Pound hits highest since March 2022 after UK interest rates are held at 5% – business live

Newsflash: The Bank of England has left UK interest rates on hold.At its latest meeting, the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee voted to leave interest rates at 5%, resisting any temptation to cut rates for the second meeting running.The vote means no fresh relief for borrowers (even as defaults on direct debits rise), a day after the US central bank cut its rates for the first time in four years.The decision comes a day after UK inflation stuck at 2.2% in August, above the Bank’s 2% target, with a rise in both core inflation and services inflation

Bank of England keeps interest rates unchanged at 5%

The Bank of England has kept interest rates unchanged at 5% as it put its efforts to ease the pressure on household budgets on hold.The Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) voted by a majority of eight to one against launching a back-to-back reduction in borrowing costs amid concerns over lingering inflationary pressures.The Bank last month cut interest rates for the first time since the Covid pandemic was declared four years ago, after a sharp fall in inflation from a peak of more than 11% in late 2022 – the highest level since the early 1980s.Andrew Bailey, the Bank’s governor, said inflationary pressures had continued to ease, but cautioned against expectations for rapid interest rate cuts.The annual rate of inflation remained unchanged at 2

Google Pixel 9 review: a good phone overshadowed by great ones

Google’s cheapest Pixel 9 offers almost everything that makes its top-flight sibling one of the best smaller phones available, cutting a few key ingredients to price match Apple and Samsung.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.The Pixel 9 costs £799 (€899/$799/A$1,349) shaving £200 off the asking price of the stellar Pixel 9 Pro while sitting above the excellent value sub-£500 Pixel 8a from May

British MPs and international organisations hacked on X

British politicians and international organisations have had their accounts on X hacked on Wednesday night.MPs including Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, and the Labour MPs Chris Elmore and Carolyn Harris all shared the same message on the social media site. Although quickly removed, the messages could still be read on TweetDeck, a dashboard used to manage accounts on X, formerly Twitter.The messages, which also included a lengthy code, said: “THIS IS HACKED ACCOUNT!!!! INTRODUCING HACKED ON SOLANA on each account we hack we publish the token address so we pump it and make profits together.”The message on the justice secretary’s account was posted at 7

Lancashire v Somerset, Surrey v Durham, and more: county cricket day three – live

Rose Bowl Hampshire 462 (NRT Gubbins 201 no; LA Dawson 109) and 99-5; Worcestershire 273 (EA Brookes 132).Canterbury Nottinghamshire 433 (BT Slater 160); Kent 225 and 196-7.Old Trafford Lancashire 140 and 398 v Somerset 146. Somerset need 393 to winThe Oval Durham 262 and 98-6; Surrey 415 (RS Patel 134).Edgbaston Warwickshire 78 and 114; Essex 232

England v Australia: first men’s cricket one-day international – live

7th over: England 46-0 (Salt 16, Duckett 29) Half-batter down the ground earns four for Duckett, then a drag-down sits up and beseeches treatment, the batter obliging by carting over square-leg for four more. Two dots follow, but Duckett has his eye in now, the two final balls of the other also whacked to the fence, both at midwicket, making it four fours in the over; England are motoring now.6th over: England 30-0 (Salt 16, Duckett 13) Ricky Ponting, you’ll be unsurprised to learn, does not enjoy Australia’s moustaches, but I guess they pass the time, and in Beardman, the squad now possesses the first facial hair superhero. The first five balls of Dwarshius’ over yield a two and a one, but then Slat steps outside his crease looking for a boundary and chops an edge that races past the stumps and to the fence. Well though Australia have bowled, they’ve not made a breakthrough and the scoring-rate is steadily increasing