FTSE 100 firm turns down fourth offer from the Australian property company REA Group
Rightmove has rejected a £6.2bn takeover offer from REA Group, the Australian real estate firm backed by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.
The UK property portal told the City on Monday morning that its board had turned down REA’s fourth offer, having concluded it was “unattractive and materially undervalues Rightmove”.
Continue reading...‘Economically illiterate’ Defra letter sent to anti-sewage groups cites 2018 report commissioned by water companies
Labour used “economically illiterate” analysis paid for by water companies in order to argue against the nationalisation of the sector, the Guardian can reveal.
In an official letter recently sent to anti-sewage groups, civil servants cited a paper by the Social Market Foundation as a reason to avoid nationalisation as part of its review of the sector. The report from 2018 was commissioned by United Utilities, Anglian Water, Severn Trent and South West Water.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Move signals change of policy that was causing health groups to withdraw from conferences and disquiet within media brand
The division of the Economist’s parent group that has come under fire over its commercial ties with the world’s three biggest tobacco companies is to stop doing any “new work” with tobacco companies.
The decision follows a Guardian investigation which revealed that Economist Impact, a division separate from the newspaper that runs events and includes paid-for and sponsored content on its website, was forced to cancel a high-profile cancer conference due to a backlash from speakers and organisations over its ties with big tobacco.
Continue reading...South Korean skincare brands expected to follow country’s music, film and TV exports in becoming blockbusters
We’ve had South Korean pop, film, fashion and food, and now the latest trend is K-beauty, with sales of Korean skincare brands taking off in the UK as consumers are seduced by products that promise to conjure a radiant complexion.
Britons are cutting back in other areas, but they are still chasing what the beauty industry describes as the “glass skin” look, with retailers reporting a rise in spending on high-end skincare.
Continue reading...S&P 500 index of major US companies registers near 100% gain on year ago amid expectation of interest rate cuts
A fall in US inflation expected to pave the way for further cuts in interest rates pushed stock markets to record highs on Friday.
Ending a week of gains that began when the Chinese authorities approved a huge economic stimulus package, the S&P 500 index of major US companies soared above 5,750 to register a near 100% gain on a year ago.
Continue reading...Those in the top tax bracket three times more likely to be negatively geared property investor, says economist
Negative gearing helps high-earning Australians the most, with those with income of more than $180,000 annually snaring almost one-quarter of the benefits, despite numbering just 5% of taxpayers.
Data from the Australian Taxation Office showed people who earn more than $180,000 were able to lower their collective tax bill by $1.3bn in 2021-2022 through negative gearing. The $1.3bn was roughly 25% of all the losses on rental properties claimed by taxpayers in that financial year.
Continue reading...Australian group calls on Rightmove board to ‘engage now’ after fourth offer for UK online property portal
Rupert Murdoch’s REA Group has made a fourth attempt to buy Rightmove, increasing its offer to £6.2bn as it steps up its pursuit of the UK’s largest online property portal.
The Australian property group, which is controlled by News Corp, raised its cash and shares offer from the £6.1bn offered earlier this week and called on Rightmove’s board to “engage now” after it refused repeatedly to meet the suitor.
Continue reading...The BoM has issued a severe weather update for parts of north-east NSW and south-east Queensland as wet and windy weather continues to batter the east coast. Follow today’s news headlines live
Dutton says PM ‘desperately hoping’ interest rates will fall
Opposition leader Peter Dutton believes Western Australia will play a crucial role in the election. He told the West Australian:
My judgment is that we’re waiting for the results to come in from WA before we know the outcome of the election this time around.
It depends on whether the prime minister’s waiting to see if interest rates come down.
He’d be desperately hoping that they come down in February of next year and he can go from there.
We live in the territory. This is our home. We are fighting to protect our water from the dangers of fracking.
Continue reading...Unions say ‘blatant’ violations of international wage protections have tipped many into extreme poverty
Ten trade unions have accused Israel of breaching international labor law by holding back pay and benefits from more than 200,000 Palestinian workers since 7 October.
The Israeli government stands accused of “blatant” violations of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) protection of wages convention, tipping many Palestinians into extreme poverty.
Continue reading...Premier League fans exposed to almost 30,000 messages in one weekend despite restrictions, research finds
Ministers have been urged to intervene to stop football clubs from setting their own rules on curbing gambling advertising, after research showed Premier League fans were bombarded with nearly 30,000 gambling messages on a single weekend.
Clubs in the top flight have so far avoided compulsory restrictions on gambling sponsorship, instead addressing public concern through voluntary measures such as a ban on front-of-shirt logos, starting in 2026.
Continue reading...Contingency plan using sea tankers to deal with future shortages would be paid for from customers’ bills
Southern Water, one of Britain’s biggest water companies, is drawing up contingency plans to tanker water from Norway to deal with future supply shortages and drought.
Southern, which has 2.7 million customers for drinking water supply in the south-east of England, could import water from Norwegian fjords to provide up to 45m litres a day, and would pay for it from customers’ bills.
Continue reading...Australian Competition and Consumer Commission uses special information gathering powers to examine ‘concerning’ reports from grocery suppliers
Australia’s major supermarkets provide broadly similar products, prices and loyalty programs in an oligopolistic market that may limit incentives to compete vigorously, the competition regulator has found in its interim report on the sector.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission also said grocery suppliers had raised “concerning” issues – such as being required to pay rebates for promotions to supermarkets – prompting the regulator to use its compulsory information gathering powers to examine the reported behaviour.
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Continue reading...Benefits to rise for poorest and local authorities to be given powers to intervene in real estate markets
Chinese leaders have vowed to arrest a slump in the housing market and boost growth after conceding that measures by the central bank to stimulate investment this week were likely to prove inadequate.
Promising to deploy “necessary spending” by the state to meet this year’s economic growth target of 5%, China’s politburo said it would increase benefits for the poorest and give local authorities the cash and power to intervene to prevent further falls in house price values.
Continue reading...Reported move follows recent departure of senior figures from ChatGPT developer
OpenAI is reportedly pushing ahead with plans to become a for-profit company, as more senior figures left the ChatGPT developer after the surprise exit of its chief technology officer, Mira Murati.
The San Francisco-based startup is preparing to change its corporate structure as it seeks $6.5bn (£4.9bn) of new funding, according to reports.
Continue reading...Michael Ward says former Harrods owner ‘presided over a toxic culture’, describing it as ‘shameful period’
The managing director of Harrods has apologised and said the business “failed our colleagues” following sexual misconduct allegations against the department store’s former owner, Mohamed Al Fayed.
In a statement, Michael Ward said it is clear Fayed “presided over a toxic culture of secrecy, intimidation, fear of repercussion and sexual misconduct”.
Continue reading...Transaction will reportedly provide investment firm Song Capital with ground rent on 76 supermarkets for 45 years
Morrisons has raised £331m to cut its debt pile through the sale of ground leases on 76 supermarkets as part of a turnaround plan under the new chief executive, Rami Baitiéh.
If all the proceeds are used to pay down debt, Morrisons would have net debt of £3.6bn, down from as much as £8.6bn at the end of last year.
Continue reading...S&P and Moody’s cut ratings by five notches on risk troubled company will run out of cash
Thames Water’s debt rating has been slashed to the lower levels of junk by two major credit rating agencies, piling further pressure on the UK’s biggest water company, which is rapidly running through cash and fighting to stave off renationalisation.
S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s said the utility was fast running out of money and on the brink of default. S&P cut its rating on Thames’s £15bn top-ranking debt pile by five notches to CCC+, taking it into the triple-C category that is considered very risky. Thames lost its investment-grade credit rating in July.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has joined an international push “to hold the Taliban to account” under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
Wong says:
We know the women and girls of Afghanistan are effectively being erased from public life by the various edicts the Taliban … have issued.
The steps we are taking with Germany, Canada and the Netherlands are unprecedented. We are intending to use the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, to which Afghanistan is a party, to take action.
If I can … say again to the Australian Lebanese community. This is a deeply distressing situation for so many of you. I know that there are many Australians in Lebanon. There are many Australians who have relatives, family and friends in Lebanon. I again urge Australians in Lebanon to leave now. There are flight cancelations and disruptions, and there is a risk that Beirut airport may close for an extended period of time.
Please do not wait for a preferred route. Please take the first option you can to leave. We continue to monitor the situation closely. We have been working with partners on contingency plans now for many months but I again say to anyone who any Australian who is in Lebanon: please leave now.
Continue reading...Upgrade to Merseyside site will allow it to build hybrid cars and prepare for electric vehicle production
Jaguar Land Rover has said it will spend half a billion pounds to upgrade a Merseyside factory to build hybrid cars and prepare for electric vehicle production.
Britain’s largest automotive employer – officially known as JLR – said it has already spent £250m on new car production lines, machinery, people and digital technology at the Halewood plant, with plans for £250m more over the coming years.
Continue reading...Stephen Schwarzman’s Blackstone Group will fund data centre bringing 4,000 jobs to north-east England
Keir Starmer is set to announce the creation of a £10bn AI datacentre, bringing 4,000 jobs to north-east England, which will be funded by a private equity firm run by a big Donald Trump supporter.
The prime minister is due to host chief executives in New York on Thursday, where he is trying to drum up interest in foreign investment into the UK. He will hail the investment in an “artificial intelligence datacentre” – due to be built in Blyth in Northumberland by Blackstone – as a “vote of confidence in the UK”.
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