Rachel Reeves’s plan to mandate how pension funds invest was always a mistake | Nils Pratley

A simple principle lies at the heart of pension investment: the pension manager must invest in the best interest of the client. UK ministers have often wished UK funds would show more home bias by channelling more pensioners’ cash towards domestic assets in the interests of economic growth, but the fundamental rule of the game has always been understood. You don’t mess with the fiduciary duty.Thus, when Rachel Reeves a year ago unveiled her Mansion House accord – a pledge by 17 of the biggest providers to earmark a slice of workplace pensions for UK private assets – it was made clear the arrangement was voluntary. What’s more, as the signatories emphasised, the commitment was “subject to fiduciary duty and the consumer duty” and “dependent on implementation by the government and regulators of critical enablers”

Oil nearing $120 a barrel for first time since 2022 as Trump maintains Iranian blockade – as it happened

A late update: Oil is now approaching its highest level since the Iran war began.Brent crude has risen over $119 a barrel, up 7% today, after president Donald Trump told Axios he will not lift a naval blockade of Iran’s ports until he secures a deal with Tehran to address the country’s nuclear program.This decision extends the ongoing standoff over the Strait of Hormuz that has caused a global energy crisis.Trump said in a phone interview Wednesday, according to Axios:double quotation mark“The blockade is somewhat more effective than the bombing. They are choking like a stuffed pig

Tech giants’ results show rosy outlook for AI boom and US stock market

Unusual simultaneous reports of financial results by several of the US’s largest tech companies gave positive indications for the stock market despite widespread fears of an AI bubble on Wednesday.Four of the so-called Magnificent Seven tech stocks, the most valuable publicly traded companies in the world, reported their quarterly financial results on Wednesday. The cluster is not typical, as these disclosures do not often occur on the same day, and provides a snapshot of how the tech industry is faring as it rides the AI boom. Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft all revealed double-digit gains in their cloud computing units, which have seen supercharged growth thanks to increasing adoption of AI. Meta, not in the business of cloud computing, failed to meet Wall Street expectations

Claude AI agent’s confession after deleting a firm’s entire database: ‘I violated every principle I was given’

It only took nine seconds for an AI coding agent gone rogue to delete a company’s entire production database and its backups, according to its founder. PocketOS, which sells software that car rental businesses rely on, descended into chaos after its databases were wiped, the company’s founder Jeremy Crane said.The culprit was Cursor, an AI agent powered by Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.6 model, which is one of the AI industry’s flagship models. As more industries embrace AI in an attempt to automate tasks and even replace workers, the chaos at PocketOS is a reminder of what could go wrong

Wales great George North to retire from rugby union at end of the season

Think of George North and two iconic moments inevitably stand out. Both took place on the 2013 British & Irish Lions tour when he was just 21 years old. Few northern hemisphere players have made a bigger top-level impact at a more tender age than the departing North, who announced on Wednesday he was retiring from all rugby at the end of this season.The first indelible image occurred in Brisbane in the first Test against Australia. North was inside his own half when he fielded a kick from Berrick Barnes and set off on the kind of surging run that gets longer with every breathless retelling

Revamped Maroons undergo radical reset to take 2026 State of Origin fight to Blues | Jack Snape

Queensland’s greatest player has been jettisoned and backup has been called in from across the ditch. The side has a new-look halves pairing, as many as five State of Origin debutants, and a new coach.Against New South Wales – the holders of the Women’s Origin shield after their comprehensive victory in 2025 – the Maroons have undergone a radical reset. Back to the drawing board? Try again. New coach Nathan Cross is on his way to Officeworks, imagining a whole new fit-out