90 minutes ago Why is Germany shooting its own stagnating economy in the foot? | Simon Nixon

A proposed Italian-German bank merger makes sense for Europe, but Berlin is opting for domestic protectionismA potential merger between a German bank and an Italian rival would not normally elicit much interest beyond the business pages. But these are not normal times. The Italian bank UniCredit recently provoked a political backlash in Germany by acquiring a 21% stake in the German lender Commerzbank. Even chancellor Olaf Scholz weighed in, calling the Italian move “an unfriendly attack”. The significance of this row runs far beyond the worlds of Italian and German finance.News of the acquisition came just weeks after the publication of a report by Mario Draghi, the former president of the European Central Bank, on how to address the EU’s declining competitiveness against the US and Ch...

Events

2 hours ago Eddie Howe 'handed brutal England interview snub' before Thomas Tuchel appointment

Eddie Howe was tipped to be in the running for the England job but the FA decided on former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel to succeed Gareth Southgate, handing him an 18-month deal

Events

2 hours ago Labour's poll tax: Business fury at Reeves's plan to hike national insurance

Hiking national insurance will become Labour's 'poll tax', Rachel Reeves has been warned. In the most vehement criticism yet, business leaders reacted with fury as the Treasury refused to rule it out.

Economics

2 hours ago Labour must avoid killing off 'green shoots' of economic recovery with high business taxes

As inflation hits lowest level for more than three years, an interest rate cut that would boost investment looms

Economics

2 hours ago Electric wallpaper piloted in Scottish city as alternative to central heating

The trial will take place in 12 Glasgow tenements

Politics

2 hours ago Negative stereotypes in international media cost Africa £3.2bn a year – report

Focus on conflict, corruption and poverty heightens perception of risk, raising interest on sovereign debt, authors sayAfrica loses up to £3.2bn yearly in inflated interest payments on sovereign debt due to persistent negative stereotypes that dominate international media coverage of the continent, according to a new report.Research by consultants Africa Practice and the advocacy non-profit Africa No Filter suggests that media portrayals, especially during elections when global coverage is heightened, focus disproportionately on conflict, corruption, poverty, disease and poor leadership, widening disparities between perceived and actual risks of investing in the continent, and creating a monolithic view of Africa. Continue reading...

Economics

2 hours ago Does Starmer believe in anything, people ask, and now I can answer: his credo is the rule of law | Martin Kettle

Rwanda, the Chagos Islands, arms to Israel – all fit a pattern. Look to the speech his attorney general made this week; all the clues are therePolitical speeches seem to fall like autumn leaves at this time of year. Speeches at party conferences. Speeches at leadership hustings and to the UN general assembly. And the budget speech itself is still to come. Yet even the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, may struggle to say anything more illuminating than a speech this week by a far less high-profile government member than she.In July, Richard Hermer KC was plucked from a successful bar career by his fellow barrister Keir Starmer, given a peerage and made attorney general. It was a hand-picked appointment by Starmer, who snubbed the shadow attorney general, Emily Thornberry, to make it. As Lord H...

Politics

2 hours ago Five lesser known symptoms of breast cancer everyone needs to be aware of

Breast cancer is not always obvious apart from the usual symptoms which woman should be aware of. There are lesser-known signs of the condition which can be sign of the condition

Events

3 hours ago Idaho says it will try again to execute prisoner who survived first botched attempt

The 74-year-old is the state’s longest-serving death row inmate

Events

3 hours ago EU’s weak or distracted governments make unity of purpose hard to achieve

Leaders can only spend limited political capital on Euro initiatives while weighed down by domestic troublesIt has become a wry joke in Brussels that the most stable country in the EU is Italy, once infamous for its succession of short-lived governments.France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Olaf Scholz have been humbled by punishing electoral defeats. Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, presides over a minority government in a country riven by division after a controversial amnesty bill. In Poland, Donald Tusk enjoys a much stronger position, but grapples with an unwieldy coalition and an opposition-allied president. Continue reading...

Politics