Exclusive: Eight companies expect to be covered by the ban for 2025-26, the Guardian can reveal
Water company bosses’ total pay rose over the past year despite a government bonus ban and public outrage over pollution and bills, the Guardian can reveal.
One chief executive, Mark Thurston of Anglian Water, received £1.9m – including a £500,000 “retention payment”, despite the bonus ban.
Continue reading...Lib Dems call on PM to push for suspension of ‘bungled, malfunctioning’ system as overseas holiday travel peaks
Andy Burnham has been urged to lobby EU leaders directly to suspend the new entry-exit system, EES, as the peak weekend for overseas holidays begins.
About 2.2 million British holidaymakers are expected to head abroad between Friday and Monday, the majority to Europe, with all schools in the UK now on their summer break.
Continue reading...Even some Republicans apparently expressing concern over measures against 85 countries
The Trump administration continues to expand its authoritarian and radical drive to revamp voting rules and seize state election powers, though it faces growing resistance from US courts, state officials and Democrats, who warn the moves are sparking “chaos” and endangering voting rights and the rule of law.
Donald Trump’s unprecedented drive to change election rules, which states legally set, is fueled by his obsession with his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden, which he falsely attributes to voting fraud, coupled with his fear that Democrats will “find a reason to impeach me” if they take control of the House in November’s midterms elections, say former election officials and legal experts.
Continue reading...Carmaker expects to sell 3% fewer vehicles this year as it pushes through a programme that could eliminate 100,000 roles
Volkswagen has reported a steep fall in profits and cut its revenue forecast amid a sales slump in China, as the German carmaker pushes through a brutal cost-cutting programme that includes axeing up to 100,000 jobs.
VW said it expects sales to fall by up to 3% this year, a reversal of a previous forecast for a 3% increase on last year’s €321.9bn (£275.3bn), because of a sales slump in the highly competitive Chinese market.
Continue reading...Soaring temperatures fuel demand for air conditioners and outdoor goods, helping retailers beat expectations in June
Online sales reached their highest share of retail spending in five years last month as record heat fuelled demand for air conditioners, outdoor products and clothing.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the volume of retail sales in Great Britain rose 1% month on month in June, beating analysts’ expectations of a 0.3% decline, helped by hot weather and World Cup spending.
Continue reading...Treasurer points to other reforms after Labor members call for ‘fairer return’ from natural resources. Follow today’s news live
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Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories before your regular blogger takes the reins.
Jim Chalmers has claimed rightwing political parties will “prey on” voter insecurities about a worsening economy while championing “anti-worker” policies. It comes as markets are now expecting another rate hike by the end of the year. He also continues to push back at rank and file Labor members’ calls for a new tax on gas exports, saying the government had “other priorities” for reform. More coming up.
Continue reading...CEO Chris O’Shea defends Centrica’s plans as it reports rise in retail profits following focus on bigger margins
The owner of British Gas has claimed that most households would rather speak with an AI chatbot than deal with the company’s staff as it prepares to cut 1,300 jobs from its call centres.
Centrica, the supplier’s FTSE 100 owner, plans to cut 800 jobs as the company carries out a “targeted deployment of AI tools”, on top of the 500 cuts it confirmed last month.
Continue reading...Treasurer says ‘parties of the sensible centre and the centre-left parties’ face ‘serious economic challenges’. Follow live
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Self-reported domestic violence incidents declining in NSW but deaths and hospitalisations fail to fall
New data shows self-reported domestic violence incidents in New South Wales have declined, but the number of women and children murdered or hospitalised in domestic and family violence incidents over the past eight years has not significantly budged.
The decline in self-reported violence is significant because it reflects underlying levels of violence in the community, not just what is reported to police. It suggests that, despite rising reports of domestic violence to police, domestic violence in the community is not increasing and may be trending down.
There’s a strong perception that violence against women is rising, which is understandable given increases in police-recorded incidents, heightened media attention and greater public awareness.
Continue reading...Shares in Elon Musk company fall more 3% in after-hours trading, as earnings per share miss Wall Street expectations
Tesla reported its second-quarter earnings on Wednesday, disclosing far lower profits than expected. The company’s already beleaguered stock, which had fallen about 14% this year to date, dipped further following the earnings report.
Elon Musk’s automaker, once the pinnacle of his tech empire, has taken a back seat to SpaceX. Musk’s rocket and AI company held the largest stock market debut in history last month, turning the richest man on Earth into the world’s first trillionaire, though his net worth has since fallen from its peak.
Continue reading...Record June temperatures expected to cut grain harvest by 9m tonnes to its lowest level since 2018
The heatwave that swept across Europe in June is estimated to have cost the continent’s grain farmers €2bn (£1.7bn) in lost revenue and destroyed 9m tonnes of crops, sparking concern about the impact on the price of food.
Coceral, the European cereals and oilseeds trade association, made the estimate for the harvest of crops such as wheat, barley, maize and oats following the heatwave.
Continue reading...Annual June figure comes after new PM pledges to reduce cost of living and improve economy
UK inflation dropped by more than expected in June to 2.6%, in a boost for Andy Burnham’s plans to reduce the cost of living.
The new prime minister has pledged to bring down the cost of living to give households more disposable income and improve the outlook for the economy, announcing a winter VAT cut on electricity bills and lowering the cap on bus fares in England.
Continue reading...Such technology solves problem of longer, thinner, energy-saving wings not fitting in airports around the world
Airbus has said it will test folding wings for the next generation of its bestselling planes, as the world’s largest planemaker races to work out the shape of future commercial aircraft by the end of the decade.
Longer, thinner wings made of light but strong composite materials offer the promise of energy savings but present a problem for manufacturers because they will not fit in airports around the world, many of which are already at or near full capacity.
Continue reading...Meliá group says Donald Trump’s sanctions make it ‘impossible’ to keep any of its 34 sites open
A Spanish hotel chain is to cease all operations in Cuba at the end of the week due to “major difficulties” in doing business on the island under growing pressure from Washington.
The latest US sanctions make it “impossible, de facto and de jure, to maintain even minimal operational stability”, the Meliá group explained in a statement on Tuesday to the Spanish stock market regulator.
Continue reading...One Nation MP grilled in 7.30 interview about Pauline Hanson’s podcast interview by far-right activist. Follow today’s news live
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Anthony Albanese has congratulated the new UK Prime Minister Anthony Burnham after the latter took over the job yesterday. The Australian PM posted a note to X, emphasising the strategic allyship:
Congratulations Prime Minister Burnham on your appointment as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Australia and the United Kingdom are longstanding friends, allies and partners, united by shared values and deep ties between our peoples.
Continue reading...Turmoil likely as Trump officials say Canada unfairly discriminated against US autos, alcohol and dairy products
Donald Trump is imposing 50% tariffs on most Canadian goods, White House officials said on Monday, declaring Canada has unfairly discriminated against American autos, alcohol and dairy products.
The move could unleash a new wave of economic chaos, with risks of higher inflation and further fraying of relations between two nations that had been closely woven together before Trump’s return to the White House.
Continue reading...In its final report the High Pay Centre says the median remuneration of a FTSE 100 CEO has risen to a record £5.06m
The bosses of Britain’s largest listed companies received record pay last year, fuelling the widest earnings gap with workers in eight years.
Median pay for FTSE 100 chief executives hit £5.06m in the last financial year, according to data released by the High Pay Centre, an 8.6% increase on £4.66m the previous year and the highest level on record.
Continue reading...Consortium preparing for potential legal battle amid reports new PM could put the company into temporary public ownership
The group of investors pursuing a rescue bid for Thames Water have said they are willing to discuss greater public control but are also preparing for a potential multi-billion pound legal battle amid reports that Andy Burnham could temporarily nationalise the company.
London & Valley Water (L&VW), a consortium of 100 institutional investors that hold £17bn of the company’s £21bn debt, has said it is open to government involvement with Thames Water, but indicated that this does not include public ownership in the struggling company.
Continue reading...People in Tunbridge Wells area face lower pressure, intermittent supply or no water after ‘instrument failure’
Thousands of homes and businesses in Kent are facing water supply problems for a second day, including a “complete lack of water” in some cases, South East Water said.
About 7,000 properties in the Tunbridge Wells area could face low pressure, intermittent supply or no water, after an “instrument failure” at a nearby water treatment works, SEW said.
Continue reading...Health Foundation paper argues health is an economic asset and improving it could generate £72bn for public finances
Restoring the deteriorating health of the UK’s population to the level of 2014 would boost GDP by 2% and generate a £72bn dividend for the public finances, research suggests.
A paper by the Health Foundation thinktank, published on Sunday, argues the nation’s health should be valued by policymakers as an economic asset.
Continue reading...£200,000 investment comes after harvests in Britain hit by wet winter, spring frost and hail, then heatwaves
The owner of Ribena is to invest £200,000 in helping blackcurrant bushes withstand stress after extreme weather put a squeeze on this year’s UK harvest.
That harvest is now under way in the berry’s main growing regions including East Anglia, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Kent and Scotland. It is expected to be about 10% below the average of 10,000 tonnes, as the climate crisis drives extreme weather across Britain and elsewhere.
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