The G7 and EU will ban Russian gas imports on routes where Moscow has cut supplies, according to officials involved in the negotiations, the first time pipeline gas trade has been blocked by western powers since the invasion of Ukraine. The decision, which is to be finalised by G7 leaders at a summit in Hiroshima
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Russia’s defence ministry claimed a long-awaited Ukrainian counter-offensive had begun, pointing to intensifying attacks in eastern Ukraine over the past 48 hours. The ministry said on Friday that Ukraine had launched 26 assaults along a 60-mile stretch of the frontline near Bakhmut and the nearby town of Soledar, involving more than a thousand troops and
PwC is racing to contain the global fallout of an Australian leak scandal on its business after it emerged that the firm used confidential government tax plans to advise tech clients. Emails released by an Australian senate committee last week showed that PwC had used information received during its work with the government to win
The US has for the first time transferred seized assets from a sanctions-hit Russian oligarch to send to Ukraine for the reconstruction of the war-ravaged country. The authorisation came on Wednesday from attorney-general Merrick Garland, who said additional moves of this kind would be forthcoming. “While this represents the United States’ first transfer of forfeited
Donald Trump has been found liable for the sexual abuse of a journalist in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s, in a significant legal defeat for the former US president as he mounts a third bid for the White House. A nine-person jury deliberated for just a few hours before unanimously finding Trump liable
The compensation bill for those affected by the NHS contaminated blood scandal could reach £10bn, according to officials, in a further blow to the UK’s stretched public finances. Ministers have accepted the “moral case” for compensating families of the victims of the scandal, in which tens of thousands of people were infected with HIV and
The G7-led price cap on Russian oil exports has forced the Kremlin to raise the tax burden on producers, dealing a fresh blow to an energy sector already struggling with western sanctions, according to officials from the western coalition. An analysis of the tax change by a member of the G7-led coalition, which was shared
Crowds were gathering on London’s Mall on Saturday morning ahead of the coronation of King Charles III, heralding a day of ancient ceremony and military spectacle that will draw on a millennium of British history. Global leaders and foreign royalty will attend the event at Westminster Abbey — scene of royal coronations since William the
About an hour and a half into the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, just as the august baritone of Richard Dimbleby proclaimed “the moment of the Queen’s crowning is come”, a BBC camera cut to a small boy, his hair glossy with punitive brushing, the splayed fingers of his hands pressed against each other in
The UK’s opposition Labour and Liberal Democrat parties expressed optimism early on Friday that they were making significant gains as votes began to be counted after local elections in many parts of England. Both parties argued that their performances positioned them well for the forthcoming nationwide general election. Labour’s shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting, told
PacWest shares plummeted 50 per cent in after-hours trading on Wednesday as the teetering California lender became the latest US midsized bank to seek a financial life line amid the worst industry turmoil since 2008. The bank has instructed boutique investment bank Piper Sandler to help it explore strategic options including a sale, two people
A Russian spy network has acquired sensitive technology from EU companies to fuel Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine even after a US-led crackdown on the covert smuggling ring. The network — set up to procure goods ranging from microchips to ammunition — has managed to obtain machine tools from Germany and Finland despite US sanctions
Top investors attending the annual Milken conference have warned against complacency following the rescue of First Republic, arguing the third seizure of a bank by US regulators since March threatens to constrain credit and worsen an economic slowdown. The seizure of First Republic and the rapid sale of the remains of the bank to JPMorgan
JPMorgan Chase will acquire most of First Republic, the embattled California lender that US government officials had been racing to save for much of the past week. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and California regulators, which announced the deal early on Monday morning, said they were simultaneously closing the bank and selling off all $93.5bn
The US government has asked JPMorgan, PNC and several other financial groups to bid for all or part of First Republic, as US regulators try to determine how much it would cost taxpayers to take over the embattled California lender. Over the past 24 hours, it has become clear to both First Republic and the
Silicon Valley Bank’s failure last month stemmed from weakened regulations during the Trump administration and mis-steps by internal supervisors who were too slow to correct management blunders, the US Federal Reserve said in a scathing review of the lender’s implosion. The long-awaited report, released on Friday, had harsh words for the California bank’s management but
Deutsche Bank has agreed to buy UK broker Numis for £410mn as Germany’s biggest bank bets on a rebound in a London market that has struggled in recent years. In a surprise deal announced on Friday, Deutsche said it would pay 350p a share for Numis, which advises almost a fifth of companies in the
The crisis-stricken CBI will be renamed as part of efforts to demonstrate that it has reformed its toxic workplace culture after weeks of allegations of rape, sexual harassment and bullying, the new boss of the business lobby group has said. Rain Newton-Smith said the rebranding would be necessary as part of a promised “root and
Shares of First Republic continued to plunge on Tuesday as regulators in Washington and financiers on Wall Street scrambled to come up with a plan to stabilise the ailing bank. The California-based lender’s stock price, which is down by more than 90 per cent this year, fell by a further 40 per cent, a day
UK citizens trapped by the fighting in Sudan are to be offered flights out after London announced on Tuesday an evacuation operation from near the capital Khartoum. The move comes after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had faced mounting pressure to rescue the roughly 4,000 UK nationals caught up in fighting between two rival generals. “UK