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Exclusive: Multimillion-pound contract raises concerns about controls designed to prevent firms unwittingly aiding destruction of Ukraine, specialists sayThe government has been urged to re-examine a British company's contract to export hi-tech machinery to Armenia, after the Guardian uncovered links to the supply chain for Russia's war machine.Sanctions experts and the chair of the House of Commons business committee questioned the government's decision to award an export licence to Cygnet Texkimp. Continue reading......

Union is to appeal after losing legal action against historic talent database in battle that could reshape UK acting landscapeFor almost a century it has been the casting directors' bible, a shopfront for actors from Laurence Olivier, Olivia Colman and Daniel Craig to 16-year-old Adolescence star Owen Cooper to help land their next theatre, film or TV role.But now Spotlight is locked in a costly legal battle sparked by Equity, the equally venerable union that represents tens of thousands of performers that rely on the casting directory's services, in an internecine conflict that could dramatically reshape the UK acting landscape. Continue reading......

Data shows deprived communities have more off-licences and takeaways and fewer childcare facilities and gymsEngland's poorest communities have 70% more vape shops, off-licences and bookmakers than wealthier ones and far fewer cafes and gyms, a study has found.The Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods (Icon), chaired by the Labour peer Hilary Armstrong, said ministers risked overlooking vitally important neighbourhood shopping precincts by focusing on town centres. In deprived areas, local shops have roughly double the number of retailers selling unhealthy food and significantly higher vacancy rates, its research has found. Continue reading......

Banking group beats Barclays to snare biggest acquisition since it was bailed out by taxpayers in 2008Business live – latest updatesNatWest has agreed a £2.7bn deal to buy Evelyn Partners, one of the UK's biggest wealth managers, in the bank's largest acquisition since it was bailed out by taxpayers in 2008.The move signals an attempt to bolster the wealth management business for the banking group, which returned to full private ownership last year, and already owns the private bank Coutts. Continue reading......

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsSanae Takaichi's conservatives cement power in landslide Japan election winGood morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.Political drama will be on investors' minds today, as they react to a landmark election in Tokyo and mounting pressure on UK prime minister Keir Starmer.Prime minister Takaichi's decision to leverage her popularity for her party turned out to be successful.The landslide victory will reinforce her responsible but expansionary fiscal spending and a more Japan-focused foreign policy. Risk-on sentiment will dominate the market for now. Continue reading......

A mining disaster in the Democratic Republic of Congo underscores the human cost of extraction. Intensified competition for resources isn't helpingWhen Donald Trump boasted recently that he had stopped the conflict between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo – though fighting persists in the DRC, at appalling human cost – he made clear that his goals went beyond a long-sought Nobel Peace prize.“They said to me, 'Please, please, we would love you to come and take our minerals.' Which we'll do,” the US president added. Now he is following through. Last Monday he launched a new strategic reserve plan, “Project Vault”, worth almost $12bn. Two days later, JD Vance hosted a summit seeking to create a trade zone for critical minerals. Continue reading......

By freezing thresholds, Labour is quietly loading the cost of public services on to young graduates, while insisting it has not raised taxes at allThe personal finance expert Martin Lewis upbraided the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, for freezing the threshold at which millions of graduates repay their loans, saying that this was treating student debts like tax. He was right, and Ms Reeves's defence last weekend made his case for him. She argued that her decision would help to fund a reduction in patient waiting lists. But money used to repay student loans cannot simultaneously fund public services. In economic terms, such charges are taxes in all but name.Mr Lewis's reasoning was nuanced. He pointed out that freezing the repayment threshold is either a retrospective rewriting of the terms of a private contract or a targeted tax rise on a cohort of young people. Neither, he said, fits Ms Reeves's claim that the policy is “fair and reasonable”. There are five student “loan” plans in operation co...

Concerns about the cultural damage being done by the student loan system are raised by Prof Vaughan Grylls Your coverage of the dispute between Martin Lewis and the chancellor touches a deeper issue that deserves far more attention (Student loans: why is Martin Lewis clashing with Rachel Reeves?, 3 February).Student “loans” are not really loans. They are, in substance, a graduate tax – compulsory for all but the wealthy, income‑linked, unavoidable and often long‑lasting. Calling them loans is not neutral language; it is a political convenience that removes them from proper democratic scrutiny. Continue reading......

Labour will introduce legislation this week for reduction from current age of 20 in effort to prevent big shortageLabour will introduce legislation to lower the minimum age for train drivers to 18 in the House of Commons this week, as figures show fewer than 3% of drivers on Great Britain's railways are under 30.The government is pressing ahead with its proposals for teenage recruits, lowering the minimum age from the current 20 years old, in a move that ministers hope will stave off a potential shortage of thousands of drivers. Continue reading......

While AI is having an impact on the workplace, experts suggest tariffs, overhiring during the pandemic and simply maximising profits may be bigger factorsOver the last year, US corporate leaders have often explained layoffs by saying the positions were no longer needed because artificial intelligence had made their companies more efficient, replacing humans with computers.But some economists and technology analysts have expressed skepticism about such justifications and instead think that such workforce cuts are driven by factors like the impact of tariffs, overhiring during the Covid-19 pandemic and perhaps simple maximising of profits. Continue reading......

Labour must protect democracy and learn lessons from Jeffrey Epstein's efforts to influence government policy Peter Mandelson's personal disgrace is deep and unique, and may yet bring down a prime minister – but by laying bare the dark allure of the “filthy rich”, it also underlines the need for tougher constraints on money in politics.It is hard to know what system or process could have shielded sensitive government decisions from the risk that a senior cabinet minister might nonchalantly pass on the details to a friend, the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Continue reading......

Experts say the term 'addiction' is be overused and, for social media use, could be difficult to proveForthcoming legal proceedings against Meta and YouTube are frequently referred to as the “social media addiction trials”, but whether these platforms are truly addictive is still the subject of scientific debate.The lawsuits were brought against Meta, YouTube (Google), Snap Inc and TikTok by plaintiffs alleging these platforms severely damaged their mental health when they were children. Snap and TikTok settled the first case to go to trial, brought by a woman known as KGM, now about 20. The remaining defendants, Meta and YouTube, were set to go to court this week, but the trial was delayed because Meta's senior attorney became ill. Continue reading......

Online pile-ons can destroy small businesses. Save the derision for big companies that can weather social media stormsA viral Reddit post mocks a $22 grilled cheese sandwich and helps to sink a Bay Area shop. A restaurant owner is forced to push back on a viral complaint. A small business owner in Maine faces a viral backlash after posting a “No ICE” sign. The owner of a furniture store mistakenly receives backlash after being confused with another store. An influencer calls out a South Carolina boutique in a TikTok video after a negative shopping experience.I have had countless bad experiences at small businesses. I have eaten cold pasta and seen mice scurry behind a table. I don't go back. Sometimes, when the experience is particularly great, I'll give a quick good review on Google. But when I have had a bad experience? Never. Ever. Continue reading......

Exclusive: Campaign group calls on institutional shareholders to vote against re-election of bosses overseeing net zero row-backBank chairs who water down their lenders' climate commitments this year could face embarrassing shareholder revolts as campaigners try to hold bosses to account for environmental backtracking.ShareAction, a campaign group for responsible investment, will be issuing detailed reports to pension funds and asset managers in the coming weeks, outlining whether 34 of the world's largest lenders are sticking to their climate goals. Continue reading......

Proposals by California, Hawaii and New York lawmakers aim to hold fossil fuel industry accountable for soaring ratesAs climate disasters drive up the price of home insurance, three US states are considering empowering their state prosecutors to sue major polluters for their role in those rising costs.Lawmakers in California, Hawaii and New York have introduced measures which would authorize their attorneys general to sue fossil fuel companies on behalf of residents whose insurance premiums have soared amid climate disasters. Continue reading......

Northern leaders urge government to support proposal as Manchester mayor says a London bid 'wouldn't be right'The north of England is seeking to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games to boost a region “left out of the national story”.Northern leaders have written to the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, urging the government to back a multi-city games spanning an area with a population of 15 million people. Continue reading......

Relatives shut out of €200m fortune have reportedly received letters from executor saying will could be overturnedThe late German-born Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld was famously precise, exacting and known to hold a grudge, but his final wishes concerning the beneficiaries of his vast fortune could now be overturned beyond the grave in a looming court battle.Seven years after Lagerfeld's death from cancer, an unnamed plaintiff has come forward to challenge the haute couture titan's last will and testament. Continue reading......

Arrests follow discovery on Friday of magistrate and her mother in a garage in south-east of countryFrench authorities have arrested five suspects after a magistrate and her mother were held captive last week for about 30 hours in a cryptocurrency ransom plot, prosecutors said on Sunday.The arrests of four men and one woman followed the discovery on Friday of the 35-year-old magistrate and her 67-year-old mother, found injured in a garage in the south-eastern Drôme department, the Lyon public prosecutor's office said. Continue reading......

Full-year results expected to reveal weaker profits as company also faces investor pressure over climate U-turnBP will face pressure from shareholders to prove it can leave a turbulent period in the past as it prepares to reveal its full-year results this week.The company is expected to follow industry rivals by reporting weaker annual profits after global oil prices fell for a third consecutive year in 2025, in the steepest decline recorded since the Covid pandemic. Continue reading......

Providers report rise in demand as companies seek mental health benefits and increased sense of communityIn a growing number of workplaces, the soundtrack of the lunch break is no longer the rustle of sandwiches at a desk, but the quiet hum of bees – housed just outside the office window.Employers from Manchester to Milton Keynes are working with professional beekeepers to install hives on rooftops, in courtyards and car parks – positioning beekeeping not as a novelty but as a way to ease stress, build community and reconnect workers with nature in an era of hybrid work and burnout. Continue reading......