Bank of England should cut rates to boost consumer spending, says TUC

The Trades Union Congress is urging the Bank of England to cut interest rates and rekindle economic growth, pointing to analysis showing that cash-strapped consumers are lagging their international peers.The Bank’s monetary policy committee voted 5-4 to leave borrowing costs unchanged this month, after six cuts since mid-2024.Some members of the committee remain anxious about the risks of high wage growth unleashing a fresh bout of inflation, but the TUC argues that weak growth should be the more pressing concern.Paul Nowak, the TUC’s general secretary said: “The Bank of England has a crucial role to play here. Last year they were overly cautious and too slow to act

Even amid rising economic uncertainty, now is not the time to hug your job | Gene Marks

After all the employee protests over the past few years – the “great resignations”, the “quiet quittings”, the “bare-minimum Mondays” and “coffee badgings” – we have finally arrived at “job hugging”.Amid all the economic uncertainty and the rising costs of everything, people aren’t feeling as confident as they once were. Instead of slacking off while you hunt for something better, everyone’s scared about losing their jobs. With all the news about big corporate layoffs and the ominous and still-undefined threat of AI, it’s understandable that people are hugging their jobs.A recent report from job search site Monster

California’s billionaires pour cash into elections as big tech seeks new allies

Tech billionaires are leveraging tens of millions of dollars to influence California politics in a marked uptick from their previous participation in affairs at the state capitol. Behemoths such as Google and Meta are getting involved in campaigns for November’s elections, as are venture capitalists, cryptocurrency entrepreneurs and Palantir’s co-founders. The industry’s goals run the gamut – from fighting a billionaire tax to supporting a techie gubernatorial candidate to firing up new, influential super political action committees (Pacs).The phenomenon squarely fits the moment for the state’s politics – with 2026 being the year that Politico has dubbed “the big tech flex”.Gavin Newsom, California’s tech-friendly governor who’s been quick to veto legislation that cramps the sector’s unfettered growth, is reaching his term limit

No swiping involved: the AI dating apps promising to find your soulmate

Dating apps exploit you, dating profiles lie to you, and sex is basically something old people used to do. You might as well consider it: can AI help you find love?For a handful of tech entrepreneurs and a few brave Londoners, the answer is “maybe”.No, this is not a story about humans falling in love with sexy computer voices – and strictly speaking, AI dating of some variety has been around for a while. Most big platforms have integrated machine learning and some AI features into their offerings over the past few years.But dreams of a robot-powered future – or perhaps just general dating malaise and a mounting loneliness crisis – have fuelled a new crop of startups that aim to use the possibilities of the technology differently

India rout Pakistan in T20 World Cup grudge match after Kishan’s ‘amazing’ innings

A day of no handshakes, and for Pakistan many head shakes. India coasted to victory in what became global cricket’s most lucrative mismatch after a superlative innings from the opener Ishan Kishan skewed it definitively in their favour.In its second half a game that was dramatically off and then on again became one where a parade of Pakistan batters were dramatically in and then out again. Chasing a target of 176 they were seven down before they even got halfway, and were eventually skittled for 114 to lose by 61 runs.Kishan’s innings was a glorious anomaly, the 27-year-old thriving on a surface with which few came to terms

Weston and Stoecker strike gold to cap GB’s greatest day at Winter Olympics

The Games organisers had only just given Matt Weston the box for the medal he won on Friday night. He had been keeping it stashed in a spare sock in his top drawer since the moment he took it off that evening. As soon as it is out, he has a second one to put back in its place.The 28-year-old Weston became the first British athlete in history to win two medals at a single Winter Olympics, after he and his 25‑year‑old teammate Tabitha Stoecker won the inaugural Olympic mixed team skeleton race in a combined time of 1min 59.36sec, 0