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Housing secretary and housing minister latest to criticise idea, which has also been ruled out by No 10Senior ministers have poured scorn on the idea of freezing private sector rents for a year, less than 48 hours after the Guardian revealed Rachel Reeves was considering it.Steve Reed, the housing secretary, and Matthew Pennycook, the housing minister, became the latest government figures to criticise the idea, which has since been ruled out by No 10. Continue reading......

Lawyers for Musk, the world's richest person, sought to paint him as a tech pioneer who wanted to aid humanityAfter a dramatic first day of opening statements and testimony from Elon Musk in his case against Sam Altman and OpenAI, the trial continues on Wednesday with a cross examination of the Tesla CEO. Musk began his second day of testimony by repeating the accusation that Altman “stole a charity” and would endanger humanity with AI multiple times. OpenAI's defense attorneys will have the chance to press the world's richest man on his allegations.Peripheral to the legal showdown, the court was packed on Wednesday with a mix of media and eager young men who lined up before dawn to get a glimpse – and a picture – of Musk. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers at one point threatened that if observers did not stop taking photos and videos, a violation of the court's rules, she would shut down an overflow room for watching the proceedings. Continue reading......

Fed officials cite elevated inflation, slow job growth and uncertainty in Middle East as reasons for holding ratesSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged after its latest board meeting, defying once again Donald Trump's call for a cut as the central bank prepares for a leadership shake-up next month.On Wednesday, Fed officials continued to cite elevated inflation, slow job growth and uncertainty in the Middle East as reasons why rates were left untouched. Continue reading......

You can understand the motivation – more UK investment by UK funds means faster UK growth – but fiduciary duty trumps allA simple principle lies at the heart of pension investment: the pension manager must invest in the best interest of the client. UK ministers have often wished UK funds would show more home bias by channelling more pensioners' cash towards domestic assets in the interests of economic growth, but the fundamental rule of the game has always been understood. You don't mess with the fiduciary duty.Thus, when Rachel Reeves a year ago unveiled her Mansion House accord – a pledge by 17 of the biggest providers to earmark a slice of workplace pensions for UK private assets – it was made clear the arrangement was voluntary. What's more, as the signatories emphasised, the commitment was “subject to fiduciary duty and the consumer duty” and “dependent on implementation by the government and regulators of critical enablers”. Continue reading......

The world must accelerate the shift to renewables, regardless of the economic effects of Abu Dhabi's decisionOpec appears to be the latest casualty of the Iran war. On Tuesday, the United Arab Emirates announced that it was leaving the oil cartel after 60 years. The loss of a critical member is a blow to the group and its de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, in the midst of the biggest supply crisis in history.This is a geopolitical decision, not merely an economic one. The UAE has built itself into an increasingly interventionist and unilaterally minded power, not only challenging Riyadh's dominance but undermining its more cautious approach to regional affairs. The rift has become increasingly public and bitter – with Saudi Arabia bombing what it called a UAE-linked arms shipment in Yemen in December. Abu Dhabi, as the main target of Iranian strikes among the Gulf countries, is also enraged by what it sees as a feeble regional response to the current conflict, and has been privately pushing...

Matthew Pennycook says ending system must be done slowly to avoid hitting housing supply and legal pitfallsA ban on new leasehold properties in England and Wales is unlikely to come into force until after the next election, the housing minister has said, as he defended the government's piecemeal attempts to dismantle the system.The long-promised end will take years to “switch on”, Matthew Pennycook said, even though the ban on new houses was passed in 2024 and the government intends to pass one on new flats soon. Continue reading......

Wave of measures has helped cut offending in stores by a fifth last year as new retail crime law comes into forceCo-op is secretly marking commonly-stolen items including alcohol and laundry detergents with invisible “forensic spray” to track them, in the latest crackdown on shoplifting as a new law on retail crime kicks in.The grocer is to use the technique, which helps the retailer to identify where stolen items are being resold and report them to the police, across the country after testing it in Manchester and London since last year. Continue reading......

Drugmaker had stalled large-scale projects in England but has now pledged investment at two sites, announced by Keir StarmerBritain's biggest drugmaker AstraZeneca has said it will invest £300m in the UK in a surprise U-turn after pausing large-scale projects last year.The drugmaker had pulled back investments in Britain after becoming disillusioned with the business environment, including the availability of new medicines on the NHS and drug pricing. Continue reading......

Government request follows contingency planning to stop planes being grounded if Iran war supply shocks continueBusiness live – latest updatesBritish refineries have been asked to maximise jet fuel supply as part of government contingency planning, amid growing fears the Iran war will force planes to be grounded.The energy minister Michael Shanks said the government is closely monitoring UK jet fuel stocks and working with airlines, airports, fuel suppliers and other governments, as carriers face rocketing fuel costs as a result of the conflict. Continue reading......

You already get extra legroom and all sorts of goodies if you travel first class. Soon you won't even have to queue for the toiletName: The aeroplane en suiteAge: Coming soon. Continue reading......

New lawsuits allege employees urged company to notify authorities months before deadly Tumbler Ridge attackFamilies of seven victims of a mass shooting at a secondary school in British Columbia are suing OpenAI and the company's CEO for negligence after it failed to alert authorities to the shooter's troubling conversations with ChatGPT.The lawsuits, filed on Wednesday in a federal court in San Francisco, allege that the violent intentions of the shooter, identified as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, were well-known to OpenAI. Employees at the company flagged the shooter's account eight months before the attack and determined that it posed “a credible and specific threat of gun violence against real people”, according to the lawsuit. Continue reading......

Continent 'sleepwalking' into series of economic and national security problems due to over-dependenceEurope is “sleepwalking” into a series of economic and national security problems because of an over-reliance on Chinese green technology, according to experts.A report co-authored by Michael Collins, a former deputy head of national security strategy at the UK Cabinet Office, described the risks of depending on China for green tech as “serious”. Continue reading......

Insolvency firm points to tax rises, staff costs and shaky consumer confidence after number increases to 62,193The number of UK businesses in “critical financial distress” has risen by more than a third over the past year, according to insolvency practitioners, as companies contend with a “slew of increased taxes” and the impact of the Middle East conflict.Hospitality and leisure firms have been faring particularly badly because of shaky consumer confidence, and rising taxes and staff costs, according to research by the restructuring company Begbies Traynor. Continue reading......

Award-winning chef and husband ordered to stop offering lifts home from rurally located HansomIt was when people were bringing a change of shoes to walk home that a couple running an acclaimed restaurant in North Yorkshire thought: “Actually, why don't we give you a lift?”But the arrangement, loved by customers, has fallen foul of the council, which has informed Ruth Hansom and her husband, Mark, that were in breach of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976. Continue reading......

Everything was in place for Andrea's dream celebration in Barbados. Then her close friend was denied the right to walk across a British airport to board a connecting flightWeddings can be complicated to organise, especially when the venue is more than 4,000 miles from home. But Andrea, a Londoner, was confident she and her partner, Josh, had thought of everything when they planned their dream wedding in Barbados for the beginning of May.The British couple – Andrea of Nigerian and Josh of Bajan heritage – booked a stunning venue, with tropical gardens and spectacular views. Continue reading......

Bank says it has withdrawn proceedings against former Telegraph owners Aidan and Howard Barclay at high courtThe former owners of the Telegraph have avoided bankruptcy after reaching a settlement with HSBC over more than £140m in overdue debts.At a high court hearing on Tuesday, Europe's biggest bank said it had withdrawn proceedings against Aidan and Howard Barclay, whose family lost control of the Daily and Sunday Telegraph in 2023 over £1.16bn of unpaid debts owed to Lloyds Bank. Continue reading......

112-page album will require 980 unique stickers to fillIndividual packets of seven stickers cost £1.25 in BritainSoaring prices at the pumps, grocery bills on the rise, and now it seems inflation will be hitting hard the pockets of those football fans for whom no World Cup would be complete without the thrill of opening a packet of Panini stickers.Since the Italian company's first sticker collection at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, striving to complete the set has been an obsession for young fans around the globe with swapping of doubles and the search for rarities mandatory. Continue reading......

Fishing companies can also access up to 70% subsidies, in loosening of state aid rules for 'most exposed sectors'Business live – latest updatesThe EU is to subsidise up to 70% of the extra cost of fuel and fertilisers caused by the Iran war for farmers, fishing businesses and road hauliers as part of a package of emergency measures unveiled on Wednesday.Individual companies can claim up to €50,000 each between now and the end of the year with minimum paperwork, a measure the EU hopes will remove what it sees as an existential threat to hauliers and farmers. Continue reading......

Rush for lithium, cobalt and nickel is ravaging livelihoods, water and health of world's most vulnerable, UN study says Critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt and nickel are becoming the “oil of the 21st century” as the scramble for precious metals deepens poverty and creates public health crises in some of the world's most vulnerable communities, a report by the UN's water thinktank has found.The investigation by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) concluded that the growing demand for lithium, cobalt and nickel used in batteries and microchips is draining water supplies, eroding agriculture and exposing communities to toxic heavy metals. Continue reading......

Utility bills are up as much as 40% in some regions, and companies shut off power to customers 13m times in 2025The US's top utilities' CEOs enjoyed a 16% pay raise last year – to an average of $12.3m – even as consumers shoulder the pain from high bills spurred by continuing inflation, the Iran war and datacenter growth, a new review of industry financial documents shows.Utility bills are up as much as 40% in some regions since 2021, and, nationwide, utilities shut off power to customers 13m times last year, federal data shows. Continue reading......