Northern MPs warn of ‘brain drain’ to infrastructure projects in south of England

MPs from the north of England have voiced fears of a “brain drain” to southern infrastructure projects after Rachel Reeves announced several major developments in the south.The chancellor announced on Wednesday in a speech about driving growth that she would give backing to the expansion of Heathrow and other London airports, as well as kickstarting the “golden triangle” of scientific research between the capital and Oxford and Cambridge.Northern mayors said they were pleased with one change announced in the speech, which was a review of the Treasury’s “green book” methodology that assesses value for money – a method they have often argued is skewed against investments in the north of England. But the centrepieces of the speech were plans concentrated in the south – most involving private investment.MPs said it would be hard to communicate the benefits to their constituents and they were worried that a lack of qualified construction staff and engineers would mean any future projects in the north of England could lose out

European Central Bank cuts interest rates after eurozone growth stalls

The European Central Bank has cut interest rates to ease the cost of borrowing across the 20-member eurozone as growth stagnates in the region.The central bank cut rates by a quarter of a point to 2.75%, in line with expectations, after a run of bad news showing the bloc’s largest nations – France and Germany – suffering a slowdown in economic growth.The ECB’s president, Christine Lagarde, said its five cuts in interest rates since June last year from a peak of 4% were in line with the central bank hitting its target for inflation of near 2% over the medium term.However, she warned that “headwinds” meant the economy was “set to remain weak in the near term”, adding that “consumer confidence is fragile”

Meta posts robust fourth-quarter earnings amid DeepSeek mania

After an unprecedented delay, Meta reported earnings more than half an hour after market close on Wednesday. The company posted $48.39bn in fourth-quarter revenue and earnings per share of $8.02, handily beating Wall Street projections of $46.9bn and $6

Tesla sees disappointing fourth-quarter earnings amid declining car deliveries

Tesla reported earnings for the fourth quarter of 2024 on Wednesday after US stock markets closed, capping a bruising year for the company’s sales but a stellar one for its stock price.The car company reported $0.73 per share and $25.71bn in revenue, slightly below Wall Street analysts predictions of revenue coming in at $27.22bn

French rugby needs some Dupont magic to blow away clouds of scandal | Andy Bull

Antoine Dupont doesn’t do many interviews. “I don’t necessarily like to talk about myself,” he has said, “to do yet another interview where I talk about what I’ve done, how I’ve played, and how my game has evolved; honestly, it tires me more than anything else these days.” But after France’s last grand slam, he did sit down to record a podcast with the entrepreneur Alexandre Mars, which ended with a game of word association. “Rugby?” Mars says. “Ball,” Dupont replies

‘We’re not gonna be woke’: Middlesex chief risks ECB wrath over new diversity rules

Middlesex’s chief executive, Andrew Cornish, has risked ­antagonising the England and Wales Cricket Board by appearing to criticise a central ­element of the counties’ new diversity rules that come into force on Saturday.At a club forum last week Cornish told Middlesex members “we’re not gonna be woke and just do ­political correctness” before criticising “token” appointments based on “gender or ethnicity”.Cornish was responding to a ­question from a member about the lack of diversity on the Middlesex panel, made up of three white men: ­Cornish, the chair, Richard Sykes, and the director of cricket, Alan Coleman. In reply Cornish said: “Our board and our committees are incredibly diverse … and meet all the diversity standards that we need,” although that will not be case under the terms of the new ECB agreement with the counties.The new County Partnership Agreement beginning includes enhanced targets for diversity and gender parity, most notably the ­stipulation that 40% of appointments to county boards and ­governance ­committees must be female