Rachel Reeves will not be investigated over pre-budget briefing, FCA says

The UK’s financial regulator has decided not to immediately investigate Rachel Reeves and the Treasury over pre-budget briefings but left the door open for further examination of what the Conservatives claimed amounted to market manipulation.In a letter addressed to the chair of the Treasury committee, Meg Hillier, the the chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said the regulator had turned down requests by politicians including the shadow chancellor, Mel Stride, to open an inquiry into briefings made before last week’s announcement by the chancellor.Nikhil Rathi said the FCA had “not commenced an enforcement investigation” into potential market abuse, but added that the regulator would consider the findings of a Treasury inquiry into pre-budget leaks.On Wednesday, the Treasury minister James Murray said the department’s permanent secretary, James Bowler, would review “security processes” to inform future events. He said the inquiry had the “full support” of Reeves and the “whole Treasury team”

What has gone wrong at Zipcar – and is UK car-sharing market dead?

Rotherhithe Community Kitchen in south London has been delivering hundreds of cooked meals a week for the last two years to pensioners and vulnerable residents. Yet the volunteer group’s plans have been thrown into disarray by the news that they will not have access to cars and vans on New Year’s Day.The group had relied on Zipcar, the car-sharing company that offered customers the ability to access its fleet of vehicles from the street using an app. The company caused shock across London on Monday when it said it would shut down UK operations from 1 January.It will mean many of the volunteers will be unable to collect food from the Felix Project, a charity that gathers surplus food from supermarkets, cafes and restaurants

Irish authorities asked to investigate Microsoft over alleged unlawful data processing by IDF

Irish authorities have been formally asked to investigate Microsoft over alleged unlawful data processing by the Israeli Defense Forces.The complaint has been made by the human rights group the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) to the Data Protection Commission, which has legal responsibility in Europe for overseeing all data processing in the European Union.It follows revelations in August by the Guardian with the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and the Hebrew outlet Local Call that a giant trove of Palestinians’ phone calls was being stored on Microsoft’s cloud service, Azure, as part of a mass surveillance operation by the Israeli military.The ICCL alleges that the processing of the personal data “facilitated war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide by Israeli military”. Microsoft’s European headquarters are located in Ireland

HyperVerse promoter ‘Bitcoin Rodney’ accuses Australian Sam Lee in US court of duping him with ‘elaborate deception’

A key promoter of an alleged global $3bn Ponzi scheme claims in newly filed US court documents he was trapped by an “elaborate” fraud orchestrated by Australian Sam Lee, and should be released from custody.Rodney Burton – known as Bitcoin Rodney – was charged in the US in early 2024 for his alleged part in the HyperVerse scheme, which swept the globe from 2020 and allegedly defrauded investors of US$1.89bn (A$2.9bn at current rates).Burton’s lavish lifestyle was regularly flaunted in his promotional videos, including his fleet of luxury cars and branded Lamborghini, diamond-encrusted watches and meals of steak and sausages enrobed with real gold

Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo reportedly out for two to four weeks with calf strain

Milwaukee Bucks star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is expected to miss around two to four weeks with a right calf strain, according to an ESPN report.The injury occurred less than three minutes into Wednesday night’s win over the Detroit Pistons. Antetokounmpo collapsed without contact as he tried to get back on defense and immediately reached for his lower right leg.Teammates helped him to his feet, and he walked gingerly to the bench before heading to the locker room.Bucks coach Doc Rivers said after the game that preliminary imaging ruled out an achilles injury, easing initial concerns

New recipe for success required to stop France’s grands chefs dominating the Champions Cup

Since 2021, five successive Top 14 sides have have been crowned Champions Cup winners and any team looking to challenge that status quo needs a fast startThere was a time when the European Cup had an overwhelmingly Irish flavour. The organisers’ headquarters were in Dublin and between 2006 and 2012 either Munster or Leinster lifted the trophy five times in seven seasons. Everyone else was forced to scrabble around for the last few Tayto crisps in the bag.And now? The tournament, officially known these days as the Investec Champions Cup, has tilted so far towards France you can practically smell the garlic. Admittedly its HQ is now in Switzerland for tax reasons but, financially and on the field, the balance of power lies squarely with les grands chefs of the Top 14