News

Stocks continued to slide on Thursday following Wall Street’s biggest one-day drop since April, as investors prepared for the latest rise in interest rates from the Bank of England. The Stoxx Europe 600 was down 0.6 per cent in early trade, on course for a third successive session of declines. The index has lost nearly

US prosecutors have charged Donald Trump in connection with attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, the second federal indictment brought against the former president in as many months. Trump was charged with four criminal counts including conspiracy to defraud the US, to obstruct an official proceeding and to threaten individual rights, according

UK house prices have dropped by the largest amount in 14 years, according to fresh data from Nationwide. Prices for July fell 0.2 per cent on the previous month and 3.8 per cent on the same month last year, the largest fall since 2009, the Nationwide house price index showed. The average cost of a home in the UK is now

UK mortgage approvals rose unexpectedly in June, despite further increases in interest rates. Bank of England statistics showed net mortgage approvals for house purchases rose to 54,700 from 51,100 the previous month, while approvals for remortgaging rose to 39,100 from 34,100. Analysts had expected the housing market to slow in a month when stubbornly high

Drones crashed into two skyscrapers in Moscow’s premier business district on Sunday, sparking a fireball and leaving large charred holes in the side of the buildings, in the latest attack on the Russian capital.  Videos taken by eyewitnesses showed a drone flying at dawn between the high rises of the Moscow City business area and

French luxury group Hermès has defied an industry-wide slowdown in the US, posting 22 per cent growth in sales across all markets in the first half of the year. Overall revenues soared to €6.7bn for the first half, from €5.5bn in the same period last year, the Paris-based company said on Friday. Operating profit surged

When Mattel hosted a New York screening for its Barbie movie earlier this month, film-maker Greta Gerwig marvelled at how “brave” the toymaker had been at letting her play with its brand. The film’s portrayal of an idiotic all-male Mattel board and questioning of its role in encouraging consumerism and bizarre body images was a

Sinead O’Connor performs at the 49th Montreux Jazz Festival, in Switzerland, in 2015 © Jean-Christophe Bott/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Sinéad O’Connor, one of Ireland’s best known singers, has died, her family announced. O’Connor, who shot to fame with the hit “Nothing Compares 2 U” in 1990, was 56. The cause of her death was not immediately known. “It

Matt Moulding’s online retailer THG is in talks to buy London-based business newspaper City AM through a prepack administration. City AM was put up for sale this month by its owners, who were seeking either an investment or a disposal after calling time on their involvement with the 17-year-old news group. However, the most likely

Chinese equities jumped on Tuesday, led by gains in property and technology stocks after the country’s ruling politburo vowed to boost employment, give more support to the real estate sector and revive a “tortuous” economic recovery. Mainland China’s CSI 300 rose 2.8 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 3.4 per cent.

Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez was trailing his conservative rival Alberto Núñez Feijóo in the country’s general election on Sunday night, but the race was unexpectedly close with more than 90 per cent of the vote counted. The preliminary results defied the predictions of most pollsters that Feijóo’s People’s party would comfortably oust the incumbent Socialist

Russia is pushing a plan to supply grain to Africa and cut Ukraine out of the global market after Moscow’s withdrawal this week from a UN-backed deal, according to three people familiar with the matter. President Vladimir Putin has proposed a replacement initiative whereby Qatar would pay Moscow to ship Russian grain to Turkey, which

China is importing record volumes of oil despite a weak economy as it takes advantage of cheap Russian crude to build stockpiles and export refined products. The rise in oil imports to record levels this year comes against the backdrop of a faltering recovery in the world’s second-largest economy. It shows how sanctions on Russia

UK inflation eased more than expected to 7.9 per cent in June, providing some relief for the Bank of England ahead of its decision on interest rates next month. Annual inflation was down from 8.7 per cent in May, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday. It was lower than the 8.2 per cent

Rows of cars stretched in every direction from a customs office building on the outskirts of Gyumri, Armenia’s second city. Many were missing a bumper; some had squashed fenders or doors taped up with plastic bags. Young Russian men roamed between the vehicles. For them, this corner of the Caucasus has become a key stop

While central banks in developed countries wrestle with stubbornly high inflation, China has the opposite problem — the world’s second-largest economy is flirting with deflation. Beijing revealed this week that consumer prices were flat in June compared with a year earlier while producer prices plunged at the fastest pace since 2016. That compares with a

Elon Musk claimed on Friday that his new artificial intelligence company, xAI, could be trusted more than OpenAI and Google to build safe AI systems when computers become smarter than humans. However, discussing his AI plans on Twitter two days after launching the company, he did not shed light on how xAI’s work would differ

The rules of the game for making the transition from youth to adulthood in the UK are — by and large — that if you work hard and get a good job with a solid salary, you’ll be able to pay your way to a decent standard of living. Socialising, holidays, somewhere to rent: if

The writer is author of ‘Chip War’ China’s emergence as the world’s largest auto exporter caught many people — including the biggest carmakers — by surprise. Cars used to be a rare type of manufacture in which western companies retained durable technological advantages. The transition to electric vehicles has given Chinese companies an opportunity to

Microsoft’s stunning courtroom victory over US regulators trying to block its acquisition of video game maker Activision Blizzard has just revived the prospects of a $75bn deal that many on Wall Street had thought, only weeks ago, was on its last legs. Tuesday’s ruling marked a dramatic about-turn in the software company’s first clash with