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Europe
BBC Business

UK diesel price hits all-time high, RAC says

Image source, Getty ImagesByEmer Moreau, Business reporter and Theo Leggett, International Business CorrespondentPublished28 September 2026, 10:14 BSTUpdated 1 hour agoDiesel prices have hit an all-time high of 199.18p per litre, according to the motoring organisation RAC, as the war in the Middle East continues to push up the cost of fuel. Over the past seven months, the Iran war has severely disrupted the production and transportation of wholesale oil across the region, causing the price of fuels made from oil to surge. RAC said diesel prices had entered "uncharted territory" and served as a reminder of "just how exposed the UK is to events occurring far away". The cost of diesel has now risen by 59p a litre, or just under 40%, since the conflict between the USA and Iran erupted at the end of February. The previous record was 199.09p in June 2022. The increase means the cost of filling an average family car with diesel is now £110, £31 more than at the start of the conflict. Petrol prices are now 41p per litre more than at the start of the conflict, but still well below a 2022 peak. The RAC data is based on the average price of diesel at a range of supermarkets, motorway service stations and independent retailers. Simon Williams, RAC's head of policy, said the diesel record "spells pain not only at the pumps for drivers, but for everyone who buys goods or services that rely on diesel lorries and vans". "Undoubtedly these increased costs will be passed on to consumers," he said. Williams said prices at the pumps will not come down until there is a "sustained lower oil price - over several weeks, not days". The price of Brent crude, a benchmark for global oil used to make petrol, diesel and other fuel products, rose over the weekend and is now hovering at around $108 per barrel. Before the US invaded Iran, it was trading at around $73. Supplies of diesel internationally have been heavily constrained by the conflict in the Middle East, which has restricted the flow of both crude oil and refined diesel onto global markets. Russia, which is also a major producer, has also implemented an export ban on diesel, following attacks on its refineries by Ukraine, further limiting supply.

UK diesel price hits all-time high, RAC says
Europe
BBC Business

Warning more homes will be uninsurable due to flood risk

Homes are being built today that could become uninsurable in the future due to the risk of flooding, the boss of insurance giant Aviva has said. Amanda Blanc said the risk of flooding is "absolutely increasing", but based on current building patterns 115,000 new homes will be built in flood zones in the next decade. "That doesn't seem to me to make sense. We need to think about where those homes are being built," she told the BBC. About 6.3 million homes and businesses in England are at risk of flooding, according to the Environment Agency, and Aviva research found one in nine homes built between 2022 and 2024 are at medium to high risk of flooding. Blanc told the BBC's Big Boss Interview podcast that England was "for sure" building homes that might be uninsurable at some point in the future. "It's very well known where these flooding areas are. Let's think very carefully about homes that are being built." Blanc said construction that borders those flood zones also needs a different approach. "You can do all sorts of different things to your property to make it more or less vulnerable to flood," she said. According to Aviva's research, nearly a third of new homes built in 2024 will be at risk of some flooding by 2050, and one in seven would be at medium to high risk of flooding as extreme weather becomes more acute. Earlier this year the Met Office estimated that with current levels of global warming, record-breaking wet winters like the one experienced in the UK in 2023-2024 have gone from once in 80-year events to once in 20-year events. In a wide-ranging interview, Blanc urged the government to avoid policy "kite flying" ahead of Chancellor John Healey's first Budget on 28 October. Aviva is a major UK private pension provider, and Blanc said speculation over the last couple of Budgets about changes to pensions led to a significant increase in withdrawals.

Warning more homes will be uninsurable due to flood risk
Europe
BBC Business

Unis are offering degrees in content creation for £30,000. But are they worth it?

As university courses go it may raise a few eyebrows, but Destiny McGowan has no doubt that hers was very useful. In July the 21-year-old graduated from Nottingham Trent University with a degree in content creation. As well as teaching how to best make videos and posts for Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, the course also focused on how to build audiences, engage with brands and monetise your content. "I always wanted to be an entrepreneur, so for me the course was about the transferable skills that I believed I would gain," says Destiny, pointing to both the social media and business aspects she was taught. It's early on in her career, and Destiny refuses to disclose precisely what she is earning, but says she's already making money. In addition to posting about fashion on her own accounts, she makes videos for others, and has also been hired as a TikTok live selling host, presenting products for sale on camera. She says the course gave her access to equipment, technology and industry contacts. "The incredible people I've met through panels that the university hosted would take someone five to 10 years to get to that place," she explains. Nottingham Trent says its content creation degree, which it launched in 2022, provides "hands-on experience". Several universities in the UK now offer such courses. The University of Brighton says it teaches students how to create "content that cuts through the noise". Meanwhile in the US, Arizona State University say its similar qualification allows students to "turn your creativity into content that connects with audiences". Yet you'd be paying a lot of money for this. The three-year degrees at Nottingham Trent and Brighton both currently cost £9,790 per year for UK students, while the standard annual fee at Arizona State is $14,724 (£11,000) for a resident of that state.

Unis are offering degrees in content creation for £30,000. But are they worth it?
North America
CNBC Finance

Novo is betting on its next chapter as Eli Lilly gains more ground in GLP-1s

Every time Novo urges investors to look ahead, Eli Lilly gives them another reason to look back at its widening lead over the Danish drugmaker. Novo this week laid out an ambitious strategy to reignite growth beyond its top-selling Wegovy and Ozempic injections, which face patent expirations in key markets in the early 2030s. At its Capital Markets Day on Monday, the company promised a pipeline of potential blockbuster products, including drugs that would diversify from its core area of obesity and diabetes. But Wall Street so far isn't convinced by Novo's road map. Investors pummeled the drugmaker's stock, underwhelmed by growth targets that matched industry averages rather than outpacing them. They were also skeptical of the lack of clarity around a near-term turnaround plan. At the same time, Lilly continues to chip away at its rival's market share — including in the burgeoning obesity pill space. Novo hopes to keep its early lead in the oral weight loss market after the successful launch of the Wegovy pill, months ahead of Lilly's rival pill, Foundayo. Novo CEO Mike Doustdar told CNBC on Tuesday that early adoption suggests patients may have been waiting for an alternative to injections. "If that continues to the extent that we have seen, then yes, mathematically, by the end of the decade, there is going to be a larger portion on the pill than injectable," he said. In an exclusive interview with CNBC on Monday, Lilly CEO Dave Ricks said the drugmaker's new obesity pill, Foundayo, is slowly gaining ground in the U.S. One-third of new GLP-1 pill patients are taking Lilly's drug, and its share of that oral market is growing "week by week," Ricks told CNBC in Houston, Texas. Lilly is also claiming an early lead in the newly established Medicare market for obesity drugs, after the federal program started covering those treatments in July. Ricks said 700,000 seniors have started GLP-1s in Medicare following the start of coverage, and 70% of those patients are on Lilly's drugs. He added that Medicare patients have shown a particular preference for Lilly's obesity injection Zepbound, which has helped the company become the dominant player in the broader market. Lilly said in August that it held about a 61% share in the U.S. GLP-1 space in the second quarter, while Novo held roughly 39%. While investors appeared to want more detail on Novo's plans for post-Wegovy and Ozempic growth at Monday's investor event, the drugmaker is betting that there could be more than one successor to the mega-blockbuster franchise. For Novo, the challenge is not solely replacing revenue from Wegovy and Ozempic when they lose exclusivity and face more generic competition. It is convincing investors that the company can regain momentum in a GLP-1 market it helped establish years before Lilly came into the picture, even as its rival continues to build its lead. Even as Novo works to turn itself around after two bruising years marked by multiple setbacks, analysts say Lilly has several advantages that could help it maintain its spot at the top of the obesity drug market.

Novo is betting on its next chapter as Eli Lilly gains more ground in GLP-1s
Europe
BBC Business

Trump and Xi exchange warm words at state dinner but little progress on key issues

US President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping exchanged warm words at a lavish White House state dinner but gave little indication of progress on pressing issues. Xi stressed that they should ensure AI remain "under human control" and act "as responsible major countries", while Trump toasted a future of "harmony, peace and success" for both nations. But tensions remain despite the diplomatic niceties, including over Taiwan - with Xi urging Trump earlier in the day to take the "correct position" on the self-governing island which Beijing claims, amid a weapons package paused by Trump. Billionaire business leaders and US tech CEOs joined the leaders at the extravagant dinner late on Thursday. Their arrival was marked by protesters shouting from just outside the White House gates, some of whom were arrested. Trump lavished praise on Xi during his first visit to the US in over a decade, telling those attending the dinner that while the two countries had "different systems", they had "never gotten along better". Xi meanwhile welcomed the "historic juncture" in US-China relations - and said both leaders' ambitions could "surely be mutually reinforcing". "China and the United States must act as responsible major countries to meet the expectations of our peoples, keep pace with the trend of our times, and explore a new approach for major countries to get along with each other," he said. While Xi said he and Trump had shared "in-depth exchanges and reached common understanding on many issues", little to no mention was made of the crucial matters which divide the leaders of the world's two most powerful countries. China believes the US is trying to contain its rise as a superpower, and it wants Washington to stay out of its way - particularly when it comes to trade, technology and Taiwan. Trump has meanwhile been expected to aim for deals around trade and tariffs during the visit – like lowering Chinese tariffs on American goods, increasing imports of Chinese rare earth minerals, and increasing exports of US agricultural products. Trump has been blunt about his ambitions for artificial intelligence (AI) - and clear that he considers China to be the US's main rival for its development.

Trump and Xi exchange warm words at state dinner but little progress on key issues
Europe
BBC Business

Why the PM could finally drop the triple lock pension pledge

Image source, Getty ImagesByFaisal IslamEconomics editorPublished28 September 2026, 08:18 BSTUpdated 4 hours agoThe prime minister's Sunday morning BBC interview set hares running when it comes to the future of a policy once seen as politically untouchable. The timing of the PM's new social care plan sparked suggestions the government could be about to signal the death knell to the state pension triple lock after 16 years. Andy Burnham said he will put forward tough decisions to fund a new national care service as part of Labour's next general election manifesto, seeking a mandate to make the changes next Parliament. The triple lock, which in theory expires at the end of this Parliament, means state pensions rise every April by at least 2.5%, or in line with the highest of prices or earnings. Earlier this month, BBC News put this precise question about changing the triple lock in the next Parliament to Chancellor John Healey, who replied "the PM has said, like I have, that we must bring down welfare costs". It was a non-denial reflecting the fact that the PM has been besieged with advice, including from some of his favourite economists, that scrapping the triple lock, or even signalling it is a future possibility, is a golden opportunity for Britain's economic policy at a tricky moment in the bond markets for all heavily indebted nations. The UK specifically is seen as a place where successive governments have shirked tough long-term decisions. Could this be Burnham and Healey's attempt to shift that perception, even in the slightly wild markets for government borrowing? The politics are trickier. Reform's leaders see the policy as a key potential dividing line with Labour. Many in Westminster privately agree the Osborne-era policy is unsustainable economically, but argue it is politically impossible to unpick. Many pensions campaigners point to the fact that even after increases, the UK's state pension is not generous by international standards, though other countries have very different systems and rates of private provision. Former ministers point out that the quid pro quo of redeploying the pension cash savings towards an in kind care service could shift the argument. The lock is costing £15.5bn a year, treble original estimates of the 2030 cost, especially because of the volatility of prices and earnings.

Why the PM could finally drop the triple lock pension pledge
North America
CNBC Finance

Hyundai expected to outsell Ford in third quarter as Detroit automakers lack hybrids

DETROIT — Hyundai Motor is expected to outsell Ford Motor in quarterly sales for the first time ever, according to a new forecast released Thursday by Cox Automotive. The South Korean automaker is expected to report a 6.5% increase in year-over-year sales from July through September to 511,421 units. That compares with an expected 7.1% decline for Ford over the third quarter to 504,172 new vehicles sold, according to Cox predictions. The expected leaderboard change would make Hyundai the third best-selling automaker in the U.S. behind General Motors and Toyota Motor. That change comes as new vehicle sales have been stronger than expected this year. Cox on Thursday raised its 2026 forecast by roughly 2%, to 16.1 million units. "The automotive market this year has been pretty resilient," Jeremy Robb, Cox chief economist, said Thursday during a media call. "New and used sales are both down year over year, but they're not down really that much." In response to the forecast, Ford said it continues to outsell Hyundai through August. The Detroit automaker also took the opportunity to say that the forecast "does highlight the rapid growth of vehicles imported from Korea – by companies like Hyundai, Kia and GM," which has notably increased its U.S. vehicle sales from South Korean plants this decade. "Currently, due to tariffs, currency, labor costs and supply chains, it is very advantageous to build in Korea versus building in the U.S. -- which Ford does more than any automaker," Ford said in the emailed statement. Hyundai, including its luxury Genesis brand and corporate sibling Kia, has been making major inroads in the U.S. this year. Ford, meanwhile, has struggled with production of its crucial F-Series pickup trucks following two supplier fires last year that disrupted production and sales. Hyundai CEO José Muñoz told CNBC last month that topping Ford in U.S. sales isn't a goal but if it happens, it's because of the company's continued focus on products and execution. "We focus on delivering, the best, safe products to the customer with the highest possible quality," Muñoz said, noting the company is No. 3 in sales globally. "And we end up achieving unbelievable goals." Aside from pickup production troubles, Cox analysts said sales for Ford and its crosstown rival GM are being hindered by a lack of hybrid vehicles — a rapidly growing market in the U.S. amid inflated gas prices.

Hyundai expected to outsell Ford in third quarter as Detroit automakers lack hybrids
Europe
The Guardian

Nvidia unveils security platform to rein in AI agents and $150bn stock buyback

Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, attends the Q&A session with the media during the Nvidia/Japan AI Ecosystem reception in Tokyo on 16 July 2026. Photograph: Philip Fong/AFP/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenNvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, attends the Q&A session with the media during the Nvidia/Japan AI Ecosystem reception in Tokyo on 16 July 2026. Photograph: Philip Fong/AFP/Getty ImagesNvidiaNvidia unveils security platform to rein in AI agents and $150bn stock buybackChipmaker says new system was designed to prevent AI agents from going rogue amid incidents at top companies Nvidia on Monday unveiled a new security platform that the chipmaker said can stop artificial intelligence agents from going rogue. The company announced a $150bn stock buyback the same day, the largest in US corporate history. The chipmaker said that its Open Agent Safety Platform includes open source software that “sets boundaries for agents” and follows a series of revelations from top AI companies about their models escaping and breaking into other organizations. The disclosures have sparked furious debate about the safety of advanced artificial intelligence systems, including self-improving models that some fear could race out of human control. Nvidia executives said in a media briefing that the new system could have prevented a recent incident involving a swarm of OpenAI agents that autonomously hacked into the AI company Hugging Face. “From what we know, this new security platform could have stopped the breach if it was being used in frontier labs for model evaluation early on,” said Justin Boitano, the company’s vice-president of enterprise AI, referring to companies at the forefront of AI. Nvidia also said its board approved expanding its share repurchase program by $150bn, raising the total amount to $235bn. The previous record was held by Apple with its $110bn buyback in 2024. “Our cash generation gives us the capacity to invest in ​the technologies that advance this transformation and return capital to shareholders,” Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, said in a statement. Last month, Nvidia forecast about ⁠70% revenue growth for fiscal 2028, reassuring investors who have questioned ​how long the AI ​spending surge can last after ​years of explosive growth. The Hugging Face incident was a high-profile breach that inflamed safety concerns about AI, which were followed by similar rogue actions involving OpenAI’s models including breaching an Australian health department website. Anthropic and Meta have also disclosed that their AI systems hacked into other organizations on their own. Nvidia’s software, called OpenShell, lets developers “formally verify an agent has enough authority to do its job and no more”, Boitano said.

Nvidia unveils security platform to rein in AI agents and $150bn stock buyback
North America
CNBC Finance

Cat owners are spending more and boosting pet retailers

Cat owners are spending on their feline friends in a bright spot for pet food makers and sellers. Though consumers are watching their wallets as the prices of fuel and groceries rise, sales for cat food and other cat-related products are climbing, according to sellers of those products. General Mills, Chewy and Petco Health and Wellness Co. all called out the segment as a strength in their businesses during their most recent quarterly earnings calls. Sales of dog products, on the other hand, continue to soften. The rise in sales of cat items comes as the American Pet Products Association found a 5% increase in cat ownership in 2025, with an estimated 53 million households having cats. The modest rise last year came after cat ownership surged 23% in 2024. Factors driving the increase in cat ownership could include the ease and affordability of care relative to dogs, along with their ability to live in smaller enclosed spaces like apartments, according to executives in the space. General Mills on Wednesday reported double-digit percentage growth in cat food sales, which includes the brand Tiki Cat. At the same time, sales of dog food fell by a high-single-digit percentage. Those contrasting trends led in part to General Mills' North American pet segment posting net sales that were roughly in line with the year-ago period. CEO Jeff Harmening said on an earnings call on Wednesday that the sales trend was related to the fact that Americans are adopting more cats and fewer dogs. Chief Operating Officer Dana McNabb said, however, that struggles in the company's dog food business could not be blamed entirely on trends in pet ownership. "We really have to relook at the entire proposition of the product, the packaging, the marketing, the communication, we have work to do," she said. "And we had the same challenge on our cat Tastefuls business a few years ago, and it took us about 18 to 24 months to improve it, and that business is back to growth now." Other pet retail companies have called out similar trends in cat and dog products. On a Sept. 9 earnings call, Chewy CEO Sumit Singh said of the company's pet segments: "dog seems to be worsening; cat seems to be strengthening." Petco reported strong sales of cat products in its second quarter, highlighting the launch of its cat treat brand Candy Shop on a Sept. 2 earnings call. "In the second quarter, we introduced new high-impact brands that resonate strongly with cat parents, generating nice gains across consumables, supplements, bedding and furniture," CEO Joel D. Anderson said on the company's earnings call.

Cat owners are spending more and boosting pet retailers