Report by Tony Blair Institute urges government to drop some green policies amid criticism of decarbonisation goal Tony Blair’s thinktank has accused Ed Miliband of driving up energy prices in his push to make Britain’s energy supply more environmentally friendly. The Tony Blair Institute (TBI) published a report on Friday criticising the government’s green policies and urging the energy secretary...
Report by Tony Blair Institute urges government to drop some green policies amid criticism of decarbonisation goal Tony Blair’s thinktank has accused Ed Miliband of driving up energy prices in his push to make Britain’s energy supply more environmentally friendly. The Tony Blair Institute (TBI) published a report on Friday criticising the government’s green policies and urging the energy secretary to drop some of them altogether, including almost completely decarbonising the electricity system by 2030. Continue reading...
Spending watchdog says state-owned bank exposed taxpayers to ‘unacceptable risk’ as cost spiral to £3bn An attempt to modernise the state-owned savings bank NS&I has been a “full-spectrum disaster”, parliament’s spending watchdog has concluded in a damning report. NS&I (National Savings & Investments), which runs a popular monthly cash-prize draw for premium bond holders, has been criticised by a ...
Spending watchdog says state-owned bank exposed taxpayers to ‘unacceptable risk’ as cost spiral to £3bn An attempt to modernise the state-owned savings bank NS&I has been a “full-spectrum disaster”, parliament’s spending watchdog has concluded in a damning report. NS&I (National Savings & Investments), which runs a popular monthly cash-prize draw for premium bond holders, has been criticised by a committee of MPs for exposing the taxpayer to “unacceptable risk” owing to the spiralling costs of its £3bn modernisation programme. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Manufacturers tell European Commission proposed ban would cause unnecessary confusion More than a dozen food companies have urged the European Commission not to ban the use of words such as “sausage” and “burger” for non-meat products. Companies including Linda McCarney Foods, Quorn and THIS have signed a joint letter calling on commissioners to “let common sense prevail” ahead of a deb...
Exclusive: Manufacturers tell European Commission proposed ban would cause unnecessary confusion More than a dozen food companies have urged the European Commission not to ban the use of words such as “sausage” and “burger” for non-meat products. Companies including Linda McCarney Foods, Quorn and THIS have signed a joint letter calling on commissioners to “let common sense prevail” ahead of a debate on the proposed ban, which they say would cause “unnecessary confusion” for customers “without helping anyone”. Continue reading...
UK officials have seized almost 20m fake pills since 2021, many containing incorrect doses or toxic ingredients Men have been warned against buying illegal erectile dysfunction pills online after nearly 20m pills – enough to fill two doubledecker buses – were seized in the last five years. The “stigma and embarrassment” of erectile dysfunction is being “exploited by criminals”, according to the Me...
UK officials have seized almost 20m fake pills since 2021, many containing incorrect doses or toxic ingredients Men have been warned against buying illegal erectile dysfunction pills online after nearly 20m pills – enough to fill two doubledecker buses – were seized in the last five years. The “stigma and embarrassment” of erectile dysfunction is being “exploited by criminals”, according to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Continue reading...
Ex-PM’s thinktank urges more drilling and fewer renewables, ignoring evidence that clean energy is cheaper and better for bills A thinktank with close ties to Saudi Arabia and substantial funding from a Donald Trump ally needs to present a particularly robust analysis to earn the right to be listened to on the climate crisis. On that measure, Tony Blair’s latest report fails on almost every point....
Ex-PM’s thinktank urges more drilling and fewer renewables, ignoring evidence that clean energy is cheaper and better for bills A thinktank with close ties to Saudi Arabia and substantial funding from a Donald Trump ally needs to present a particularly robust analysis to earn the right to be listened to on the climate crisis. On that measure, Tony Blair’s latest report fails on almost every point. The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) received money from the Saudi government , has advised the United Arab Emirates petrostate, and counts as a main donor Larry Ellison , the founder of Oracle, friend of Trump and advocate of AI. Continue reading...
Burnley have the chance of a Cup run, Leicester fear an unwelcome repeat and Brighton fans get a raw deal Chelsea have kept two clean sheets in 10 games since appointing Liam Rosenior as head coach last month. Repeated doziness at the back has cost them. They have held commanding advantages against Charlton, Crystal Palace, Wolves and Leeds, only to give away silly goals. It is a bad habit and pro...
Burnley have the chance of a Cup run, Leicester fear an unwelcome repeat and Brighton fans get a raw deal Chelsea have kept two clean sheets in 10 games since appointing Liam Rosenior as head coach last month. Repeated doziness at the back has cost them. They have held commanding advantages against Charlton, Crystal Palace, Wolves and Leeds, only to give away silly goals. It is a bad habit and proved costly when a 2-0 lead was squandered during Tuesday’s draw with Leeds . Rosenior was livid afterwards, and is waiting for a consistent performance. Chelsea travel to Hull , Rosenior’s former club, on Friday night. They will surely advance against Championship opponents, but how they do it will matter. It is time for them to get serious. Jacob Steinberg Hull City v Chelsea, Friday 7.45pm (all times GMT) Burton Albion v West Ham, Saturday 12.15pm Burnley v Mansfield, Saturday 3pm Southampton v Leicester, Saturday 3pm Continue reading...
Welcome to Bloomberg’s California Edition—covering all the events shaping one of the world’s biggest economies and its global influence. This week, special guest Anna J Kaiser join us from tropical Miami. Sign up here if you’re not already on the list. Should we all just move to Miami? Back in 2017, before we knew what lockdowns were and people would scoff at the idea of Mark Zuckerberg living nex...
Welcome to Bloomberg’s California Edition—covering all the events shaping one of the world’s biggest economies and its global influence. This week, special guest Anna J Kaiser join us from tropical Miami. Sign up here if you’re not already on the list. Should we all just move to Miami? Back in 2017, before we knew what lockdowns were and people would scoff at the idea of Mark Zuckerberg living next to Jeff Bezos on a Florida island , Sequoia Capital's Jim Goetz bought a waterfront Miami Beach mansion for a meager $20 million. (Goetz, a Silicon Valley legend who invested on WhatsApp and Github, would clock an egregious return if he sold the seven-bedroom-with-an-infinity-pool house today.) What Goetz pioneered, Peter Thiel, Keith Rabois and Eric Schmidt followed. Then, more recently, Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Mark Zuckerberg—all now either own property or are house-hunting in the Miami area. The result is South Florida has become a magnet for the Silicon Valley billionaire looking for either a pied-à-terre by the beach or a more permanent and tax-friendly abode. A proposed one-time wealth tax in California is galvanizing the appeal. This week, my colleague Anna J Kaiser chronicled the California-to-Florida billionaire migration . A Californian herself, born in the Bay Area and now in Miami, I've asked her to explain the allure of dropping Silicon Valley for Billionaire Bunker. “In Miami, rules and regulations are more relaxed, and less hostile towards the ultra wealthy. Want to build a private marina for all your super yachts? No problem . Want to hang out with your rich peers? Ken Griffin, Jeff Bezos, Orlando Bravo and Josh Harris are here for you. Want a politician who's ready to cheer you on? Here, they will give you their personal phone numbers while you all hit the same parties —and no one will bristle at the thought of being seen as being too close and pandering to billionaires. But the biggest appeal, even for some of the richest people on the planet, comes ...
The Central Military Commission, the top decision-making body overseeing the People’s Liberation Army, is set for a leadership reshuffle after the downfall of most of its members. President Xi Jinping is now in his third term as chairman of the commission. But now five of the other six members of the commission – who were all originally slated to serve a five-year term, ending in 2027 – are no lon...
The Central Military Commission, the top decision-making body overseeing the People’s Liberation Army, is set for a leadership reshuffle after the downfall of most of its members. President Xi Jinping is now in his third term as chairman of the commission. But now five of the other six members of the commission – who were all originally slated to serve a five-year term, ending in 2027 – are no longer active. Last month Zhang Youxia, first-ranked vice-chairman of the CMC and China’s most senior...
Singapore’s dollar is standing out as a top haven in Asia as market volatility picks up, according to Nathan Swami , Citigroup Inc.’s head of foreign-exchange trading for Asia Pacific. The Singapore dollar has been Asia’s best performer against the greenback since the start of 2020, a period that covered bouts of market volatility from a global pandemic to President Donald Trump’s shake-up of the ...
Singapore’s dollar is standing out as a top haven in Asia as market volatility picks up, according to Nathan Swami , Citigroup Inc.’s head of foreign-exchange trading for Asia Pacific. The Singapore dollar has been Asia’s best performer against the greenback since the start of 2020, a period that covered bouts of market volatility from a global pandemic to President Donald Trump’s shake-up of the international trading system. That has fueled expectations the city-state’s currency will be a safe space for foreign investors as turmoil rages elsewhere. “The appreciation in the Singapore dollar is not by accident,” said Swami, adding that low volatility and predictable monetary policy have bolstered the haven appeal of the currency. “Investors within Asia, particularly in Asean, look at it as essentially the safe haven.” Swami’s view comes as worries from geopolitical risks to stubborn inflation dent some of the appeal of traditional haven assets like the dollar and Treasuries. Lofty valuations are plaguing gold, while the yen has been undermined by wild swings fueled by shifts in monetary and fiscal policy. Singapore’s status as the biggest currency-trading hub in Asia has no doubt helped boost the appeal of its currency, with its share of global over-the-counter currency trading rising to 11.8% last year from 9.5% in 2022, Bank for International Settlements data showed . By comparison the UK and US — home to the No. 1 and No. 2 top currency trading centers — saw their market share largely unchanged at around 38% and 19%, respectively. “We can see that a lot of investors particularly here are positioning more actively” on Singapore’s dollar, Swami said. Unlike many of its global peers, Singapore’s central bank uses the exchange rate as its main policy tool rather than interest rates. The Monetary Authority of Singapore has let the local dollar drift higher against major trading partners’ currencies since 2022. But after it raised its inflation forecast last month, anal...
Artificial intelligence chip designer Enflame Technology on Wednesday entered the inquiry stage of its initial public offering, moving a step closer to joining a string of high-profile semiconductor sector listings on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s technology-focused Star Market. The listing of the Shanghai-based unicorn is the next closely watched chip offering, as investor appetite for domestic A...
Artificial intelligence chip designer Enflame Technology on Wednesday entered the inquiry stage of its initial public offering, moving a step closer to joining a string of high-profile semiconductor sector listings on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s technology-focused Star Market. The listing of the Shanghai-based unicorn is the next closely watched chip offering, as investor appetite for domestic AI chipmakers remains strong. In this explainer, the South China Morning Post examines the next steps...
North Korea’s claim that Japan has breached a diplomatic “red line” by deepening security partnerships is less about Tokyo’s defence moves than about Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s decisive victory at the polls, analysts say, as a weaker mandate could have pushed her to negotiate with Pyongyang. With a commanding majority secured in Sunday’s election, Takaichi now faces fewer domestic constraints...
North Korea’s claim that Japan has breached a diplomatic “red line” by deepening security partnerships is less about Tokyo’s defence moves than about Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s decisive victory at the polls, analysts say, as a weaker mandate could have pushed her to negotiate with Pyongyang. With a commanding majority secured in Sunday’s election, Takaichi now faces fewer domestic constraints as she signals plans to expand Japan’s defence cooperation with Western partners and potentially...
IR_Stone/iStock via Getty Images Market Review Equity markets in the developing world, as measured by the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, rose 4.7% in the fourth quarter, as risk appetites remained largely resilient amid investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence ( AI ) and despite tariff risks and geopolitical risks. Latin America was the best-performing region, climbing 8.2%. Stock markets in ...
IR_Stone/iStock via Getty Images Market Review Equity markets in the developing world, as measured by the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, rose 4.7% in the fourth quarter, as risk appetites remained largely resilient amid investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence ( AI ) and despite tariff risks and geopolitical risks. Latin America was the best-performing region, climbing 8.2%. Stock markets in Chile and Peru gained in sympathy with the rise in commodity prices. Brazil's stock market rose, thanks to interest rate cuts locally and in the US. Argentina's stock market jumped on news that libertarian President Javier Milei won a landslide victory in midterm elections, handing him a mandate to continue pursuing his radical overhaul of the country's economy. The region encompassing emerging Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) was the worst-performing region, rising 4.0%. Stock markets in Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic rose, as investors began to anticipate better economic prospects and a possibility of a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. South Africa's stock market rose in sympathy with the rise in the price of gold. Emerging Asia also underperformed, advancing 4.5%. Stock markets in global technology hubs Korea and Taiwan rose on optimism about the demand outlook for chips, the flagship industry of both countries, despite wavering sentiment in November. China's stock market fell on concerns about the country's economic outlook. Information technology, materials, and energy were the best-performing sectors in the period. Consumer discretionary, health care and communication services were the worst-performing sectors. (Index returns were measured net of taxes and in US dollar terms.) Portfolio Review In the fourth quarter, the Lazard Emerging Markets Equity Portfolio rose in absolute terms and outperformed its benchmark, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. (Portfolio returns were measured net of fees and in US dollar terms.) Helped Stock selection ...
Innovent Biologics, Inc. ("Innovent",HKEX: 01801), a world-class biopharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and commercializes high quality medicines for the treatment of oncology, cardiovascular and metabolic, autoimmune, ophthalmology and other major diseases, announces that the first participant has been successfully dosed in the pivotal Phase 3 clinical study (HeriCare-Breast01). Th...
Innovent Biologics, Inc. ("Innovent",HKEX: 01801), a world-class biopharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and commercializes high quality medicines for the treatment of oncology, cardiovascular and metabolic, autoimmune, ophthalmology and other major diseases, announces that the first participant has been successfully dosed in the pivotal Phase 3 clinical study (HeriCare-Breast01). The trial is evaluating the company's developed IBI354 (HER2 Monoclonal Antibody-Camptothecin Derivati
Explore the exciting world of Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU) with our contributing expert analysts in this Motley Fool Scoreboard episode. Check out the video below to gain valuable insights into market trends and potential investment opportunities! *Stock prices used were the prices of Dec. 17, 2025. The video was published on Feb. 12, 2026. Continue reading
Explore the exciting world of Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU) with our contributing expert analysts in this Motley Fool Scoreboard episode. Check out the video below to gain valuable insights into market trends and potential investment opportunities! *Stock prices used were the prices of Dec. 17, 2025. The video was published on Feb. 12, 2026. Continue reading
Taiwan is set to upgrade its forecast for economic growth this year even after a torrid 2025 on signs the AI boom has room to run and a final trade deal with the US. The statistics bureau in Taipei will release its outlook for 2026 at 4 p.m. on Friday — its first prediction since a 3.5% call in November. That forecast was several weeks before Taiwan and the US agreed to slash tariffs on goods from...
Taiwan is set to upgrade its forecast for economic growth this year even after a torrid 2025 on signs the AI boom has room to run and a final trade deal with the US. The statistics bureau in Taipei will release its outlook for 2026 at 4 p.m. on Friday — its first prediction since a 3.5% call in November. That forecast was several weeks before Taiwan and the US agreed to slash tariffs on goods from the self-governed island, a pact they just signed. Taiwan’s National Development Council, a planning agency, recently set its 2026 growth target at 4.56% . “It is likely that they will have to revise up their 2026 forecast,” said Michelle Lam , Greater China economist at Societe Generale SA. Even so, she said the impact of the trade deal “will likely be marginal” since chip-related products — the bulk of Taiwan’s US-bound exports — are already exempt from the duties because they were subject to a separate probe. Read More: ‘Relentless’ AI Demand Spurs Huge BofA Upgrade of Taiwan Economy The new outlook will come as a slew of financial institutions boost their calls for an economy that last year grew at the fastest pace since 2010 — some of them in eye-popping fashion. This week, Bank of America Corp. nearly doubled its projection on “relentless global demand” for the tech hardware that Taiwanese companies make and a more stable currency, among other reasons. The increased optimism is underpinned by Taiwan’s roaring exports. Outbound shipments surged some 70% in January, the fastest pace in 16 years. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. , the main chip supplier to Nvidia Corp. and Apple Inc. , has said it plans to boost spending in 2026 and recently reported a 37% jump in January revenue. Those figures come as Alphabet Inc., Meta Platforms Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and others step up spending to develop artificial intelligence capabilities. On Thursday, the US and Taiwan finalized a trade agreement to cut duties, boost market access for American products in Asia, and channel ...