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Pink Floyd, known for hits such as “Money” and “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”, could soon be $500mn richer, with Warner Music and KKR-backed BMG competing to buy the band’s entire back catalogue, according to people familiar with the matter. The British rock group is testing market appetite in a bid to follow stars such

Twitter has announced an immediate hiring freeze, cost-cutting measures and the departure of two of its senior leaders, as Elon Musk moves closer to completing his takeover of the social media company. Twitter, which last month agreed to sell itself to Musk for $44bn, will pause most hiring and backfills effective this week, according to

In the Rocky films, Sylvester Stallone often starred in a wordless montage of training scenes. It captures something of the thickset biopic Father Stu that the same device is recycled. In place of slog in the boxing gym, however, Mark Wahlberg’s hero Stuart Long preps with prayer. The movie is faith-based, drawn from a true

Warren East, the outgoing chief executive of Rolls-Royce, struck an upbeat tone about the engineering group’s prospects on Thursday, telling investors a gradual improvement in flying had helped trading this year. The FTSE 100 company, paid by customers according to hours flown by aircraft fitted with its engines, took a big financial hit from the

The number of graduates receiving top degrees in England has more than doubled in the past decade, prompting the university watchdog to threaten to clamp down on “unexplained” first-class honours. Figures released on Thursday by the Office for Students, the university sector regulator, showed 37.9 per cent of students were awarded first-class degrees, the highest

Vodafone’s “Together we Can” tagline celebrates collaboration. It must wish regulators could get the message. The UK telecoms company wants to combine its UK operations with its domestic rival Three UK, owned by Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison. This marks a big test for the post-Brexit telecoms regulatory regime. A deal makes sense. But cutting competition

The $1.3tn cryptocurrency industry was on Thursday hit by one of its toughest challenges when stablecoin Tether — a critical cog in the market — failed to maintain its link with the US dollar. Tether tumbled as low as 95.11 cents in European trading, far below the $1 peg that it seeks to maintain as

Come summer, tourists flock to Stow-on-the-Wold, swelling the population of the picturesque hillside market town situated in a corner of the Cotswolds by the coachload. Its souvenir shops do brisk business, the throng stocking up on Cotswolds-themed jams and keepsakes to take home. But Andrew and Jesse D’Ambrosi, owners of the town’s eponymous fine food store, have never been interested

Three things to start: Elon Musk made plenty of headlines in his interview with the FT this week. But let’s forget Twitter (and Trump) for a moment. Energy Source readers might be more interested to hear the billionaire’s thoughts on the storage debate: “If you want a means of energy storage, hydrogen is a bad

Finland’s president and prime minister have vowed to join Nato, an announcement that will redraw Europe’s geopolitical map and push neighbouring Sweden to apply for membership in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. President Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Sanna Marin both said on Thursday that Finland “must apply” for Nato membership within days.

Florence + The Machine opened their account in 2008 with a violent altercation. The London band’s debut single “Kiss with a Fist” was a rambunctious number in which Florence Welch sings about a couple having a physical fight. Plates are smashed over heads, the bed is torched, limbs are broken. Both sides give as good

Green isn’t traditionally anyone’s first choice of eyeshadow. It’s the one in the palette that never gets used up. Which means you probably have one hiding in a drawer, just waiting to be rediscovered. And try it you should: because aside from being one of the biggest spring make-up trends, the right green can be an

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son said his conglomerate was taking a “defensive” position and slowing down investments after its Vision Fund posted a historic investment loss of ¥3.5tn ($27bn) for the full year. Those falls plunged Son’s conglomerate as a whole into its biggest-ever quarterly net loss of ¥2.1tn. Shares in the group closed down 8

Hong Kong’s central bank has intervened to strengthen the city’s currency and defend its US dollar peg for the first time since 2019, threatening to raise borrowing costs while the financial hub’s economy is still reeling from harsh Covid-19 restrictions. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced on Thursday that it had bought almost HK$1.6bn (US$202mn)

Good morning and welcome to Europe Express. The European Commission next week is set to put forward its revised plans on how to decrease the bloc’s energy dependence on Russia and boost green investments. We will run through the draft proposals and why they are likely to meet some opposition from green groups and local

Your browser does not support playing this file but you can still download the MP3 file to play locally. Description: Turkish authorities have raised the pressure on the country’s banks to limit corporate clients’ purchases of foreign currency, US consumer prices rose at an annual pace of 8.3 per cent last month, and the EU

Your browser does not support playing this file but you can still download the MP3 file to play locally. Why do some countries stay poor while others find a rapid path towards growth and development? Economist Stefan Dercon thinks it’s all about the willingness of those in power to prioritise development over protecting their own

The greatest risk of near-term temperature increases, covered by Leslie Hook’s article “World on course to pass critical 1.5C warming threshold within five years” (Report, May 10), is from self-reinforcing feedback loops — where the planet starts to warm itself outside of human influence — and pushes the climate past irreversible tipping points. By crossing

Online dating app users are more interested in romance than friendship. Bumble has tried to differentiate itself from a crowded market with Bumble BFF, a way to meet new friends. But it does not feature in the company’s revenue breakdown. Happily, those looking for love are increasingly willing to pay up. Bumble generates most of

Walt Disney reported strong growth at its Disney Plus streaming service in its latest quarter, drawing a sharp contrast with the recent subscriber declines experienced by industry leader Netflix. Disney added 7.9mn new subscribers, well above projections of about 5mn. That healthy increase came just weeks after Netflix warned it would lose 2mn subscribers in