Readers respond to an article by George Monbiot on the companies cashing in on unregulated children’s homes in England Regarding George Monbiot’s article ( Horrific, unregulated, and very profitable. The companies making cash from England’s children in care, 5 June ), several years ago, as a newly elected councillor, I was shocked by the high cost of placing children in private residential care. W...
Readers respond to an article by George Monbiot on the companies cashing in on unregulated children’s homes in England Regarding George Monbiot’s article ( Horrific, unregulated, and very profitable. The companies making cash from England’s children in care, 5 June ), several years ago, as a newly elected councillor, I was shocked by the high cost of placing children in private residential care. When I discussed this with friends and family, their reaction was largely one of disbelief that this had been allowed to persist. This situation highlights a widespread “robber baron” mentality that has been allowed to develop under the guise of the presumed efficiency of the private sector. Too often, this has become an opportunity for significant profit extraction from the delivery of crucial public services. As highlighted in Monbiot’s article, the adoption of such a model in the care of some of society’s most vulnerable is especially distressing and underscores the need for prompt policy reform. However, this is not a recent development, and substantive action from the government has yet to materialise. Continue reading...
If the UN has no need of Germany’s voice or influence, it may have no need of its large funding contribution either, writes Michael Pfeiffer Germany has failed, for the first time, in its bid for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations security council ( ‘Embarrassing’: pressure on Merz after Germany’s failure to win UN security council seat, 4 June ). In New York, the federal republic was defe...
If the UN has no need of Germany’s voice or influence, it may have no need of its large funding contribution either, writes Michael Pfeiffer Germany has failed, for the first time, in its bid for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations security council ( ‘Embarrassing’: pressure on Merz after Germany’s failure to win UN security council seat, 4 June ). In New York, the federal republic was defeated by Austria and Portugal – and by a clear margin. Did the countries that withheld their votes from Germany pause for even a moment to consider the consequences? Did they ask themselves whether it was wise to subject the second‑largest contributor to the UN – responsible for 5.27% of all state contributions – to such a public rebuff? Evidently not. Otherwise Germany would hardly have been so demonstratively humiliated. Continue reading...
Prof Kathy Willis responds to research showing that the poorest areas in the country face the deepest cuts to green spaces The new research covered in your report ( England’s poorest areas face deepest cuts to green space under planning law changes, report finds, 4 June ) highlights the stark inequalities that exist across England when it comes to accessing nature-rich places and unlocking the man...
Prof Kathy Willis responds to research showing that the poorest areas in the country face the deepest cuts to green spaces The new research covered in your report ( England’s poorest areas face deepest cuts to green space under planning law changes, report finds, 4 June ) highlights the stark inequalities that exist across England when it comes to accessing nature-rich places and unlocking the many health, wellbeing and economic benefits that they can provide. In short, the research has found that if you live in the poorest places in England, you are likely to have less or no access to nature. This is set to get worse because of government policy changes. Continue reading...
Dr Penelope Jackson , Sue Lewis and Fiona Willan respond to an article and letters on art overload I read with interest your article ( The hill I will die on: Let me tell you the one big problem with art galleries. There’s too much art, 30 May ) and the follow-up letters ( 5 June ) full of advice from readers. Everyone will have an opinion on how to visit an art gallery. Clearly, trying not to vie...
Dr Penelope Jackson , Sue Lewis and Fiona Willan respond to an article and letters on art overload I read with interest your article ( The hill I will die on: Let me tell you the one big problem with art galleries. There’s too much art, 30 May ) and the follow-up letters ( 5 June ) full of advice from readers. Everyone will have an opinion on how to visit an art gallery. Clearly, trying not to view everything on show is key here. But what people have failed to grasp is that if galleries don’t show a vast amount of their collection, they are criticised. For example, the National Gallery in London hangs about 40% of its collection, which is more than others such as Tate Britain, which has a tiny fraction on show at any given time. And the National Portrait Gallery would struggle to hang its entire collection . Galleries and museums are caught between a rock and hard place. They try to show as much as is logistically possible, but that doesn’t mean visitors have to eyeball each one. We should, however, be grateful that these cultural institutions collect and try to showcase as much as possible, for we don’t all like the same things. Dr Penelope Jackson Tauranga, New Zealand Continue reading...
AMD fires back at Nvidia, claiming 256-core Zen 6 'Venice' CPU beats Vera by 3.3x in rack-level performance — company shares first estimated EPYC Venice benchmarks Tom's Hardware
AMD fires back at Nvidia, claiming 256-core Zen 6 'Venice' CPU beats Vera by 3.3x in rack-level performance — company shares first estimated EPYC Venice benchmarks Tom's Hardware
There's something interesting going on in the stock market. The S&P 500 is hitting record high after record high, but of the 500 companies in the index, only about 20 are actually trading at their own all-time highs. The high-flying AI-linked megacaps -- companies like Nvidia , Microsoft , and Meta -- are pushing the index higher while hundreds of individual stocks from less flashy parts of the ec...
There's something interesting going on in the stock market. The S&P 500 is hitting record high after record high, but of the 500 companies in the index, only about 20 are actually trading at their own all-time highs. The high-flying AI-linked megacaps -- companies like Nvidia , Microsoft , and Meta -- are pushing the index higher while hundreds of individual stocks from less flashy parts of the economy are falling behind. I think it's a perfect time to diversify and broaden your exposure away from these AI names into more value-driven stocks. That's why, for my money, the smartest Vanguard exchange-traded fund at the moment is the Vanguard Value ETF (NYSEMKT: VTV) . Continue reading
Number Of US Home Sellers Hits Highest Level In 6 Years In May: Report Authored by Rob Sabo via The Epoch Times, Homebuyers held more leverage over sellers in May, with sellers outpacing prospective buyers in 35 of the nation’s 50 most populous metropolitan markets, according to a June 9 report from real estate brokerage Redfin . The number of sellers reached its highest level since 2020. Home sel...
Number Of US Home Sellers Hits Highest Level In 6 Years In May: Report Authored by Rob Sabo via The Epoch Times, Homebuyers held more leverage over sellers in May, with sellers outpacing prospective buyers in 35 of the nation’s 50 most populous metropolitan markets, according to a June 9 report from real estate brokerage Redfin . The number of sellers reached its highest level since 2020. Home sellers outnumbered buyers by nearly 47 percent for the month, up slightly from 46.4 percent in April, but retreating slightly from the peak of 49.5 percent in December 2025, Redfin researchers said. The numbers are in stark contrast to 2021, when there were 36.4 percent fewer sellers than buyers as mortgage rates under 3 percent sparked a buying frenzy. A typical buyer’s market has 10 percent more sellers than buyers, which gives prospective buyers greater negotiating power since there are an abundance of homes from which to choose. “While the gap between homebuyers and sellers has narrowed slightly since the end of last year, house hunters still have far more negotiating power and less pressure to make rushed decisions,” Redfin senior economist Asad Khan said. “Buyers in most of the country can be selective and ask for concessions, while sellers still need to price competitively to stand out.” There were more than 1.48 million sellers in May, up by 0.4 percent from the previous month and the highest number of home listings since 2020, Redfin noted. On the other side of the equation, just 1.01 million buyers were looking for new residences. Sellers entered the market in greater numbers in April in part due to a slight easing in mortgage rates, but buying demand compressed in May as mortgage rates crept higher, Redfin noted. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage for the week ending June 4 was 6.48 percent, Freddie Mac reported. At the end of May, however, that rate hit a year-high at 6.53 percent. Existing home sales increased by 3.2 percent in May, while total for-sale inve...
SparshFoto/iStock via Getty Images Even if the Strait of Hormuz happens to get back to normal in a month or two, the senior executives of the major oil companies involved in the Middle East are telling everyone that it will be a while before infrastructure is repaired. However, as I am writing this, I am wondering how long the latest ceasefire will hold. Ever since a ceasefire has been declared, f...
SparshFoto/iStock via Getty Images Even if the Strait of Hormuz happens to get back to normal in a month or two, the senior executives of the major oil companies involved in the Middle East are telling everyone that it will be a while before infrastructure is repaired. However, as I am writing this, I am wondering how long the latest ceasefire will hold. Ever since a ceasefire has been declared, fighting has broken out time and again. Should that fighting escalate during the “ceasefire,” there could be even more infrastructure damage before the whole thing settles down. I, personally, am with the camp that this Middle East problem will be like the problems before it and not be resolved easily. We have a lot of military victories that are not translating into a winning position when it comes to the Strait of Hormuz. It seems to me that it is far more likely that we did not come up with a comprehensive plan to solve the problem while considering all the possible complications before we undertook action against Iran. That actually fits with the United States foreign policy history. The specifics would be a general failure to understand how low on the list of priorities the suffering of the Iranian people is. Initially, there was talk of a regime change. Despite a long list of military victories, there is now no talk of regime change. That alone tells me that it will take a long time to settle the situation. We have killed a lot of leaders. But the basic organization would appear to still be in power. Combine that with the failure to deal with the Strait of Hormuz situation upfront (which might well have meant soldiers and an invasion of Iran), and you have a few steps backward despite the military victories. Oil Prices As a result, I see oil prices floating in the $100 range for about 3 years. I think it will take about a year to settle the Strait of Hormuz situation if we insist on diplomacy (even with a blockade). Thereafter, it is going to take roughly (very approxi...