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Hong Kong-based airline has business-class return listed at A$39,577, as travellers seek routes avoiding Middle EastThe Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific is selling seats from Sydney to London for more than £20,000 in April, as passengers search for scarce long-haul flights without changing in the Middle East.The tickets, listed at A$39,577 in business class for returns departing in mid-April, far outstrip the usual fares charged even in the first class cabin. Continue reading......

Car group reports 54% drop in pre-tax profits as it says Iran war could affect demand for Audi and Porsche brandsBusiness live – latest updatesEurope's largest automaker, Volkswagen, is to shed 50,000 jobs by the end of the decade, as it faces falling sales in China and North America and punitive US tariffs imposed by Donald Trump.The 10-brand group, whose luxury subsidiaries Porsche and Audi are also under pressure, said the jobs would go in Germany, affecting the entire group, as part of a restructuring drive in light of the darkening global business climate. Continue reading......

UK's GSK is leading the way in research but AstraZeneca is not involved in the area, report findsBusiness live – latest updatesThe pipeline of drugs to fight superbugs remains “worryingly thin” and has shrunk by 35% in the last five years, experts have warned, predicting the annual number of deaths linked to drug-resistant infections globally will double to 8 million by 2050.The number of projects from large pharma companies has shrunk by 35% over the past five years, from 92 to 60 medicines in development, according to a report from the Access to Medicine Foundation (AMF), a Netherlands-based non-profit group, and the Wellcome Trust. Continue reading......

Growing fears that elevated interest rates will continue, as Barclays finds worries that war will push up inflationBusiness live – latest updatesA leading British housebuilder has warned the Iran conflict could knock homebuyer sentiment, amid growing fears of a jump in inflation and a prolonged period of elevated interest rates.Persimmon said it was “monitoring the impact the conflict with Iran could have on our markets in 2026”, but noted that consumer sentiment could be sensitive amid more financial uncertainty. Continue reading......

Remember the iPod? How about the Pippin? In the half-century since it launched its first PC, Apple has given us some amazing innovations. We round up its biggest triumphs and flopsFifty years after Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne founded the company in Jobs' parents' garage in Los Altos, California, Apple has become a behemoth, and billions of us use its products every day. From the first successful home computers with colour screens, to the iPod, to the smartphone that set the template for the modern mobile era, the company has repeatedly reset consumer expectations.As a result, the firm occupies a central position in the tech world, initiating trends and popularising products. Here are five of its most influential products from the past half-century – alongside some unusually big misses. Continue reading......

Rachel Reeves said to be considering levy cuts for oil and gas firms, but economists say this would just fatten profitsEasing the windfall tax on the North Sea would do nothing for hard-pressed consumers, and merely fatten the profits of oil and gas companies, economists and experts have told the Guardian.Rachel Reeves, the UK chancellor, is understood to be considering reductions to the energy profits levy, or potentially scrapping it and replacing it with a lower duty. Oil prices rose to $100 a barrel on Monday, as the US-Israel offensive on Iran showed little sign of halting. Continue reading......

Regulator fined the multimillionaire £1.8m and banned him from the financial services industry last yearCrispin Odey, the multimillionaire financier fighting various lawsuits relating to allegations of sexual misconduct, is to launch a case against the financial services regulator over his exile from the City.The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) fined Odey £1.8m and banned him from the financial services industry last year. Continue reading......

Anglian, Southern, Wessex and South East allowed to raise charges more than originally allowed by watchdogBusiness live – latest updatesMillions of households in England will pay even higher water bills than previously expected, after the competition regulator gave its final verdict on industry spending plans for the coming years.Five water companies had appealed to the Competition and Markets Authority to let them raise bills higher than was initially allowed by Ofwat, the industry watchdog. On Tuesday, the CMA said it would let them raise annual bills by an extra 2.2% on average. 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.Oil prices are falling and stocks are rebounding after US president Donald Trump said the war with Iran would end “very soon'.2.15pm GMT: Treasury Committee hearing with the Office for Budget Responsibility on spring statement 2026 Continue reading......

Ban could still be introduced in future after Commons back government bid to give extra powers to secretary of stateA proposed ban on social media for under-16s has been rejected by MPs.Parliamentarians voted 307 to 173, majority 134, against the proposed change to the children's wellbeing and schools bill, which was brought forward by Conservative peer and former minister John Nash. Continue reading......

Uber is expanding a pilot program aimed at addressing concerns about the safety of its ride-hailing platformUber launched a feature on Monday to allow both female riders and drivers across the US to be matched with other women for trips, expanding a pilot program aimed at addressing concerns about the safety of its ride-hailing platform.The new feature is being rolled out nationwide despite an ongoing class action lawsuit against the policy in California, filed by Uber drivers who argue that it is discriminatory against men. Rival ride-hailing company Lyft is also facing a discrimination lawsuit over a similar offering that it introduced nationwide in 2024. Continue reading......

Chancellor raises prospect of help after prices almost treble since start of conflict• How will war in the Middle East affect your finances?Rural households that rely on heating oil to warm their homes and provide hot water are facing a “sudden and frightening” surge in their bills, with prices almost trebling since the start of the Iran war.The cost of heating oil is not covered by Ofgem's energy price cap and varies between suppliers. In examples seen by the Guardian, customers who were typically paying 62p a litre before the war are now being quoted about £1.73. Continue reading......

The war reveals Britain's exposure to volatile fossil fuel prices. More North Sea drilling will not shield households, building domestic green energy willWhat should Britain do when war in the Middle East sends energy prices soaring? If the strait of Hormuz were blocked for the month of fighting that Donald Trump predicts, British households could face another brutal cost of living shock. Goldman Sachs warns of prices at the pump rising to 2022 levels. That would put more than 50p on each litre in the tank. Prolonged disruption to global gas supplies could see energy bills in the UK rise by £900 to £2,500 a year. Such uncertainty strengthens the case for going big on clean energy.Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, has grasped this reality. By contrast, the Conservatives and Reform UK are doubling down on domestic fossil fuel extraction. The debate is framed around a simple claim of energy security: drill more at home. But the argument is rhetorical. Britain might export a bit more crude and have a smid...

While the set-up in Great Britain looks secure for now, the Iran war shows why more storage seems essential Alarmed that Great Britain has only enough gas in storage to cover two days of consumption? Actually, Michael Shanks, the energy minister, is right that the bald statistic is not a reason to run for the hills. But he would help his case if he admitted that the long era of running a “just-in-time” approach to gas supplies looks increasingly unworkable.Shanks is obviously correct that Great Britain does not source its supplies from storage. About 75% of our gas comes from the North Sea – from domestic fields and via the 725-mile underwater Langeled pipeline from Norway – and neither source is affected by the war in Iran. Continue reading......

Merger to take drone firm public is latest business move by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr as father is in White HouseSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxA golf club company backed by the sons of Donald Trump is merging with drone manufacturer Powerus in a deal designed to take the drone technology company public.The merger with Aureus Greenway Holdings is the latest in Eric and Donald Trump Jr's growing investments in the drone sector, following last month's $1.5bn tie-up between Israeli drone maker XTEND and Florida-based JFB Construction Holdings. Drones have become a major procurement priority for the Pentagon and are widely used in Ukraine, where dense air defense systems near the front lines limit the deployment of conventional aircraft. Continue reading......

Social media company tells MPs of continual fight against state-backed attempts, with Russia being most prolificElon Musk's X said it has suspended 800m accounts over a 12-month period as it fights the “massive” scale of attempts to manipulate the platform.The social media company told MPs it was continually fighting state-backed attempts to hijack the agenda on its network, with Russia being the most prolific state actor, followed by Iran and China. Continue reading......

There is talk of crude surpassing its record high of 2008 with potentially dire effects for consumers and businessesFears over the global economy have been stoked by the oil price soaring past $100 a barrel as a result on the US-Israel war with Iran.Economists say the increasing likelihood of a prolonged conflict in the vital energy exporting region could have serious consequences for living standards around the world amid the threat of a renewed inflation shock. Continue reading......

British chancellor says she will take steps to help families with cost of living as oil prices surge Middle East crisis – live updatesBritain is likely to be hit by rising inflation because of the US war with Iran, the UK chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has said, as she suggested that a “rapid de-escalation” would be the best protection against a jump in energy prices.Both the chancellor and the prime minister, Keir Starmer, suggested the government would be prepared to intervene to protect UK households against major cost-of-living shocks as oil prices surged past $100 (£75) a barrel for the first time since 2022. Continue reading......

Finance ministers monitoring situation but stop short of agreeing to release emergency oil reservesIran war drives oil prices above $100 a barrelBusiness live – latest updatesThe G7 said it was ready to take “necessary measures” to address the economic impact of the US-Israel war on Iran, after a meeting prompted by soaring oil prices, which rose above $100 (£74) a barrel for the first time since 2022.Following a remote meeting on Monday, G7 finance ministers said they would closely monitor the situation but stopped short of agreeing to release emergency oil reserves. Continue reading......

Lawsuits come after Pentagon labeled Anthropic a 'supply chain risk', a decision the company says is unlawfulSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxAnthropic filed two lawsuits against the Department of Defense on Monday, alleging that the government's decision to label the artificial intelligence firm a “supply chain risk” was unlawful and violated its first amendment rights. The two sides have been locked in a monthslong heated feud over the company's attempt to implement safeguards against the military's potential use of its AI models for mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous lethal weapons.The lawsuits, which Anthropic filed in the northern district court of California and the US court of appeals for the Washington DC Circuit, come after the Pentagon formally issued the supply chain risk designation last Thursday, the first time the blacklisting tool has been used against a US company. The AI firm previously vowed to challenge the designation and...