Boss of supermarket urges Rachel Reeves not to fuel inflation with tax rises on retailers and suppliers The boss of Sainsbury’s has urged Rachel Reeves not to fuel inflation with tax rises on retailers and their suppliers and says shoppers are delaying spending in the lead-up to her budget later this month. Simon Roberts, the … Read more
Almost 3 million Australians will be eligible for a refund of the difference between the AI-powered Copilot and ‘classic’ versions of the 365 software Almost three million Australians will be offered refunds after Microsoft apologised for the way it charged customers to access its artificial intelligence tools. Microsoft Australia emailed the offer to software subscribers … Read more
ACIC report says total impact of illicit trade on economy amounted to $4bn in a year amid debate over cigarette excise The illegal tobacco market has left a $3.3bn hole in the federal government’s finances, with Australia’s national criminal intelligence agency warning organised crime’s dominance of the market is continuing to grow. The Australian Taxation … Read more
Budget envisions significant increase in defence spending, cuts to civil service and ‘generational investments’ A protracted trade war with the United States and a weakening domestic economy has forced Mark Carney to run a deficit tens of billions larger than initially forecast in his first-ever federal budget. The spending plan, titled “Canada Strong” envisions significant … Read more
Justice Amy Coney Barrett cautioned during oral arguments Wednesday that the logistics of refunding companies that have paid the disputed duties would be “a mess.” The Supreme Court on Wednesday contemplated the process for paying back billions in tariffs the Trump administration has collected, should the justices rule those duties are illegal. “How would this … Read more
Chief Justice John Roberts questioned why Trump believed he had the authority to impose tariffs under a nearly 50-year-old law that has never been used for that purpose. Both conservative and liberal Supreme Court justices on Wednesday sharply questioned President Donald Trump’s use of emergency power to impose sweeping tariffs on countries around the world, … Read more
“I’d never vote to nuke the filibuster,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) told reporters. President Donald Trump took his pitch to nix the filibuster directly to Senate Republicans on Wednesday. They are once again saying, thanks, but no thanks. Trump spent several minutes during a breakfast meeting with GOP senators at the White House urging them … Read more
Five incumbent Republicans must now choose between intraparty warfare or a run in districts designed for Democrats. SACRAMENTO, California — California’s Democratic gerrymander just forced most of the state’s GOP House members into a fight for their political lives. Five incumbent Republicans targeted by the new maps must now decide whether to vie for districts … Read more
The Keep Britain Working review, created to tackle the rising tide of ill health pushing millions out of work, reported its findings ahead of this month’s budget Employers have been told in a landmark government review that fixing Britain’s health-related worklessness crisis will require them to spend £6bn a year on support for their staff. … Read more
Speech attempts to take back narrative with talk of ‘years of economic mismanagement’, Brexit and tariffs There were two audiences for Rachel Reeves’s hastily arranged early morning speech on Tuesday: the financial markets, and Labour’s disillusioned voters. As she made clear, though only obliquely, Keir Starmer’s government was considering abandoning its pre-election pledge not to … Read more