From balloon arches at parties to mass balloon releases at funerals, these bits of floating rubber and plastic can have disastrous effects on wildlife. As some retailers are refusing to sell them, here are some alternatives I remember, as a child, hanging on to one specific party balloon for what seemed like years. I don’t remember how or where I acquired it, but it had initially floated high, bob...
From balloon arches at parties to mass balloon releases at funerals, these bits of floating rubber and plastic can have disastrous effects on wildlife. As some retailers are refusing to sell them, here are some alternatives I remember, as a child, hanging on to one specific party balloon for what seemed like years. I don’t remember how or where I acquired it, but it had initially floated high, bobbing against the ceiling, and, over time, lost its buoyancy, coming to rest on the carpet. Yet, when a family friend asked if they should pop the now sad-looking balloon, I assumed they were joking – like when an adult asks, teasingly, if they should eat your last slice of birthday cake – and was distraught when they followed through. I didn’t care that it had become grubby and partly deflated – I’d had that balloon for what felt like for ever. This, it turns out, is the problem with many balloons. Not that clingy young children might become over-attached to them, but that they are often a single-use plastic – and even biodegradable alternatives such as latex balloons do not decompose quickly , meaning they can pose a significant risk to wildlife and the environment. In 2019, scientists found that balloons eaten by seabirds are more likely to kill them than other kinds of plastic – yet they do not seem to have been earmarked in the same way as, for example, plastic straws. If anything, balloon-based decor has become more popular in recent years , with balloon arches or tunnels deployed not just at birthdays but at events ranging from baby showers to shop openings. Balloon drops are used at New Year’s Eve celebrations and graduation parties, and balloon releases have also endured – particularly at funerals, where the unleashing of helium-filled balloons signifies the letting-go of a loved one. Continue reading...
Voters rejected rule from the centre – but could end up with another centrist government We could be at the end of the road for the Danish method of democracy. Our style of parliamentary politics has been celebrated and admired internationally for many years, but last week’s general election has left it in crisis. The result was a vote of no confidence in a centrist government led by the Social De...
Voters rejected rule from the centre – but could end up with another centrist government We could be at the end of the road for the Danish method of democracy. Our style of parliamentary politics has been celebrated and admired internationally for many years, but last week’s general election has left it in crisis. The result was a vote of no confidence in a centrist government led by the Social Democrat Mette Frederiksen. Her administration was, in the Danish context, an unusual political construction. Frederiksen had broken the old pattern of politics in 2022 by forming a governing alliance between the centre-left and centre-right. Yet the most likely outcome of the election is that Denmark will get another centrist government. This is a kind of democratic boomerang. For reasons of perverse parliamentary logic, what the voters reject, they get right back in the face. Rune Lykkeberg is editor-in-chief of the Danish newspaper Information Continue reading...
Endo Kazutoshi spent decades climbing to the top of the culinary world, only for a devastating fire to threaten it all. I joined him in the aftermath as he travelled around his homeland, visiting the people that helped make him Endo Kazutoshi was on the train to Paris when he heard about the fire. A few hours earlier, at 2am, he had left his restaurant – the tiny, Michelin-starred sushi counter, E...
Endo Kazutoshi spent decades climbing to the top of the culinary world, only for a devastating fire to threaten it all. I joined him in the aftermath as he travelled around his homeland, visiting the people that helped make him Endo Kazutoshi was on the train to Paris when he heard about the fire. A few hours earlier, at 2am, he had left his restaurant – the tiny, Michelin-starred sushi counter, Endo at the Rotunda, in west London – and headed home, where he got changed and packed his bags for the 6am Eurostar, upon which he planned to sleep. As he boarded the train that morning, 6 September 2025, he was unaware that just after 3am, the fire brigade had been called to a blaze at the Helios building, where his restaurant was located on the eighth floor. The fire had started on a terrace and a few hours later had reached the restaurant’s dining room – built mostly from 200-year-old hinoki wood – the prep kitchen, everything. Shortly after departure from St Pancras, the news began to reach Endo through early-rising friends; they reassured him and would keep him updated, though details were still unclear. The trip to Paris was intended as a moment of respite after a busy summer’s service. Instead, Endo cleared his schedule and booked the first train home. But there was one appointment he couldn’t bring himself to cancel. Continue reading...
Saunas and cold plunge pools are popping up everywhere in the UK, bringing fiery heat and icy cold to a beach, city farm or park near you. Their users will be ready with all the reasons why it’s good for both the mind and the body. But what’s the evidence for the benefits of sauna and cold plunge? Madeleine Finlay hears from Ian Sample and from Dr Heather Massey, associate professor at the Univers...
Saunas and cold plunge pools are popping up everywhere in the UK, bringing fiery heat and icy cold to a beach, city farm or park near you. Their users will be ready with all the reasons why it’s good for both the mind and the body. But what’s the evidence for the benefits of sauna and cold plunge? Madeleine Finlay hears from Ian Sample and from Dr Heather Massey, associate professor at the University of Portsmouth’s extreme environments laboratory. ‘It all feels very natural’: Britain’s sauna boom heats up as people seek warmth of human connection Support the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...
The 55-year-old is one of the most successful hedge fund managers of his generation When Chris Rokos decided to donate a record £190m to the University of Cambridge to set up a “school of government” this week, it became the latest mega project carried out in the hedge fund billionaire’s name. The publicity-shy tycoon has spent much of the last decade presiding over one of England’s most expensive...
The 55-year-old is one of the most successful hedge fund managers of his generation When Chris Rokos decided to donate a record £190m to the University of Cambridge to set up a “school of government” this week, it became the latest mega project carried out in the hedge fund billionaire’s name. The publicity-shy tycoon has spent much of the last decade presiding over one of England’s most expensive home renovations ever, of the 200-room Tottenham House mansion near Marlborough in Wiltshire, adding a tennis pavilion and private cinema in the £175m revamp . Continue reading...
Deep divisions on Israel mean the union has failed to act over Lebanon, Gaza, or settler violence in the West Bank The human costs of Israel’s attacks on Lebanon were plain to see when the Irish MEP Barry Andrews visited Beirut last month. He met people who had fled Israeli airstrikes and complied with evacuation orders in southern Lebanon. At makeshift shelters – converted schools – conditions we...
Deep divisions on Israel mean the union has failed to act over Lebanon, Gaza, or settler violence in the West Bank The human costs of Israel’s attacks on Lebanon were plain to see when the Irish MEP Barry Andrews visited Beirut last month. He met people who had fled Israeli airstrikes and complied with evacuation orders in southern Lebanon. At makeshift shelters – converted schools – conditions were even worse than during Israel’s last incursion in 2024, he was told. “There are dirty mattresses, dirty blankets, [people] are getting infections, they are getting rashes,” he said recalling a picture of misery compounded by swingeing aid budget cuts . Continue reading...
Datafeeds from platforms being used to create algorithms that determine multimillion-dollar trades on global market Energy traders say online betting platforms are directly driving the global oil market as they increasingly rely on anonymous prediction markets to determine multimillion-dollar trades. Market experts have said that datafeeds from prediction platforms such as Polymarket are being use...
Datafeeds from platforms being used to create algorithms that determine multimillion-dollar trades on global market Energy traders say online betting platforms are directly driving the global oil market as they increasingly rely on anonymous prediction markets to determine multimillion-dollar trades. Market experts have said that datafeeds from prediction platforms such as Polymarket are being used to create the algorithms that influence trading in the global Brent crude futures market. Continue reading...
In the holiday hotspots of the Costa del Sol, the risks are rarely mentioned. But in neighbouring Cádiz, the country’s first tsunami-ready town is leading by example Even on a wet, wintry day in Málaga, the Mediterranean looks benign. But only 25 miles (40km) south-west of its port, where half a million tourists disembark from cruise ships into the Costa del Sol each year, lies a system of tectoni...
In the holiday hotspots of the Costa del Sol, the risks are rarely mentioned. But in neighbouring Cádiz, the country’s first tsunami-ready town is leading by example Even on a wet, wintry day in Málaga, the Mediterranean looks benign. But only 25 miles (40km) south-west of its port, where half a million tourists disembark from cruise ships into the Costa del Sol each year, lies a system of tectonic plates and faults that fracture the seabed between Spain and north Africa. Earthquakes are routine here. They are mostly too small to notice but sometimes strong enough to rattle glasses in cafes on the seafront. In December, a tremor with a magnitude of 4.9 off the coast of Fuengirola triggered more than 40 calls to Andalucía’s 112 emergency line. Continue reading...
In part one of a special two-part interview, Kiran Stacey talks to the political scientist Prof Robert Ford about Labour’s so-called ‘landslide win’, the long-lasting impact of Brexit on our politics, and the lessons that should have been learned from the 2024 election. Is it now too late for Starmer to turn things around? Buy Prof Robert Ford’s latest book, The British General Election of 2024, h...
In part one of a special two-part interview, Kiran Stacey talks to the political scientist Prof Robert Ford about Labour’s so-called ‘landslide win’, the long-lasting impact of Brexit on our politics, and the lessons that should have been learned from the 2024 election. Is it now too late for Starmer to turn things around? Buy Prof Robert Ford’s latest book, The British General Election of 2024, here Continue reading...
For Zhang Kai, a pioneering scientist who is building an ultra-large-scale cellular structure group data bank with unprecedented precision, returning home to China was the natural choice to fulfil his ambition. “In the United States, it is almost impossible for a Chinese scholar to take the lead on this project,” Zhang said during a March 26 interview with China Science Daily, the official newspap...
For Zhang Kai, a pioneering scientist who is building an ultra-large-scale cellular structure group data bank with unprecedented precision, returning home to China was the natural choice to fulfil his ambition. “In the United States, it is almost impossible for a Chinese scholar to take the lead on this project,” Zhang said during a March 26 interview with China Science Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the country’s most prestigious research institution. On...
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kyoshino/E+ via Getty Images Motor Vehicle Sales Unit sales of motor vehicles, published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis at the beginning of each month, include domestic sales and imports. Domestics are sales of autos produced in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. SIFMA Early Close 7:30 AM Challenger Job-Cut Report This monthly report counts and categorizes announcements of corporate layoffs based o...
kyoshino/E+ via Getty Images Motor Vehicle Sales Unit sales of motor vehicles, published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis at the beginning of each month, include domestic sales and imports. Domestics are sales of autos produced in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. SIFMA Early Close 7:30 AM Challenger Job-Cut Report This monthly report counts and categorizes announcements of corporate layoffs based on mass layoff data from state departments of labor. 8:30 AM International Trade in Goods and Services Updating the goods portion of the advance report and offering initial data on services, this report provides complete information on cross-border trade. The trade gap is expected to be a bit wider at $60.1 billion in February, up from $54.5 billion in January. This one is difficult to forecast given tariff effects. 8:30 AM Jobless Claims New unemployment claims are compiled weekly to show the number of individuals who filed for unemployment insurance for the first time. Claims are seen up at 213K versus 210K in the previous week. 10:15 AM Lorie Logan Speaks Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Lorie Logan participates in a fireside chat before the Eleventh District Banking Conference hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. 10:30 AM EIA Natural Gas Report The Energy Information Administration (EIA) provides weekly information on natural gas stocks in underground storage for the U.S. and five regions of the country. 1:00 PM Baker Hughes Rig Count The Baker Hughes North American rig count tracks weekly changes in the number of active operating oil & gas rigs. 4:30 PM Fed Balance Sheet The Fed's balance sheet is a weekly report presenting a consolidated balance sheet for all 12 Reserve Banks that lists factors supplying reserves into the banking system and factors absorbing reserves from the system. More on U.S. Markets Is The War Really Reaching Its End? Assets Bounce Despite Oil Rally - Market Check Bonds Won't Save You From The Next Recession SPX Call Demand Jumps On ...
Private equity sales have fallen by more than a third this year, as developments in artificial intelligence and war in Iran heap pressure on a subdued exit market. Buyout firms were sellers in deals valued at about $103 billion in the first quarter, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Though still above historical averages, the figure is roughly 36% lower than the same period a year ago and stands ou...
Private equity sales have fallen by more than a third this year, as developments in artificial intelligence and war in Iran heap pressure on a subdued exit market. Buyout firms were sellers in deals valued at about $103 billion in the first quarter, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Though still above historical averages, the figure is roughly 36% lower than the same period a year ago and stands out in an M&A market flush with megadeals. It’s a blow for private equity firms eager to shift a backlog of portfolio companies, return money to impatient investors and start fundraising. High valuations paid during the pandemic are limiting firms’ ability to sell companies at prices they find acceptable, crimping their capacity to find new deals and to transact with one another. “The end of Q1, start of Q2 is a critical juncture when it comes to pipeline building,” said Na Wei , global head of leverage finance at Barclays Plc . “There is no doubt the market is seeing an impact on sponsor to sponsor activities.” In the meantime, firms are seeking ways to hold on to hard-to-shift assets while also paying themselves and their investors. A recent report by Moody’s Ratings found that private equity-owned companies borrowed $94 billion in the US to fund their own dividend payouts last year, increasing risk to those businesses. Sid Punshi , head of financial sponsors coverage in Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Citigroup Inc. , is seeing more minority stake sales and continuation vehicles—structures that give investors a way to cash out of assets that can’t be sold within traditional timeframes. “We are seeing funds being more creative on exit solutions, especially at a time when public markets may not be open,” Punshi said. “The market is bifurcating into haves and have-nots.” When more than a decade of cheap money ended after the pandemic, buyout firms began struggling to sell some of the companies bought during the boom years. Higher borrowing costs led to valuation gaps, a...
Artificial intelligence (AI) stocks have lost their luster in recent months, which seems surprising given that companies in this sector have been reporting strong growth quarter after quarter. The poor performance of AI stocks explains why the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite index has slipped 11% over the past three months. The war in the Middle East, the rising probability of a recession, and highe...
Artificial intelligence (AI) stocks have lost their luster in recent months, which seems surprising given that companies in this sector have been reporting strong growth quarter after quarter. The poor performance of AI stocks explains why the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite index has slipped 11% over the past three months. The war in the Middle East, the rising probability of a recession, and higher fuel prices have dented investor confidence in the stock market this year, and AI stocks have borne the brunt. However, it will be worth looking past the noise. AI companies continue to grow at a terrific pace, driven by heavy infrastructure investments in data centers and by customer adoption of this technology. Also, their valuations are now relatively cheaper due to the sell-off. With AI expected to contribute a whopping $22.3 trillion to the global economy by 2030, according to IDC, I would treat the recent pullback in AI stocks as a buying opportunity. Continue reading