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Europe
BBC Business

Why switching to save money is easier than you might think

ByKevin PeacheyCost of living correspondentPublished4 hours agoSeeking out a better deal from your broadband, pay TV and energy suppliers? While you know it could save hundreds of pounds, you might be wondering if it's worth the hassle. But often it only needs one call or a couple of clicks - and banks even pay an incentive to people who switch their main current accounts. Regulators have made the switching process easier in recent years, encouraging people to shop around when cost of living pressures have intensified. Which deals are the best for you still depends on your circumstances, but here are some of the ways that switching works. Virgin Media has just been fined £28m by regulator Ofcom for repeatedly preventing customers from cancelling contracts. The communications regulator said it uncovered tactics including agents deliberately hanging up calls, and customers being put on hold "for no reason". Millions of calls from customers were likely to have been mishandled over a three-year period which prevented or delayed them from switching to a better broadband, landline or pay-TV deal. Anyone switching now shouldn't face the same hassle. Ofcom's One Touch Switch service, launched in 2024, means you only have to contact your new provider, not negotiate with the old one. Ofcom says you should check whether you are in or out of contract, external, as you could face exit fees. Some people are motivated to switch because they are fed up with the service from their old supplier. Many do so in order to save money. So, customers may still decide to call their current provider in order to negotiate a better deal, or ask them to match the offer they could get by switching. In years gone by, most people would get a bank account early in their adult life and stick with it for decades. Competition now sees banks try to win over new customers by offering cash to switch - but only if you use their current account as your main account.

Why switching to save money is easier than you might think
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

CAG raps Maharashtra as ₹82.78 cr helicopter lay idle for 17 months, flags ₹2 cr avoidable cost

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has criticised the Maharashtra government for the delay in appointing a maintenance agency for a ₹82.78‑crore helicopter bought for anti‑Naxalite operations, leaving it grounded for 17 months and causing an avoidable expense of ₹2.07 crore. In its Compliance Audit Report for the year 2024, tabled in the State legislative assembly on July 10, the CAG said the Directorate of Aviation, Government of Maharashtra, took nearly 10 months to appoint a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) agency after the helicopter was delivered. "The delay of about ten months in finalising the MRO agency resulted in the helicopter not receiving the mandatory daily checks and engine ground runs required to maintain its airworthiness," the report said. The state government had approved the purchase of the helicopter in May 2018 to facilitate anti-Naxalite operations in Gadchiroli and neighbouring areas. The (Maharashtra government's) Directorate of Aviation bought the H-145 (VT-GOV) helicopter from M/s Airbus Helicopters, Germany, for ₹82.78 crore in July 2019. It was delivered on September 18, 2019, and underwent its acceptance test flight a week later. The audit said the helicopter could not be operated without a valid certificate of airworthiness and mandatory maintenance by a Directorate General of Civil Aviation-approved MRO agency. As no such agency had been appointed, the helicopter was placed under short-term preservation by the supplier on September 26, 2019. According to the CAG, M/s Indamer Aviation Pvt Ltd was appointed as the MRO agency only on July 13, 2020. Since the helicopter remained without mandatory maintenance, it had to undergo Return to Service (RTS) procedures before it could fly again. The state Directorate of Aviation obtained the DGCA approval in September 2020, after which the RTS work was carried out for Rs 2.07 crore. "The helicopter had to be placed under short-term preservation and subsequently undergo RTS procedures, for which an expenditure of ₹2.07 crore was incurred. The delay also rendered the helicopter unavailable for operational use for over 17 months from the date of delivery," the report said. The airworthiness certificate was issued on December 2, 2020, and the helicopter was finally pressed into service on February 19, 2021, one year and five months after it had been handed over to the state government. "The lapse indicates inadequate planning and weak contract management in the Directorate of Aviation, which led to avoidable expenditure," the CAG report said. The state Directorate of Aviation did not furnish its comments despite repeated reminders after the audit pointed out the issue in July 2024. The matter was referred to the state government in September 2025, and its reply was awaited, the report added. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

CAG raps Maharashtra as ₹82.78 cr helicopter lay idle for 17 months, flags ₹2 cr avoidable cost
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

What to know about new rules and technology behind FIFA World Cup's most contentious calls

It was another game-changing moment at the World Cup that had more to do with television replays in a room far away than a moment of brilliance on the field. The sending off of Switzerland's Breel Embolo in Saturday's quarterfinal game against Argentina was the latest call that may have left fans scratching their heads, not least because of the confusing name of the newly implemented law that swung the match. It is called the "mistaken identity" rule. Yet, technically, Embolo was not shown a second yellow card — resulting in a red — for a case of mistaken identity. It was because the referee Joao Pinheiro did not see in real time that the forward had simulated a foul under a challenge from Argentina's Leandro Paredes. Paredes was initially shown a yellow card, which is a key factor. Under FIFA rules, because Paredes was shown a card, the video assistant referee (VAR) can intervene and recommend that the on-field official review the sideline monitor. After review, the referee deemed Embolo to have committed a "clear simulation" and showed him a second yellow card and sent him off. The rules state that the VAR can assist when the referee penalises the "wrong team for an offence that results in a red or yellow card being shown to the wrong player." It was a pivotal point in the match, coming five minutes after Switzerland had made it 1-1. Argentina won 3-1 after extra time. "The referee made the wrong decision," Switzerland coach Murat Yakin said. "I know they will protect their referee, but this rule destroyed our game today, and it's very painful, and to be eliminated in that way hurts a lot." It is not the first time at this World Cup that teams have hit out against new rules or technology. Newly tightened regulations contributed to Germany's shock elimination in the round of 32. Defender Jonathan Tah's potentially game-winning goal in extra time against Paraguay was ruled out after VAR review for a foul on goalkeeper Orlando Gill. Replays showed Germany's Waldemar Anton push Gill to the ground, but the minimal contact led to criticism of the decision. FIFA's referees chief Pierluigi Collina said officials had been told to punish incidents when players try to block opponents and make no attempt to play the ball, especially where goalkeepers are concerned. Germany went on to lose the game in a penalty shootout, with Tah firing a decisive spot kick over the bar. Elimination could have a seismic effect on German soccer, with coach Julian Nagelsmann resigning and Jurgen Klopp expected to take over.

What to know about new rules and technology behind FIFA World Cup's most contentious calls
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella warns of 'Reverse Information Paradox' facing businesses in AI Age

Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella explained that enterprises need a real trust boundary for their human capital and token capital to compound, as a company should be able to use a model without giving up the knowledge that makes it unique. This "reverse information paradox" is the central challenge that businesses need to confront in the age of intelligence. Nadella, on X, stated that while Nobel Prize-winning economist Kenneth Arrow described a paradox where a seller risks giving away knowledge to sell it, artificial intelligence creates the opposite problem. "In the AI age, the buyer risks giving away knowledge, just in order to use what they bought," Nadella said. "You essentially pay for intelligence twice, once with money, and again with something even more valuable: the proprietary knowledge you must reveal to make that intelligence useful. The better you want the model to perform, the more of that knowledge you have to feed it!.....That is what I think of as the Reverse Information Paradox." He noted that over time, the information asymmetry becomes increasingly skewed because the seller learns more about the buyer, while the buyer learns very little about what the seller learns in return. According to Nadella, resolving this issue requires more than standard data protection. Models learn continuously from "exhaust," which includes user prompts, agent tools, and corrections made when a model is wrong. "Every correction is distilled into institutional know-how," Nadella stated. "It's the kind of knowledge a competitor could never buy, and the kind that leaks almost imperceptibly: trace by trace, correction by correction, eval by eval. In consuming intelligence, you are creating intelligence. And what you create should belong to you." He pointed out the irony in the current status quo, where model providers utilize fair use rights to train on public data but then impose restrictive terms on distillation and reserve the right to learn from customer usage. Nadella stated that if learning flows in only one direction, economic value converges toward the infrastructure owners rather than the knowledge creators. Consequently, distributing learning infrastructure to every firm is imperative so they can control their own learning loop.To secure this boundary, Nadella outlined that enterprises must focus on control, capability, choice, cost, and compounding. This involves creating private evaluations, retaining ownership of organizational memory, building proprietary learning environments within a tenant boundary, and decoupling the orchestration layer from any single model to ensure long-term cost efficiency and value compounding. Quoting Palantir CEO Alex Karp, Nadella highlighted the growing demand among technical customers for absolute autonomy over their proprietary systems. "What the technical customers want is control over their compute, their models, their data stack, and their alpha," Nadella quoted Karp. "They want to know they own the means of production, and it's not being transferred to someone else." Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella warns of 'Reverse Information Paradox' facing businesses in AI Age
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Tata Motors launches new Ultra Prime and Starbus Prime Range

Tata Motors showcases next-generation passenger mobility solutions at Prawaas 5.0, launches new Ultra Prime and Starbus Prime Range. Tata Motors, a leading commercial vehicle manufacturer, has launched an all-new Tata Ultra Prime and Tata Starbus Prime range of buses. Designed to deliver superior comfort, enhanced safety and higher operational efficiency, the new-generation buses underscore the company’s commitment to shaping the future of passenger transportation across India. The company also presented a comprehensive range of mobility solutions spanning multiple applications and powertrains, including the LPO 1620 CNG, Ultra Prime LPO 412, Ultra Skool 9/9 EV, Magic EV, Winger Plus and Ultra Prime RE Concept. Together, the portfolio reflects Tata Motors’ focus on delivering safe, sustainable and customer-centric mobility solutions for urban, intercity and institutional transport. Anand S, Vice President and Business Head – Commercial Passenger Vehicles, Tata Motors, said the company’s vehicle showcase this year reflects the company’s deep understanding of customer needs across applications, be it employee transport, leisure travel, school transport or last-mile connectivity. With lower operating costs of the LPO 1620 CNG, enhanced safety and comfort of the new Ultra Prime range, and the expansion of electric mobility through the Ultra Skool 9/9 EV and Magic EV, each solution has been engineered to address a specific customer requirement, he added. Backed by the company’s extensive service network and support ecosystem, these offerings will help customers maximise uptime, improve operating economics and deliver a superior travel experience, enabling them to grow their businesses profitably, he added. At Prawaas 5.0, Tata Motors presented one of the industry’s most comprehensive passenger mobility portfolios, spanning conventional and electric powertrains across school, staff, tourism, intercity, intracity and last-mile transportation applications. Tata Motors’ passenger mobility solutions are supported by an extensive nationwide network of over 4,600 sales and service touchpoints. Customers benefit from Sampoorna Seva 2.0, the company’s integrated service ecosystem offering 24x7 assistance, annual maintenance solutions and assured parts availability. Complementing this is the Tata Motors Fleet Management Solution, enabling enhanced fleet visibility, higher uptime and improved operating efficiency. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

Tata Motors launches new Ultra Prime and Starbus Prime Range
Europe
The Guardian

Trump’s consumer protection head has earned grudging respect – but does he have the authority to do his job?

Chris Mufarrige said doubters should look at his agency’s record and expect more tough consumer-friendly moves this summer. Composite: The Guardian/FTCView image in fullscreenChris Mufarrige said doubters should look at his agency’s record and expect more tough consumer-friendly moves this summer. Composite: The Guardian/FTCConsumedConsumer rightsInterviewTrump’s consumer protection head has earned grudging respect – but does he have the authority to do his job?Heather TimmonsChris Mufarrige has taken aim at Facebook scams and junk fees, but consumer advocates say he has an uphill climb As the director of the Federal Trade Commission’s consumer protection bureau, Chris Mufarrige is the top enforcer protecting Americans against predatory companies. The Trump administration’s push to defund and dismantle the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, carve-outs for Trump-friendly companies, pardons of white-collar criminals and the firing of FTC commissioners raise doubts about how effective his agency can be. And recent data about Donald Trump’s stock trading and crypto windfalls undermine the anti-corruption push. Mufarrige told the Guardian that doubters should look at his agency’s record, and expect more tough consumer-friendly moves this summer. Since taking the job in early 2025, he has pledged to expand oversight of finance companies and settled with Amazon, StubHub, Instacart, Shutterstock and others on deceptive subscriptions and pricing. An April FTC report spotlights the role Meta’s Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram play in scams that cost consumers $2.5bn in 2025. This week, the FTC joined five states to force Deere & Co to allow farmers to repair tractors and other equipment, a push started by the Biden administration. “The Facebooks of the world, they have a responsibility here to deal with … clearcut fraud on their platforms,” he said. Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Trade Commission Act into law in 1914, creating an agency with dual anti-trust and consumer-protection mandates to tackle “unfair methods of competition in or affecting commerce and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce”. The FTC’s five-member commission is down to just two Republican members, after Trump fired two Democrats in 2025, a move the supreme court backed. The agency has cut 287 employees overall since the end of 2024, according to government data. The following transcript has been edited for clarity and brevity, from interviews conducted before Trump’s latest financial disclosures. This administration has been criticized for siding with business over consumers, and the president and his family for business deals that benefit from his position. Does that impact how effective you can be at your job? It has not impacted my job one bit. I would put our last 15 to 16 months, our record, up against anybody’s. We’ve been extremely active with cases against LA Fitness, Live Nation, Ticketmaster, Uber, Amazon. How does your approach contrast with your predecessors in the Biden administration?

Trump’s consumer protection head has earned grudging respect – but does he have the authority to do his job?
Europe
The Guardian

Licensed to drill? How a Trump-linked Texas oil company is elbowing its way into Greenland

At a meeting in Ittoqqortoormiit, a settlement of 300 people, Robert Price said he believed $1tn of crude lay beneath Jameson Land. Photograph: Adrian Wojcik/Getty/iStockphotoView image in fullscreenAt a meeting in Ittoqqortoormiit, a settlement of 300 people, Robert Price said he believed $1tn of crude lay beneath Jameson Land. Photograph: Adrian Wojcik/Getty/iStockphotoGreenlandLicensed to drill? How a Trump-linked Texas oil company is elbowing its way into GreenlandGreenland Energy says billions of barrels of crude could lie beneath territory and claims it has permission to bring drilling kit ashore – a claim denied by Nuuk On 10 June, a snowy-haired American in his 60s addressed the residents of a remote Greenland hamlet. He was there to tell them about a business venture supported by figures linked to Donald Trump. “So,” Robert Price said via an interpreter, “we have a project to drill for oil here.” The Texas oil company that Price represents, Greenland Energy, hopes to prove that billions of barrels of crude lie underground by bringing in 300 shipping containers of drilling kit. “We have the permit to put the equipment on the land,” footage of the gathering in Ittoqqortoormiit shows Price saying. “And then we’ve filed our permits – pending approval – to drill.” But Greenland’s resources ministry said that contrary to Price’s claim, there were “no actually active permissions for any exploration activity or permissions for preparations for these activities”. The dispute threatens a showdown between the Trump-linked backers of Greenland Energy and the authorities in the vast, sparsely populated territory. Trump’s lieutenants are using the prospect of an American oil find in Greenland to bolster their case for an American takeover. View image in fullscreenJeff Landry, right, on a visit to Nuuk in May as Trump’s special envoy to Greenland. Landry said the territory ‘could be exporting 2m barrels of oil a day’. Photograph: Christian Klindt Soelbeck/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP/GettyThe US president’s special envoy to Greenland, the hard-right Louisiana governor, Jeff Landry, returned from a visit in May to declare on Fox News: “We need a deal. Greenland needs a deal. We could be – Greenland could be – exporting 2m barrels of oil a day right now.” Landry, who says his task is to “make Greenland a part of the US”, added: “We could have those barrels on production within 10 months or so.” Greenland Energy appears to be the only company making plans to drill in the territory. Despite seemingly not yet having permission, it has chartered an Arctic-going vessel to ferry its equipment 4,000km through icy waters to Greenland’s eastern coast. Price, an energy industry veteran who has become the public face of the company, said the vessel would depart in two months, on 12 September, with drilling to begin in October. Halliburton, the giant Houston-based contractor once led by the former Republican vice-president Dick Cheney, will run the logistics. Ever since Trump made his imperial desires for Greenland explicit, US business interests have been gaining footholds in its vast expanses. The ventures range from rare-earth minerals and hydroelectric power to bottling “luxury” spring water. Greenlanders have watched nervously as Trump has exercised US military power and toyed with doing so in the Danish territory. The day after he sent special forces to snatch the leader of Venezuela, Trump said: “We do need Greenland, absolutely.” Trump cited oil as the reason the US needed to stamp its authority on Venezuela. The US has since extracted oil revenues of about $8bn with scant oversight.

Licensed to drill? How a Trump-linked Texas oil company is elbowing its way into Greenland
North America
CNBC Economy

China consumer price growth weakens in June while producer inflation rises to near 4-year high

China's consumer prices grew slower than expected in June, while wholesale inflation accelerated, as elevated energy costs continued to sap domestic demand. Consumer prices rose 1% in June from a year ago, missing economists' estimates of 1.1% growth in a Reuters poll, and slowing from 1.2% in May, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday. Core CPI, excluding volatile food and energy prices, also rose 1% in June from a year earlier, edging down from the 1.1% increase in May. Food prices declined 1.6% from a year earlier, easing from a fall of 1.7% in May. The producer price index jumped 4.1% from a year earlier, in line with economists' forecast and outpacing May's 3.9%. That marked the strongest growth since July 2022, according to LSEG data. On a month-on-month basis, however, PPI declined 0.3%, official data showed. "Oil prices are by and large on an easing course, and this will prevent PPI from going higher," said Tianchen Xu, senior economist at Economist Intelligence Unit, while attributing the year-on-year strength to the low-base effect. "Factories can't fully pass on cost increases to downstream clients," Xu added, highlighting the entrenched weakness in domestic demand. The producer prices recorded its worst decline in almost two years in June last year, falling 3.6% from the prior year, as a deepening price war rippled through the economy. They returned to growth in March with input costs rising on the back of the Middle East conflict, helping end one of China's longest deflationary streaks in decades. Besides higher commodity costs owed to war-led supply disruptions, wholesale prices have also been lifted by a growing demand for artificial intelligence computing power, pushing up prices for tech equipment and semiconductors. China's manufacturing activity expanded faster than expected in June, with experts citing external demand including for AI-related tech as driving the momentum. Many investors in China increasingly view the two-speed growth — marked by robust exports versus weak consumption and housing market — as a defining long-term feature of the Chinese economy, said Neo Wang, China strategist at Evercore ISI. Consumer sentiment remains subdued as households continue to grapple with the negative wealth effect stemming from the prolonged housing downturn, Wang added. The export and manufacturing-led economic resilience is expected to reinforce Beijing's reluctance to roll out stimulus to revive tepid consumer demand. "Policymakers are likely to refrain from major new stimulus unless the slowdown persists beyond the conflict," said Gabriel Wildau, managing director at Teneo. Wildau points to a top policy meeting by the 24-member Politburo of the Communist Party in late July as "the next opportunity to escalate policy stimulus."

China consumer price growth weakens in June while producer inflation rises to near 4-year high
Europe
BBC Business

How Aldi is taking on US supermarkets with its $4 almond butter

When Mary Porter walked into Manhattan's newest Aldi store hunting for bargains, the long-time resident found what she considered a retail miracle in plain sight: a $4 jar of almond butter that costs $22 in her own neighbourhood. "Aldi has the reputation for being inexpensive, so I thought I would come and check it out, and by golly, it is amazing," Porter, 79, told the BBC, marvelling at the savings alongside the fresh spinach and organic raspberries filling her basket. To the unassuming passer-by, the storefront is completely hidden, tucked away in an underground parking lot beneath The Ellery, a luxury apartment complex where the cheapest rent starts at nearly $5,000 (£3,725) a month. In fact, the building's own website completely omits the grocer from its curated online neighbourhood guide, choosing instead to highlight pricier nearby options like Whole Foods and Brooklyn Fare. But step past the luxury façade into the basement, and the quiet disappears. Even on an early Tuesday afternoon in July, the brightly lit, bustling space hums with high energy as a lunchtime crowd of New Yorkers tightly navigates the narrow aisles with oversized canvas bags. Porter's discovery is part of Aldi's $9bn US expansion plan to add 800 new stores over five years, specifically targeting dense urban hubs like Manhattan. It marks a massive scale-up for the German supermarket, which first entered the US in 1976 and has steadily grown its footprint to nearly 2,800 storefronts. The aggressive real estate blitz signals a bold shift for a brand traditionally associated with suburban strip malls and lower-end consumers. Incumbent US grocers may look with some concern at the insurgency Aldi pulled off since it entered the UK market in the 1990s. Alongside fellow German supermarket Lidl, Aldi picked up huge swathes of the market by offering cheaper prices for high-quality goods. The traditional "big four" grocers at the time - Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons - were slow to respond to the new competition, leaving the challengers to gradually pick off their shoppers. Its rapid growth is being mirrored across Europe, its rise aided by easing perceptions of it as a strictly lower cost grocer as shoppers became increasingly impressed by the quality of its products. The cost of living crisis of the 2020s further fuelled its ascent. However, while Aldi is rapidly ascending the ranks of American grocery consciousness, it is not, and may never aim to be, Walmart. Aldi currently holds just 2.9% of the US grocery pie, while Walmart controls about 20%.

How Aldi is taking on US supermarkets with its $4 almond butter