Bank of England defends OBR’s independence against political attacks; UK banks pass stress tests – business live

Having resisted two invitations to comment on the Office for Budget Responsibility, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey can’t resist swishing at the third (has he been watching England batting in Australia?)Q: You have commented on political attacks on the Federal Reserve before, so are the political attacks on the Office for Budget Responsibility dangerous?Bailey reminds today’s press conference that there are good reasons why the Office for Budget Responsibility was created by George Osborne in 2010, telling reporters:The reason the OBR was created was to ensure there was a source of independent forecasting and an independent assessment of fiscal policy.That’s important, it’s important in many countries. Britain’s not unique… there’s nothing unusual about this absolutely core principle.So where attacks on the OBR are concerned, Bailey says we should “please remember why it was done and the principles underlying it”.However, it’s not for the Bank to get involved in “the day-to-day affairs of that”, he adds

OBR complained to Treasury before budget about leaks spreading ‘misconceptions’

The Office for Budget Responsibility complained to senior Treasury officials in the run-up to the budget about a flurry of leaks that it said spread “misconceptions” about its forecasts, it has emerged.Prof David Miles of the OBR’s budget responsibility committee told MPs on the Treasury select committee on Tuesday that the watchdog had raised the issue of leaks with the department before the chancellor’s statement last week.“I think it was clear that there was lots of information appearing in the press which perhaps wouldn’t normally be out there and that this wasn’t from our point of view particularly helpful,” he said.He added: “We made it clear that they were not helpful and that we weren’t in a position of course to put them right.”Miles was appearing before the committee after the OBR chair, Richard Hughes, resigned on Monday, taking responsibility for the inadvertent release of its budget documents about an hour before Rachel Reeves stood up to announce her tax and spending plans

Age of the ‘scam state’: how an illicit, multibillion-dollar industry has taken root in south-east Asia

For days before the explosions began, the business park had been emptying out. When the bombs went off, they took down empty office blocks and demolished echoing, multi-cuisine food halls. Dynamite toppled a four-storey hospital, silent karaoke complexes, deserted gyms and dorm rooms.So came the end of KK Park, one of south-east Asia’s most infamous “scam centres”, press releases from Myanmar’s junta declared. The facility had held tens of thousands of people, forced to relentlessly defraud people around the world

Siri-us setback: Apple’s AI chief steps down as company lags behind rivals

Apple’s head of artificial intelligence, John Giannandrea, is stepping down from the company. The move comes as the Silicon Valley giant has lagged behind its competitors in rolling out generative AI features, in particular its voice assistant Siri. Apple made the announcement on Monday, thanking Giannandrea for his seven-year tenure at the company.Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, said his fellow executive helped the company “in building and advancing our AI work” and allowing Apple to “continue to innovate”. Giannandrea will be replaced by longtime AI researcher Amar Subramanya

The Breakdown | Thirty years of Champions Cup has given us the beastly, beautiful and bizarre

Bloodgate, the ‘Hand of Back’ and a drop goal off ‘someone’s arse’ are among the tournament’s delightful eccentricitiesOn the eve of a new Champions Cup season it is worth remembering when and where it all began. The answer is 30 years ago on the shores of the Black Sea where Farul Constanta of Romania hosted France’s mighty Toulouse in the opening pool game of the old Heineken Cup on 31 October 1995.Let’s just say they were different times. The match was played on a Tuesday and, while the crowd was recorded as 3,000, eyewitnesses were focused on the large number of security personnel with barking Alsatian dogs straining at the leash. Toulouse, boasting an array of internationals including Émile Ntamack and Thomas Castaignède, duly registered eight tries and won 54-10

Robin Smith, former England cricketer, dies aged 62

The former England cricketer Robin Smith has died at the age of 62 with his family and former county Hampshire saying they were devastated by his loss.Smith played 62 Tests and 71 one-day internationals for England between 1988 and 1996 and was a resolute middle-order bulwark for the side during often difficult times for the team. He particularly excelled against pace, making his highest Test score of 175 against the fearsome West Indies attack at Antigua in 1994.He made 4,236 Test runs overall at an average of 43.67, including nine centuries