reserves fails to quell mounting fears about supply crunch, rattling marketsMiddle East crisis – live updatesOil markets are now facing the “largest supply disruption in history” as the war in Iran continues to block tankers from producing and shipping millions of barrels of crude each day, the world energy watchdog has warned.The International Energy Agency (IEA) said the supply shock ignited by Iran's effective blockade of the strait of Hormuz meant the world faced a deeper crisis than after the Yom Kippur war of 1973 and the 2022 outbreak of war in Ukraine. Continue reading......

Figures from thinktank show Russia received extra €672m in revenues from oil, gas and coal during March so farBusiness live – latest updatesMiddle East crisis – live updatesRussia has received €6bn (£5bn) from selling its fossil fuels in the fortnight since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran, data suggests.The revenues imply Russia made an extra €672m in oil, gas and coal sales during March, as combined average daily prices have surged by 14% from February. Continue reading......

Tech company filed amicus brief in support of Anthropic's effort to overturn an aggressive Pentagon designationMicrosoft has thrown its weight behind Anthropic's legal challenge against the US Pentagon, filing a court brief in support of the AI company's effort to overturn an aggressive designation that effectively bars it from government work.In an amicus brief submitted to a federal court in San Francisco this week, Microsoft, which integrates Anthropic's AI tools into systems it provides to the US military, argued that a temporary restraining order was necessary to prevent serious disruption to suppliers whose products rely on the AI company's technology. Google, Amazon, Apple and OpenAI have also signed on to a brief in support of Anthropic. Continue reading......

Hacker group Handala claimed responsibility for attack that caused 'global disruption' to Stryker Corporation's systemsAn Iran-linked group said it hacked a US medical company, causing “global disruption” to its systems, in retaliation for the bombing of the Minab school in Iran, in an attack seen as widening the Middle East into the cyber realm.Handala, a hacker group, claimed responsibility for the attack on Wednesday on the Stryker Corporation, which makes medical devices and is based in Michigan. It affected thousands of employees using the company's Microsoft systems. Continue reading......