Only 2% thought VAR ‘makes football more enjoyable’ 81% prefer watching games without video technology Football supporters remain thoroughly unconvinced of the merits of video assistant referees (VAR), with new research suggesting as many as 91% of them believe the game is better off without it. More than eight years after the first trials of VAR in the English game, an annual survey by the Footba...
Only 2% thought VAR ‘makes football more enjoyable’ 81% prefer watching games without video technology Football supporters remain thoroughly unconvinced of the merits of video assistant referees (VAR), with new research suggesting as many as 91% of them believe the game is better off without it. More than eight years after the first trials of VAR in the English game, an annual survey by the Football Supporters’ Association shows widespread dissatisfaction with the system, including the tweaks that have been brought in to improve how it is used. Continue reading...
Supercars aren’t always super to drive. I’ve been at racetracks only too happy to exit the vehicles in question, politely declining a last lap or two. Too raw, too unpredictable, too thinly appointed? I’m out after a few rounds. It’s those last laps when your nerves are frayed and focus shaky that you run into trouble. Making a mistake at 140 mph and going into a wall is a risk that doesn’t outwei...
Supercars aren’t always super to drive. I’ve been at racetracks only too happy to exit the vehicles in question, politely declining a last lap or two. Too raw, too unpredictable, too thinly appointed? I’m out after a few rounds. It’s those last laps when your nerves are frayed and focus shaky that you run into trouble. Making a mistake at 140 mph and going into a wall is a risk that doesn’t outweigh the reward of driving such a car for one more loop. News flash: I’m not a professional race car driver. Give me a supercar with elegance at any speed, something that makes me feel like a better driver than I actually am. Consistency, comfort and control? Count me in. Does that make me a normie? So be it. I was only too eager to stay in the driver’s seat of Aston Martin’s $1,051,500 Valhalla earlier this month in Spain. With its towering spoiler and gaping air vents, this new plug-in hybrid looks like an intergalactic insect ready to devour anything in its path. At 1,064 horsepower with a top speed of 217 mph, it’s got the mind-melting performance to back it up. But the feeling inside the cockpit is far less intimidating. Valhalla is easy and fun to drive at any speed — a pussycat with a quiet cabin, four drive modes and handling so finessed I was as happy to drive it on the rural byways of San Sebastian, Spain, as on the Circuito de Navarra racetrack. Maybe more. In today’s supercar market, owners love flaunting their rare, extreme car that no one else can get. Seven-figure price tag and 1,000-plus hp? These days they’re practically de rigueur. The Valhalla completes Aston Martin’s lineup, filling a previously untapped gap between the $262,000 DB12 sports car and the $3 million Valkyrie hypercar. It’s attracting plenty of newcomers, the company’s Chief Executive Officer Adrian Hallmark says: 70% of Valhalla buyers are first-time Aston Martin owners. With 152 of its total 999 units already delivered and 500 more to be delivered in 2026, it belongs to a growing segment: mi...
CK Life Sciences, a unit of Li Ka-shing-backed CK Group, plans to bring its cancer vaccine candidates to mainland China through a “fast track” channel as Beijing moves to accelerate early-stage drug development. “We are planning to run investigator-initiated trials [IITs], hopefully, in the next year,” CK Life Sciences’ vice-president and chief scientific officer Dr Melvin Toh Kean-meng said in a ...
CK Life Sciences, a unit of Li Ka-shing-backed CK Group, plans to bring its cancer vaccine candidates to mainland China through a “fast track” channel as Beijing moves to accelerate early-stage drug development. “We are planning to run investigator-initiated trials [IITs], hopefully, in the next year,” CK Life Sciences’ vice-president and chief scientific officer Dr Melvin Toh Kean-meng said in a recent interview. His comments came as CK Life Sciences set up Sequencio Therapeutics in Hong Kong...
The European Central Bank is prepared to act to rein in inflation expectations, though betting on dates for potential interest-rate hikes is premature, Governing Council member Francois Villeroy de Galhau told La Stampa. The Iran war can inflict a negative supply shock, incurring slower economic growth and faster increases in consumer prices, the Bank of France chief said, adding that the latest n...
The European Central Bank is prepared to act to rein in inflation expectations, though betting on dates for potential interest-rate hikes is premature, Governing Council member Francois Villeroy de Galhau told La Stampa. The Iran war can inflict a negative supply shock, incurring slower economic growth and faster increases in consumer prices, the Bank of France chief said, adding that the latest news on the conflict “does not bring favorable signals.” “The ECB has no control over oil prices, but it has the ability and duty to anchor the inflation expectations of households and businesses to our medium-term target of 2%,” he said in an interview published Monday. “We are ready to act in this direction if needed.” Some of Villeroy’s colleagues have hinted at possible action as soon as April . Markets agree that tightening is on the way, pricing as many as three interest rate increases this year. Villeroy repeated that the path for ECB rates isn’t pre-determined and will be guided by data. April will be his last scheduled policy meeting before he leaves the Bank of France. “The debate on pre-established dates appears very premature,” he said. “There’s been some over-interpretation by financial markets in the latest days.” Elsewhere, Villeroy said Europe’s financial sector is at less risk of instability than it was in 2007 after bolstering banking regulation. “Thanks to the Basel 3 requirements and the creation of a unified supervision system, there is no risk of a banking crisis in Europe,” he said. But he cautioned of greater risks in the US and called for close attention to dynamics of stock indexes, private credit and crypto. “Systemic risks appear lower in the Old Continent compared to the United States,” Villeroy said. “We observe furthermore a trend toward deregulation on the other side of the Atlantic, a direction which would be dangerous especially in the current market context.” Too Soon to Debate When ECB May Hike Rates, Villeroy Says ECB Shouldn’t Rush Iran ...
Foreign investors are fleeing Indian equities at a record clip as a global retreat from riskier assets and concerns over surging energy costs overshadow the nation’s long-term growth story. Overseas investors have offloaded a net $11.7 billion of local shares through March 25, according to Bloomberg-compiled data. That puts equities on course for their steepest monthly exodus ever, with total outf...
Foreign investors are fleeing Indian equities at a record clip as a global retreat from riskier assets and concerns over surging energy costs overshadow the nation’s long-term growth story. Overseas investors have offloaded a net $11.7 billion of local shares through March 25, according to Bloomberg-compiled data. That puts equities on course for their steepest monthly exodus ever, with total outflows this year exceeding $13 billion and nearing levels seen a year ago. Soaring energy costs have hurt oil-importing Asian peers, but the scale of outflows from India points to already bearish global sentiment. Even before the war, investors were grappling with a weak rupee , a still-nascent earnings recovery and rich equity valuations . The oil shock has worsened those pressures. More concerning, investors say, is the lack of a compelling narrative to draw global funds back even if the conflict eases in the near term. “As of now, it is a grim picture and there is no immediate catalyst suggesting it is changing,” said Siddharth Chatterjee , a portfolio manager with Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions. The India story is losing its luster as weak company earnings and sluggish local demand weigh on the outlook, he added. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. , Morgan Stanley and UBS Global Wealth Management have all lowered their expectations for Indian equities. Goldman strategists are the latest to turn more cautious, downgrading the market as “higher-for-longer” energy prices threaten to worsen the country’s growth outlook. To be clear, the pivot away from India comes as global funds have pulled about $52 billion from emerging Asian equities, excluding China, since the Iran war began, putting the region on track for its biggest monthly outflow in Bloomberg-compiled data going back to 2009. Still, a steady retreat by foreign funds has led to more than $34 billion of outflows from Indian equities over the past two years through March, a period also marked by underperformance in loca...
Financial emergencies aren't just stressful. They can be genuinely destabilizing if you don't have emergency savings to cover the expense. When you need money quickly, tapping your retirement savings can feel like your only option. The problem with that is that you'll set your retirement plan back, and you'll probably pay an early withdrawal penalty to the IRS, too. So before you go that route, it...
Financial emergencies aren't just stressful. They can be genuinely destabilizing if you don't have emergency savings to cover the expense. When you need money quickly, tapping your retirement savings can feel like your only option. The problem with that is that you'll set your retirement plan back, and you'll probably pay an early withdrawal penalty to the IRS, too. So before you go that route, it's worth exploring the following three ways to get the cash you need. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading