All posts tagged: bonds

Reeves in talks over ‘war bonds’ to fund defence spending

Reeves in talks over ‘war bonds’ to fund defence spending

Published by Sam Flores

Rachel Reeves is considering issuing war bonds to fund increased defence spending, The Telegraph has learnt. Members of the public and financial institutions would be able to buy bonds to raise money that would be ring-fenced for national security. The Chancellor is reviewing whether this could solve the impasse over how to raise £17.6bn to meet the Government’s pledge to increase defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP by 2029-2030. A poster from 1918 promotes the sale of Victory Bonds John Healey, the Defence Secretary, is understood to be interested in the idea, which has been raised with him privately in recent weeks. Issuing bonds would be less politically problematic than funding defence by cutting the welfare budget, which military chiefs and some Cabinet ministers have backed in recent weeks. Sir Keir Starmer is under pressure to explain how his Government will achieve its flagship spending target amid mounting criticism of the state of the military. Lord Hain, a Labour peer who was a Cabinet minister in the Brown and Blair governments, has argued …

Kansas City Officials Are Proposing 0M in Stadium Bonds to Keep MLB’s Royals in Missouri

Kansas City Officials Are Proposing $600M in Stadium Bonds to Keep MLB’s Royals in Missouri

Published by Sam Flores

Kansas City, Missouri, would issue $600 million in bonds for a new downtown stadium for Major League Baseball’s Royals under a proposal officials are pursuing months after Kansas lured professional football’s Chiefs over the state line with a massive stadium subsidy. Mayor Quinton Lucas and nine of 12 City Council members introduced a proposed ordinance Thursday to allow the city manager to negotiate with the Royals over a new stadium near the city’s historic Union Station and its World War I museum, about 6 miles northwest of the Royals’ current Kauffman Stadium. The city expects the new stadium to cost $1.9 billion, and Missouri last year enacted a law allowing the state to cover half, or $950 million. If Kansas City issued its bonds, the Royals would need $350 million in private funds. Kauffman Stadium sits beside the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium in the Truman Sports Complex, owned by Jackson County, Missouri, and home to both teams since 1973. Their stadium leases expire in 2031, and in April 2024, county voters rejected extending a tax that …

Why James Bond’s biggest ‘failure’ was actually a trailblazing moment for the 007 franchise

Why James Bond’s biggest ‘failure’ was actually a trailblazing moment for the 007 franchise

Published by Daniella Wilson

Add Licence to Kill to your watchlist It’s not often that you’ll see Licence to Kill celebrated as the best of Bond – too frequently, Timothy Dalton’s second outing as 007 languishes near the bottom of lists, written off as a misjudged attempt to compete with violent ’80s action cinema. The film strayed too far from the classic Bond formula, its critics would argue, and failed to connect with audiences as a result. Not helping its muddied reputation is the fact that following its release the Bond franchise went on a then-unprecedented six-year hiatus, with Dalton replaced as leading man when the series did eventually resume with 1995’s GoldenEye. It’s true that the film is a significant departure from what came before. Drawing more heavily on the source material of Ian Fleming’s novels than any movie in the series since the early Sean Connery entries, Licence to Kill sees Bond on a mission of vengeance, our hero ousted – at least temporarily – from MI6 as he seeks bloody retribution against Franz Sanchez (played by …

James Bond’s 007 First Light release date delayed for Nintendo Switch 2 players

James Bond’s 007 First Light release date delayed for Nintendo Switch 2 players

Published by Daniella Wilson

Upcoming James Bond game 007 First Light has been delayed on Nintendo Switch 2, developer IO Interactive has confirmed. First announced as ‘Project 007’ back in 2020, the game was officially revealed in its current form early last year. While the game had been scheduled for a May release on all platforms, following a delay from its original March release date, it has now been announced that the Switch 2 version will not be arriving just yet. In a post from the game’s official social media accounts, the developers reaffirm the May release date for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC, before adding that the Switch 2 version will arrive “later this summer”. Want to see this content? This page contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as Twitter may use cookies and other technologies. To view this content, choose ‘Accept and continue’ to allow Twitter and its required purposes. Accept and continue 007 First Light is one of a slew of new third-party titles that had been …

Trump’s Iran ceasefire doesn’t mean Europe’s economy is out of the danger zone – POLITICO

Trump’s Iran ceasefire doesn’t mean Europe’s economy is out of the danger zone – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

But the damage done to the world’s supply chains, especially for energy, will simply not be undone overnight, even if — and it’s a big ‘if’ — the ceasefire holds, analysts say. “A temporary pause is just that — and both sides of the conflict have established a renewed reputation for unpredictability,” said Simon French, chief economist with London investment bank PanmureLiberum, via X. Moreover, said Peel Hunt chief economist Kallum Pickering, “Even if this truce marks the genuine end of fighting, some economic damage is already baked in.” He warned that whatever happens from here on, inflation will be higher and growth will be slower in the second half of this year, relative to what was expected in February, before the war started. While the two sides have agreed to start peace talks in Pakistan on Friday, both still seem far apart on key issues, notably the terms on which oil, gas and chemicals can pass in and out of the Persian Gulf, the most important shipping lane for world energy supply. The two …

Isla Phillips looks so grown up after turning 14 as she bonds with new stepsister Georgina Sperling at Easter

Isla Phillips looks so grown up after turning 14 as she bonds with new stepsister Georgina Sperling at Easter

Published by Daniella Wilson

Peter Phillips’ daughters, Isla and Savannah, appeared to be getting along famously with their future stepsister, Georgina Sperling, on Easter Sunday. Georgina, 13, made her royal debut at the service held at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, alongside her mother, Harriet Sperling, who is set to marry Peter this June.  © WireImageGeorgina Sperling (centre) was supported by her soon-to-be stepdaughters Isla Phillips (left) and Savannah Phillips (right) Welcoming the teen into the fold with open arms were her future stepsisters, Isla, 14, and Savannah, 15. The daughters of Peter and his first wife, Autumn Phillips, walked side-by-side with the newest member of their family. Isla looked strikingly grown up just days after her 14th birthday, smartly clad in a polka-dot dress, navy blazer, and suede loafers. Taking the lead as the trio walked together, eldest daughter Savannah impressed in a structured coat dress with contrasting sleeves and white kitten heels.  Georgina opted for a navy button-down top and brown suede midi skirt for her high-profile debut. Their coordinating ensembles signalled a shared confidence, suggesting that …

UK’s Reeves ‘angry’ over Trump’s decision to attack Iran – POLITICO

UK’s Reeves ‘angry’ over Trump’s decision to attack Iran – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

After reaching their lowest point since Oct. 2024 before the invasion, yields on 10-year U.K. government bonds have now soared to their highest since the 2008 financial crisis.  Deutsche Bank has estimated that the increase has already stripped between £7 billion and £10 billion from the chancellor’s £23.6 billion fiscal headroom. “The costs of borrowing for government have gone through the roof,” Reeves noted in the interview. “This country hasn’t done anything to cause those prices to rise, but the decision of Donald Trump, the decision that Keir Starmer and this government did not want any part of and are trying to de-escalate, is causing real hardship for people now.” “I think that people can see that what Trump has done in the Middle East is going to cause economic challenges all around the world, with potentially higher inflation, weaker growth and weaker tax receipts,” she added. The Middle East war is the latest episode that has put Europe at odds with Trump’s America. Earlier Wednesday, Starmer said the “volatile” international situation requires Britain to …

Iran war risks private credit crisis and AI bubble bursting, Bank of England warns – POLITICO

Iran war risks private credit crisis and AI bubble bursting, Bank of England warns – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“A tightening of supply could also affect relatively more resilient borrowers reliant on private-market finance, including UK corporates, especially as UK private markets are heavily dependent on overseas investors,” it said. Market participants should, it added, have a “clear understanding of their direct and indirect exposures to risky credit markets.”  At the same time, fears that the record-high prices of AI-focused stocks could collapse and send ripples through the financial system have persisted, with the FPC highlighting that valuations for U.S. tech firms focused on AI remain “particularly stretched.” “Despite the volatility that the conflict has generated, risk premia in global equity and debt markets remain compressed by historical standards, heightening the risk of a sharp correction if macroeconomic conditions worsen,” said the committee. “AI-related repricing could transmit widely throughout the financial system and impact the real economy.” Finally, the FPC warned that existing sovereign debt vulnerabilities could be worsened by the conflict, as “a relatively high use of leverage by a small number of hedge funds pursuing similar strategies” risked causing stress on the …

Labour critics seize on new case against Mahmood’s migration overhaul – POLITICO

Labour critics seize on new case against Mahmood’s migration overhaul – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Though Mahmood’s proposals will lengthen the time it takes them to gain access to the welfare system, the change “will not make a significant difference to the lifetime fiscal impact” of these migrants, according to the report. “The only way this policy would significantly bring down the £10 billion lifetime fiscal cost is if it led to large numbers of care workers and dependents leaving the U.K. before they reached the qualifying period for settlement,” the IPPR says. As it stands, that’s not the case Mahmood is making. The primary reason care workers make a negative net lifetime financial contribution is because they are poorly paid. Gaining settlement would allow them to earn more by opening the door to work in any occupation. But delaying this traps them in lower-paid work for longer, the document argues. “The overall fiscal impact of the proposed earned settlement reforms should therefore consider the potential costs of lower tax contributions from the care worker cohort while they wait for settlement, as well as the fiscal benefits of restricting access …