Bank of England’s Bailey says no rush to raise interest rates amid Iran war uncertainty
Posted on Friday May 29, 2026

Inflation can be tolerated above 2% target for now ‘given context of softness in real economy’, governor says

The Bank of England is in no rush to raise interest rates while the outcome of the Iran war remains uncertain and the UK’s growth rate stays weak, its governor, Andrew Bailey, has said.

In a signal that borrowing costs will remain at 3.75% at least during the summer, Bailey said it was tolerable for inflation to stay above the Bank’s 2% target during the current crisis. However, that would change if a more permanent increase in prices began to take effect, he said.

Read more...

London tube strikes to go ahead on Tuesday and Thursday, RMT says
Posted on Friday May 29, 2026

Two 24-hour stoppages by drivers to take place next week as part of action over proposals for four-day week

Strikes by drivers on London Underground next week will go ahead, the RMT union has announced, paving the way for more days of transport disruption.

Two 24-hour stoppages are to take place, from 00.01 to 23.59 on Tuesday 2 June and Thursday 4 June, because of differences over a planned four-day week.

Read more...

Nationwide customer seeking election to board hits out at lender for ‘unfair’ treatment
Posted on Friday May 29, 2026

James Sherwin-Smith says field tilted against him after decision to give members ‘quick vote’ against candidacy

A Nationwide customer seeking election to the building society’s board has criticised the lender for “unfair” treatment and undermining democratic governance after it said it would tell members to vote against him.

James Sherwin-Smith said Nationwide had tilted the field against him after it confirmed it would give members a default “quick vote” option that included a vote against his candidacy at the annual meeting in July.

Read more...

What can the Dutch teach the UK about how to tackle the youth jobs crisis?
Posted on Friday May 29, 2026

The Netherlands has the lowest rate of young people not in education, employment or training in the EU

A shock government-backed report this week warned of the danger of a “lost generation” of young people in Britain, as the number of 16- to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training (Neets) rose to more than 1 million.

According to official UK statistics, roughly 13.5% of young people are not in work or college. Among 18- to 24-year-olds the share rises to 15.8% – nearly one in six.

Read more...

Anthropic reaches valuation of $965bn, beating OpenAI to become world’s most valuable AI firm
Posted on Thursday May 28, 2026

Claude’s parent company’s $65bn in latest funding round underscores vast sums of money still flowing into industry

Anthropic, the AI firm behind the Claude chatbot, announced on Thursday it had raised $65bn in funding to value the company at $965bn post-money. The move makes Anthropic the world’s most valuable AI startup, eclipsing its competitor OpenAI.

The deal marks an exceedingly successful period of growth for Anthropic, which was once considered to be a smaller player in the global AI arms race. The widespread adoption of its products by large enterprise businesses, especially following its release of powerful coding assistants late last year, has turned it into a dominant player in the industry.

Read more...

So dumb it just might work: can these dumbphone evangelists convince you to dump smartphones?
Posted on Thursday May 28, 2026

As part of a growing anti-tech movement, startup dumb.co is pushing flip phones as a way for young people to find ‘social and spiritual freedom’

“They aren’t as dumb as they look,” our facilitator said, referring to the dark gray flip phone in his hand. He just as easily could have been talking about us, the 28 New York residents before him who had signed up to use the device for the entire month of March. He explained that the relic was loaded with WhatsApp, iMessage, Google Maps, Uber, Microsoft 2FA – nothing like my seventh-grade flip phone.

We each had paid $75 to participate in Month Offline, or MO, a program that challenged us to swear off our smartphones entirely. Another $25 went to dumb.co, the company behind MO, for the so-called dumbphones we would use as we navigated daily life.

Read more...

French Open 2026: Fonseca fightback stuns Djokovic, Swiatek and Rublev win – as it happened
Posted on Friday May 29, 2026

The Brazilian teenager showed his title credentials by storming back from two sets down to keep Novak Djokovic waiting for a 25th grand slam title

Now then. Swiatek is brilliant at coaxing herself through the rounds, but she’ll not be happy to be broken immediately, Linette leading 2-0 … er, make that 2-1, the advantage immediately confiscated. Meantime, Rublev has also been broken, the serving that settled set one forsaking him in two, and that, really is the difference; he hammers his racket into the clay, which is better than doing so into himself, and he leads 7-5 1-3.

Borges, who’ll feel unlucky to have lost the first set, breaks Rublev immediately for 5-7 2-0, while Linette holds in game one of her clash with Swiatek.

Read more...

Liberation of Premier League title can help Arsenal blunt PSG and join Europe’s elite
Posted on Friday May 29, 2026

Mikel Arteta must find the balance between newfound freedom and tried-and-tested solidity against Luis Enrique’s attacking machine

Welcome to Budapest: city of stew, city of pavement squares, city of men in cotton smocks offering brisk muscular relaxation in geothermally heated cubicles. Eleven days on from the profound emotional release of winning the Premier League title it seems fitting Arsenal will approach their season’s endgame in a city that is basically perfect for a restorative summer city break.

Saturday afternoon at the Puskas Arena already looks like a twin-track event for Mikel Arteta’s team, an occasion that changes shape according to the angle from which you see it. On one hand, victory against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final would represent the greatest day in Arsenal’s history. On the other, this is an occasion that feels strangely light, fun, celebratory, a free-hit kind of final.

Read more...