Peers working for City firms dominate Lords panel scrutinising financial sector | House of Lords

Peers working for big City firms including Santander, Secure Trust Bank and the London Stock Exchange are sitting on a new Lords committee scrutinising regulation of the financial services industry, the Guardian has found. The House of Lords financial services regulation committee was formed in January last year and 10 of its 13 members have … Read more

Starmer under pressure over welfare cuts as TUC says targeting disability benefits ‘not the solution’ – UK politics live | Politics

Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Badenoch says surprise closure SFI grant scheme shows government treating farmers ‘with contempt’ Kemi Badenoch has this morning accused the government of treating farmers “with contempt”. She has been attacking Labour repeatedly over its decision to extend inheritance tax to cover … Read more

EV battery startup Northvolt files for bankruptcy in Sweden | Automotive industry

Northvolt, the Swedish electric vehicle battery startup, has filed for bankruptcy in Sweden, marking the end of a company once seen as Europe’s best hope of challenging the dominant Asian battery industry. The company said in a statement it had been unable to “secure the necessary financial conditions to continue in its current form” in … Read more

Australian MP calls Trump’s tariffs a ‘dog act’ as former ambassador says ‘we’ve got to play it cool’ | Australian politics

Industry Minister Ed Husic has called Donald Trump’s tariffs on aluminium and steel a “dog act”, as Australian parliamentarians continue to react with shock to the decision not to issue Australia a carve-out. The Trump administration announced it had rejected Australia’s request for an exemption to the tariffs that took effect on Wednesday afternoon local … Read more

Education department plans to cut half its workforce as Trump vows to wind agency down – US politics live | US news

Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Education department to cut half its staff as Trump vows to wind the agency down The US education department said on Tuesday it would lay off nearly half its staff, a possible precursor to closing alltogether, as government agencies scrambled to … Read more

Nine defends front-page Trumpet of Patriots ad after backlash from readers and staff | Australian media

Nine Entertainment has defended the decision to publish an advertisement worth $200,000 from Clive Palmer’s Trumpet of Patriots party on the front page of the Age, saying any other decision might imply it endorsed the sentiments of political ads. But staff and readers have criticised the Age for running the ad, which says “There are … Read more

Climate 200 denies any link to publisher accused of ‘disinformation’ and promoting teals | Australian politics

Simon Holmes à Court has denied any ties between Climate 200 and a community media organisation the Coalition claims is peddling “disinformation” and promoting teal independent candidates. The Coalition has filed a complaint to the Australian Electoral Commission about the five digital newspapers owned by Gazette News. “I don’t know a lot about Gazette,” Holmes … Read more

Peter Dutton forced to clarify policy on breaking up big insurance companies after weeks of confusion | Insurance (Australia)

The Coalition has once again been forced to clarify its policy on breaking up the big insurance companies, with Peter Dutton now saying “certainly something has failed” in the market as Australians struggle with spiralling premiums. After days of confusion over whether their divestiture policy would apply to the insurers, the opposition leader appeared to … Read more