28 h. ago Paedophile Rolf Harris' Berkshire mansion put up for sale two years after death

EXCLUSIVE: The riverside property, in Bray, Berkshire, is being quietly marketed by Mayfair-based estate agents Benson International, with an asking price of £4million

Events

6 d. ago EU fines Apple and Meta for breaching fair competition rules

First penalties under landmark Digital Markets Act are fines of €500m to Apple and €200m to Facebook ownerThe European Commission has fined Apple €500m (£429m) and Meta €200m for breaking rules on fair competition and user choice, in the first penalties issued under one of the EU’s landmark internet laws.The fines under the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA), which is intended to ensure fair business practices by tech companies, are likely to provide another flashpoint with Donald Trump’s administration, which has fiercely attacked Europe’s internet regulation. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Risks to global financial stability surging after Trump tariffs, warns IMF

World body says ‘sharp repricing of risks’ possible amid growing concern over role of ‘nonbank’ lendersIMF warns of ‘major negative shock’ from Trump’s tariffsEditorial: Donald Trump could cost the world $1tnThe global financial system is coming under increasing strain as Donald Trump’s trade war rocks markets, the International Monetary Fund has warned.“Global financial stability risks have increased significantly,” the IMF said in its regular snapshot of the system, urging regulators to be on the alert for potential crises. Continue reading...

Events

9 d. ago How the humble teapot morphed from kitchen staple to designer icon

Sales of tea sets soar as millennials fall in love with ‘cottagecore’ and tablescapingThe British think the cuppa is their national treasure, but a new interest in tea sets among young people is bringing with it an interest in the international cultural significance of the teatime ritual.Online vintage homeware marketplace Vinterior reports a six-fold increase in teapot purchases over the past six months, while sales at John Lewis are up 22%. The Ulla Floral fine teapot in a gift box is its current bestseller. A survey of 2,000 millennials by the home improvement store B&Q earlier this year found that 26% of those surveyed think teapots are back in fashion. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Google's digital ad network declared an illegal monopoly, joining its search engine in penalty box

Google has been branded an abusive monopolist by a federal judge for the second time in less than a year, this time for illegally exploiting some of its online marketing technology to the profits fueling an internet empire currently worth $1.8 trillion

Events

1 week ago Google sued for £5bn in UK over allegations of shutting out rivals

Class action argues US tech firm charged more for advertising on its preinstalled apps than it could in fair marketGoogle is being sued in the UK for up to £5bn in damages over allegations it shut out rivals in the internet search market and abused this dominance to overcharge businesses for advertisements. A class action filed at the competition appeal tribunal on Tuesday argues that the US technology company has taken actions that enable it to charge higher prices for the promotions that appear in search inquiries than it otherwise could in a fair market. It alleged that Google, which is owned by the US tech company Alphabet, contracted phone makers to preinstall the Google search app and Chrome browser on Android devices and paid Apple to make it the default search engine on iPhones, with the intention of shutting out competition. The claim is filed by the competition law expert Or Brook on behalf of thousands of businesses and alleges Google ensured its search engine had better ...

Economics

2 w. ago £4 for an expresso? Leading coffee boss says customers have reached their limit as prices soar

Antonio Baravalle, chief executive of Italian brand Lavazza, said speculation about the price of coffee on international markets has pushed the cost of beans and, by extension, the drink itself to the 'limit'.

Economics

3 w. ago Musk reportedly made several pushes for Trump to back off global tariffs surge

Musk’s unsuccessful attempts may be sign of growing rift between US president and tech billionaireElon Musk made personal, repeated attempts to try to get Donald Trump to back off from the wave of global tariffs that have created turmoil in international markets, it was reported on Tuesday.Musk’s failure to get Trump to listen, however, is evidence to some observers of a growing rift between the US president and the world’s richest person, who has been leading the White House’s efforts to curb federal spending as head of the unofficial department of government efficiency (Doge). Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Donald Trump warns 'don't be weak and stupid' as tariffs send stock markets into freefall

Donald Trump remained defiant on Monday despite plunging markets as he insisted his tariffs are necessary to rebalance global trade and rebuild domestic manufacturing

Events

3 w. ago Stock futures drop again as Trump remains defiant on tariffs plan roiling international markets

Despite markets expected to open lower on Monday, the president told reporters that his tariffs were ‘a beautiful thing to behold’ and claimed unspecified countries were calling him to negotiate

Economics

3 w. ago Tell us: have your pension savings been affected by turbulent stockmarkets?

We’re interested to hear how people’s invested pension savings have been faring amid sharp ups and downs in recent months and years, and how this may affect themUS president Donald Trump’s trade war, political elections and societal shifts ushering in dramatic change and dire public finances in multiple countries, the war in Ukraine and the Covid pandemic have been creating tumultous conditions on international markets for the past few years.We’d like to hear how people’s invested pension savings have been affected by this series of economic shocks. Has your invested portfolio sustained big losses, or have you enjoyed staggering stockmarket gains? How may you and your plans be affected by it all? Tell us. Continue reading...

Economics

3 w. ago Tell us: have your pension savings been affected by turbulent stock markets?

We’re interested to hear how people’s invested pension savings have been faring amid sharp ups and downs in recent months and years, and how this may affect themUS president Donald Trump’s trade war, political elections and societal shifts ushering in dramatic change and dire public finances in multiple countries, the war in Ukraine and the Covid pandemic have been creating tumultous conditions on international markets for the past few years.We’d like to hear how people’s invested pension savings have been affected by this series of economic shocks. Has your invested portfolio sustained big losses, or have you enjoyed staggering stock market gains? How may you and your plans be affected by it all? Tell us. Continue reading...

Economics