Author: News Desk

Consumer confidence in the economy dips following Budget Consumer confidence in the health of the economy dipped in November, a new survey shows, as the Budget failed to allay households’ economic fears. The British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) sentiment monitor showed that consumers’ confidence in the economy fell back to -19 in November, down two points from October. The reading confirms that households’ optimism in the economy remained relatively depressed throughout the autumn, having improved significantly earlier in the year. In July, following Labour’s election, the reading briefly strayed into positive territory. https://www.cityam.com/consumer-confidence-in-the-economy-dips-following-budget/

Employer national insurance raid could lead to 130,000 jobs being slashed The government’s hike to employers’ national insurance could cost as many as 130,000 jobs, according to new research. Analysis from Bloomberg Economics suggests that up to 130,000 jobs could be lost if firms responded to the tax hike primarily by cutting employment. This would amount to a 0.4 percentage point increase in unemployment, and would likely encourage the Bank of England to cut interest rates faster than markets anticipate. The analysts did not think this was the most likely outcome, suggesting that the cost of higher taxes would likely be distributed more evenly…

Australia to ban under-16s from social media after passing landmark law Australia will ban children under 16 from using social media after its senate approved what will become a world-first law. It is a move the Australian government argue is necessary to protect the mental health and wellbeing of children. The legislation does not specify which platforms will be banned as these decisions will be made later – but communications minister Michelle Rowland has previously said that TikTok, X, Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit and Facebook are likely to be part of the ban. The law will impose fines of up to…

The Conversation | Academic rigour, journalistic flair The announcement of the artificial intelligence researchers John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton as this year’s Nobel laureates in physics spurred celebration and consternation over the status of AI in science and society. In Japan, however, another feeling dominates: frustration. “Japanese researchers should also have won,” an editorial in the Asahi Shimbun newspaper proclaimed. Congratulating Hopfield and Hinton, the Japanese Neural Network Society added pointedly: “We must not forget the role played by pioneer Japanese researchers in erecting the foundations of neural network research.” Neural networks are at the centre of contemporary AI. They…

Ex-soldier Daniel Khalife guilty of spying for Iran after admitting prison escape Former soldier Daniel Khalife has been found guilty of spying for Iran, but cleared of carrying out a bomb hoax. The 23-year-old, who previously admitted to escaping from prison, was accused of collecting secret information and passing it to agents of the Middle Eastern country while serving in the Royal Corps of Signals. Prosecutors told the ex-soldier’s trial he played “a cynical game”, claiming he wanted a career as a double agent to help the British Intelligence Services, when in fact he gathered “a very large body of…

Thousands return to southern Lebanon amid uneasy ceasefire Thousands of people displaced from war-torn southern Lebanon have begun returning home after a ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah took effect on Wednesday, amid fears on both sides of the border about whether the truce would hold. Israel heavily bombed the capital, Beirut, and the south of the country throughout Tuesday, killing 42 people, until the truce began at 4am local time, while Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel, triggering air raid sirens. On Wednesday, Lebanon’s motorways were thronged with packed vehicles carrying families and their belongings returning south despite warnings from the…

‘Mbappe fell flat when needed’ – why Real Madrid are in trouble Three losses in five games and facing an uphill task to qualify for the next phase of the Champions League. That is not a position 15-time European champions Real Madrid expected to be in. Sitting 24th in the table following a 2-0 defeat by Liverpool on Wednesday, the Spanish giants find themselves in big trouble in the tournament in which they have long been heralded masters. In the competition’s new format, the top eight teams automatically reach the last-16 while those in ninth-24th move into a two-legged play-off. The defending…

The Foundation for Applied Economics Studies (Fedea) proposes a partial indexation of pensions with inflation, so that the highest pensions, but not the lowest ones that cannot be cut, are partially ‘sacrificed’ to the over the years with a loss of purchasing power that helps reduce pension spending and ensure the sustainability of the system. This is one of the measures that the executive director of Fedea, Ángel De la Fuente, has defended during the inaugural conference of the National Congress of Economists and Auditors held this Thursday in Madrid, once it is known that inflation causes a revaluation of…

A portion of Motörhead rockstar Lemmy’s ashes will find their final home in his favourite London strip club, the band’s manager has said. Lemmy died of prostate cancer and congestive heart failure at the age of 70 in 2015. Following his death, Motorhead track Ace Of Spades made its way back into the charts and claimed the no. 13 spot, two ranks above where it originally charted. Before his death, Lemmy made it known that it was his wish to have his ashes placed inside bullets and sent to his loved ones as gifts. Since, his ashes have ended up…

The Great British Bake Off viewers have again thrown their support behind a fan favourite contestant after he missed out on winning. The latest season of the beloved programme wrapped up this week, with paediatric nurse Georgie Grasso from Carmarthenshire in Wales crowned the winner. Alongside Christiaan de Vries and Dylan Bachelet, the trio were tasked with making scones and then an afternoon tea. Despite an impressive run throughout the season, 20-year-old Dylan crumbled just before the finish line. His performance left viewers on edge, especially after his attempts at a ‘gravity defying’ floating cake instead turned out to be…