‘Italy has the best benefits’: Milan takes on Dubai as home for the super-rich

Just over a month ago, Dubai was the obvious destination for wealthy Britons in search of a new home. Few cities allow you to earn vast sums tax-free and spend them across any number of luxury hotels, restaurants and shops.But as the United Arab Emirates comes under Iranian fire, Dubai’s reputation – in part created by emigrant influencers – as a haven for the global elite is eroding. Super-rich UK nationals are now looking for a route back to Europe; and Milan, the financial centre of Italy, is climbing to the top of the list.“Italy has the best benefits: a flat tax and good quality of life,” says Armand Arton, a consultant who helps multimillionaire and billionaire families to relocate through investment citizenship schemes

Waitrose under pressure to reinstate worker sacked after stopping shoplifter

Waitrose is under growing pressure to reinstate an employee of 17 years who was sacked after tackling a shoplifter who was trying to steal Lindt Gold Bunny Easter eggs.The retailer has faced public outcry over its treatment of Walker Smith, who was fired two days after he stopped the shoplifter taking items from the Easter egg display.After Smith told the Guardian he had lost his job after the incident, a fundraiser was launched on his behalf and has since raised more than £4,000, with the organiser claiming he had “simply tried to do the right and noble thing”.On Sunday, Smith explained that a customer alerted him to someone filling a bag with Lindt chocolate eggs.The 54-year-old, who worked in the Clapham Junction branch in south London, said the shoplifter was a repeat offender

Jamie Dimon says US should strengthen allies economically, in veiled criticism of Trump

The head of the US’s largest bank has pressed the White House to strengthen Washington’s allies economically in order to “avoid truly adverse consequences”, in the latest intervention in an increasingly testy relationship with the Trump administration.As the Middle East conflict sparked by US and Israeli attacks on Iran enters its sixth week, Jamie Dimon, the chair and chief executive of JP Morgan Chase, said in his annual letter to shareholders that good US foreign policy should put America first “though not alone”.His remarks appear certain to be viewed as critical of Donald Trump, who in January announced he was suing the banker and the Wall Street institution for at least $5bn (£3.8bn) after accusing them of debanking him.The comments also come five days after Trump told governments to “go get your own oil” by force from the Gulf, as transatlantic relations further soured over soaring energy prices as a result of the war

Dozens of firms risk losing B Corp status after standards overhaul

Dozens of companies may be at risk of losing their coveted B Corp ethical status after the organisation behind the corporate kite-marking system raised the standards required to qualify.B Lab, which oversees B Corp certification, launched the biggest overhaul in its 19-year history earlier this month, scrapping a system under which companies must gather enough points across multiple categories to qualify.Previously, businesses that performed poorly in one of five areas, such as their environmental record, could make up for it by scoring highly in another category, such as corporate governance or their treatment of staff.The criteria required for B Corp status came under the spotlight in 2022, when the Scottish brewer BrewDog lost its certification after high-profile allegations about a “toxic” workplace culture.The organisation has also faced criticism for certifying the coffee company Nespresso, in an open letter from the Oregon-based non-profit Fair World Project, sent the same year

Thousands of small UK firms’ energy bills set to more than double due to Iran war

Thousands of independent businesses across the UK are braced for their energy bills to more than double owing to the sharp rise in heating oil costs as the war in Iran pushed Europe’s fuel market prices to fresh record highs.About 7% of all small and medium-sized companies warm their properties and provide hot water using heating oil, which in some cases has more than doubled in recent weeks.Companies in rural areas are often not connected to the gas grid, meaning they have an even greater reliance on heating oil, which is a form of kerosene linked to the cost of jet fuel. It is used by about 17% of rural small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).The trade association has heard from members who have already begun rationing their fuel use to cope with the sharp rise in prices over recent weeks

Iran strikes Kuwait’s oil infrastructure before Opec+ supply talks

Iranian drones have struck Kuwait’s oil infrastructure, causing “severe material damage” that threatens to further disrupt oil supplies already hit by the US-Israel war on Iran.The drone strikes on Sunday came hours before members of the Opec+ group of major global oil suppliers gathered to discuss how to bolster output despite Iran’s effective closure of the strait of Hormuz shipping route.Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had attacked petrochemical plants in Kuwait, as well as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation reported damage and fires at its subsidiaries. The company said fires had earlier broken out at its Shuwaikh oil sector complex, which houses the oil ministry and KPC headquarters, after a separate drone attack