Author: Jack Mulligan

Euro zone inflation moved back above the European Central Bank’s 2% target in March, reviving a policy debate that had appeared more settled just weeks ago. Headline inflation across the 21 countries using the euro rose to 2.5% from 1.9% in February, driven largely by a surge in energy costs after the war involving Iran sent oil prices sharply higher. Even so, the reading came in slightly below expectations for 2.6%, while core inflation eased, leaving policymakers with a mixed and increasingly difficult signal. That split matters because it captures the central challenge now facing the ECB. The jump in…

Israel’s parliament has approved the country’s annual budget after an overnight session, handing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a major political victory at a highly sensitive moment. The vote removes the immediate threat of early elections, which would have been triggered automatically if the budget had not passed before April 1, and makes it far more likely that his government will now survive until the fall. The timing is especially important because the budget fight unfolded against the backdrop of active war, missile alerts, and deep domestic frustration over how state resources are being allocated. Israel is absorbing the financial burden…

Max Verstappen’s latest comments have pushed Formula 1 into one of the most uncomfortable debates of its modern era. The four time world champion is no longer merely hinting that his career may be shorter than expected. He now appears to be seriously weighing whether to walk away from the series, either permanently or through a sabbatical, at a point when he is still one of the sport’s defining figures and has not yet turned 29. That makes the issue far bigger than a star driver reacting badly to a difficult spell on track. Verstappen’s frustration is tied to the…

YouTube has started rolling out support for Android Auto on Android, but the update is far more restrained than many users may have hoped. Rather than launching as a full in car app, YouTube is being integrated only through Android Auto’s media controls, giving drivers a narrow set of playback functions while keeping the platform’s broader video experience out of reach. The change still matters because it expands YouTube’s role inside the car and reflects how the service is increasingly used for more than video. Podcasts, interviews, news clips, commentary, and other long form spoken content have turned YouTube into…

Software error exposed sensitive customer details and reignites doubts over the risks of digital-only banking Lloyds Banking Group has been forced to confront a serious data exposure incident after an IT fault in its mobile banking apps left the personal and financial details of hundreds of thousands of customers potentially visible to other users. The scale of the failure is striking not only because of the number of people affected, but because it strikes at the heart of one of modern banking’s central promises: that digital convenience can be delivered without compromising security. The problem was triggered by a software…

Court overturns a multibillion-dollar judgment tied to the 2012 nationalization Argentina has won a major legal victory in the United States after a federal appeals court overturned the 16.1 billion dollar judgment linked to the 2012 seizure of oil company YPF. The ruling marks a significant turn in one of the most closely watched sovereign litigation battles in recent years and removes, at least for now, a financial threat that had loomed heavily over the country’s already fragile economic position. The appeals court ruled by a 2-1 margin that the plaintiffs’ breach of contract claims failed under Argentine law. That…

Wall Street lifts recession odds as energy shock and weak hiring strain the U.S. outlook Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has so far resisted calls to describe the current U.S. economic environment as stagflation. But the pressure on that view is building quickly. Across Wall Street, economists are raising the probability of a recession as geopolitical tensions intensify and underlying weaknesses in the labor market become harder to ignore. The shift in expectations is notable not because a downturn is now seen as certain, but because the risk has moved well above normal levels. In a typical year, recession odds…

Parliament approves the pact while reserving the right to suspend it if Washington crosses key red lines The European Parliament has approved the trade deal between the European Union and the United States, but not without adding a protective layer designed to shield European interests if Washington fails to respect the spirit or terms of the agreement. The vote marks an important step toward implementation, yet it also shows that European lawmakers are no longer willing to treat trade policy as separate from wider political and strategic tensions. The deal itself was negotiated last July by Donald Trump and Ursula…

Owners open the expansion process as the league moves closer to 32 teams The NBA has moved from speculation to process. The league’s board of governors has approved a vote allowing the NBA to begin exploring bids and applicants for expansion franchises in Las Vegas and Seattle, a decision that marks the clearest sign yet that the league is preparing to grow beyond its current 30-team structure. According to the latest reporting, all 30 owners supported the move, giving the league a unified mandate to begin the next phase of expansion planning. That does not mean two new teams have…

Platform will label automated accounts and challenge suspicious users to prove they are human Reddit is stepping more aggressively into the fight against automated accounts, announcing a new system that will label certain bots and require suspicious users to verify that they are human. The move reflects a growing concern across social platforms that bot activity is no longer a side problem, but a core threat to trust, moderation and the basic usefulness of online communities. The company says it will begin identifying automated accounts that serve a legitimate function, giving them a visible label rather than treating all bots…