What is quantitative tightening and how has it affected UK finances?

The Bank of England has announced that it will scale back its multibillion-pound “quantitative tightening” programme.The process is significant for the UK economy and the public finances. But how will it work?The process is the opposite of quantitative easing – the tool used by the world’s most powerful central banks during the 2008 financial crisis.Often referred to as “printing money”, QE involved central banks buying bonds from financial institutions, such as commercial banks and pension funds. This helped to push down yields – in effect the interest rate – on bonds, lowering borrowing costs and supporting economic activity

Bank’s interest rate vote and bond plans are little help to Reeves before budget

“Gradual” and “predictable” are the watchwords at the Bank of England. But for Rachel Reeves, preparing for a tough autumn budget, a more activist approach from Threadneedle Street could have helped.The central bank had two pieces of bad news for the chancellor on Thursday: borrowing costs would be left unchanged at the current elevated level, while the Bank would proceed with a plan to sell billions of pounds in UK government bonds.Both decisions had been widely expected in financial markets. But an alternative outcome was not outside the realms of possibility and could have helped bail out the Treasury a little before the autumn budget

Meta announces first Ray-Ban smart glasses with in-built augmented reality display

Meta has announced three new pairs of AI smart glasses, including the first Ray-Bans with a built-in screen for augmented reality.The Meta Ray-Ban Display will be the first smart glasses with a heads-up display from a mainstream brand since the ill-fated Google Glass. They use a classic Wayfarer-like styling to avoid looking too obviously like wearable technology, while still having a camera, speakers and microphone.A small, bright and crisp colour display is projected on to the inside of the right lens, which appears to float just below the wearer’s eye line, and can show anything from text and images to live video calls. The display appears when interacting with the glasses, but isn’t visible from the outside

Google DeepMind claims ‘historic’ AI breakthrough in problem solving

Google DeepMind claims it has made a “historic” artificial intelligence breakthrough akin to the Deep Blue computer defeating Garry Kasparov at chess in 1997 and an AI beating a human Go champion in 2016.A version of the company’s Gemini 2.5 AI model solved a complex real-world problem that stumped human computer programmers to become the first AI model to win a gold medal at an international programming competition held earlier this month in Azerbaijan.In a performance that the tech company called a “profound leap in abstract problem-solving”, it took less than half an hour to work out how to weigh up an infinite number of possibilities in order to send a liquid through a network of ducts to a set of interconnected reservoirs. The goal was to distribute it as quickly as possible

Jess Hull galvanises Australia’s flourishing middle distance running stock | Jack Snape

Expectations around Australia’s women’s 800m runners were already high when Claudia Hollingsworth broke the national record last month in Poland. Remarkably, in the same race, her compatriot Abbey Caldwell also finished under the old mark, crossing the line just behind the 20-year-old.Then the team for the World Athletics Championships was announced, and alongside that pairing was another name, Paris 1500m silver medallist Jess Hull. Australia’s track queen had decided to attempt the middle-distance double in Tokyo on the urging of her father and coach Simon, a former national level 800m runner.If there had been anticipation about the Australian prospects in the event beforehand, Hull’s addition made it hyperventilation

Hull KR hold off Warrington to secure historic first League Leaders’ Shield

There have been some unforgettable moments inside Craven Park this year, but when Tyrone May crossed under the posts to secure a first League Leaders’ Shield for Hull KR, it was hard not to feel a combination of euphoria, emotion and ultimately relief around this famous old ground.Finishing top of the table has never quite felt as important as it should do in Super League given the big prize is still to be handed out, but for a club that have not achieved that feat since 1985, you always suspected this would be celebrated with proper merit. Having not won a trophy for 40 years, Hull KR have won two inside four months, and are now two wins away from an historic treble.Top also brings the significant reward of a bye through the opening week of the playoffs, so there will be time to celebrate this moment, and enjoy it for what it is. But knowing Hull KR’s coach, Willie Peters, as we do, you suspect he will have already turned his attention to winning the Grand Final in a month’s time