Latest Developments

Europe
BBC Business

UK's third-biggest taxpayer to leave for Greece

Image source, University of Cambridge/PA MediaByRaphael Sheridan and Mitchell Labiak, Business reportersPublished8 September 2026, 09:23 BSTUpdated 2 hours agoA hedge-fund billionaire and one of the UK's richest taxpayers has decided to leave the UK for Greece, the BBC understands. Chris Rokos plans to open an office in Athens, according to reports. Greece has generous tax rules for wealthy foreigners earning overseas income. Rokos was ranked third in The Sunday Times list of Britain's top taxpayers, having paid £330m last year, and in March said he would donate £190m to Cambridge University. Rokos's representatives declined to comment. A government spokesperson said: "The UK remains an attractive destination for talent and investment". "The chancellor has made wealth creation one of his top priorities," the spokesperson said, adding that the UK has "a competitive and stable tax system, deep capital markets, world-class universities and a highly skilled workforce". It is not publicly known why Rokos has made the decision, which was first reported by Bloomberg, but Greece's tax-rules are seen as attractive to the ultra-wealthy. They allow foreigners who meet certain criteria to pay a flat yearly tax of €100,000 (£86,000) on all overseas income. Dan Neidle, the founder of the think tank Tax Policy Associates, told the BBC's Today programme that the £330m in tax revenue the UK could lose was "quite a lot of money". "It is enough to fund 4,500 teachers... we have entire taxes that raise less than £330m." "He will probably pay almost nothing in Greece, and we can't compete with that," he added. Despite the potential loss, Neidle said there are "no easy answers and no good statistics" on the issue of ultra-wealthy taxpayers leaving the UK. He said the Treasury has some estimates on the number of wealthy people leaving, but otherwise there are few facts about the true scale of the revenue loss.

UK's third-biggest taxpayer to leave for Greece
Europe
BBC Business

I'm 27 and I've already written my will - here's why

Image source, Erin AtkinsonByFlorence FreemanPublished4 hours agoWriting a will is probably not on the to-do lists of most 27-year-olds. But Erin Atkinson has already decided what should happen to her money and belongings when she dies. "At first it felt quite surreal because you associate wills with older people," she says. Erin works in psychological research at a London university and moved to the capital from Bristol four years ago. She now rents and, although she did not want to share her exact salary, does not see herself as particularly wealthy. Even so, she has already decided where some of her things should go. Her £7,000 car will go to her sister. A gold necklace given to her by her partner will go back to him. And she has asked for some of her money to go to a cause that matters deeply to her. "It felt really empowering that I could have that written down to say I want X amount donated." For many young people, however, making a will may not seem necessary, particularly if they feel they have little to leave behind. The 2025 National Wills Report found that just one in five 18 to 24-year-olds has a will in place. That rises to 33% of 22 to 34-year-olds, compared with 56% of people aged over 55. Sophia Maslin, founder of Morby, an app that allows people to create wills online, says the idea that you need to own a lot before making a will is one of the biggest misconceptions she comes across. "People believe they don't own enough. But actually, if you've got some sort of savings, investments, pensions, your social media accounts, if you've got pets, even funeral wishes, these are all things to think about," she says. For Erin, the idea of making a will first came up when her friend bought a home.

I'm 27 and I've already written my will - here's why
North America
CNBC Finance

Longtime Fox News host Maria Bartiromo disputes reports of termination

Maria Bartiromo is disputing reports that she was terminated from her longtime gig as a host of various segments for cable TV networks Fox News and Fox Business. "The irresponsible reports that have been published stating that Maria Bartiromo was fired or is no longer an employee of Fox are absolutely and unequivocally false," her attorney said in a Friday statement. "Make no mistake, we have the receipts and witnesses and they will come out whether through the courthouse or otherwise. Those reporting her firing or the incredulous facts supporting that fiction have exhibited a complete and utter reckless disregard for the truth." Fox News, in response to Bartiromo's comments Friday, said its brief statement from a day earlier "speaks for itself." On Thursday, Fox Corp.'s Fox News Media announced Bartiromo had parted ways with its networks. "We thank Maria for her work over the last 12 ½ years and wish her all the best on her next chapter," Fox News said in Thursday's statement, without providing reasoning or cause for her departure. Various media outlets have since reported that Bartiromo was fired for violating company policy. A former CNBC anchor, Bartiromo led the daily show "Mornings with Maria," as well as the Friday program "Maria Bartiromo's Wall Street," on Fox Business Network. She also led Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures." The conservative network Fox News is the top-rated cable TV news channel in the U.S. Bartiromo was one of the Fox News anchors named in the Dominion Voting Systems defamation case in which the company accused Fox of making false on-air allegations that Dominion had helped rig the 2020 presidential election when Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden. While Bartiromo was scheduled to testify as a witness if the lawsuit went to trial, Fox agreed to pay $787.5 million to settle the lawsuit in 2023. Fox faces a similar ongoing defamation lawsuit with Smartmatic USA, in which Bartiromo is also a defendant. Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services. Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis.

Longtime Fox News host Maria Bartiromo disputes reports of termination
Europe
BBC Business

OpenAI says it cracked 90-year-old maths problem in 88 hours

Image source, ReutersImage caption, Sam Altman has in recent years become one of the most well known tech CEOs in the world. OpenAI says it has found a solution to a decades-old advanced maths problem in a matter of hours using a new artificial intelligence (AI) model and thousands of AI bots. The ChatGPT-maker said on Tuesday, external that by focusing a group of roughly 10,000 AI agents, or AI bots that undertake tasks somewhat autonomously, it solved a notoriously difficult maths problem in just 88 hours. The problem was part of the Navier-Stokes equations, external, which concern how fluids move. For 90 years important aspects of the problems have lacked a proof, the argument underlying a correct math equation. OpenAI called the solution which it found a "milestone" and evidence that AI tools are improving quickly. OpenAI's solution has yet to be verified independently or publicly accepted by The Clay Mathematics Institute, a maths organization based in the US which runs the Millennium Prize that offers big money to the first to solve certain mathematical conundrums. The company said that at the end of August, it started to train a new model that quickly showed that it was adept at maths. AI models are computer programs trained on huge amounts of data to recognize and predict patterns in information. While the new OpenAI model remains a tool only used within the company, as it is "significantly more capable" than the company's most recent AI model release, its researchers decided to use it on certain notable advanced maths problems. OpenAI admitted that last week on 1 September, it had "heard rumors that two Millennium Prize problems had been resolved" and so decided to put thousands of AI bots trained on the new internal model to work attempting to solve some of the remaining problems. By Sept 5, or roughly 88 hours after it had set 10,000 AI bots to the task, OpenAI had found a solution to what's referred to as the Navier–Stokes existence and smoothness problem. The problem is at the heart of turbulence, which is a phenomenon that is still not well understood. Although it took the AI bots seemingly little time to reach a solution, OpenAI said the bots exchanged nearly 3 million messages and used up 130 billion output tokens, or the individual lines of text and code an AI model produces in answers, on Navier–Stokes alone.

OpenAI says it cracked 90-year-old maths problem in 88 hours
Asia-Pacific
The Straits Times

US derivatives regulator clears faster payouts for tipster awards under $6.3 million

Established after the 2008 financial crisis, the CFTC’s whistle-blower programme aims to motivate people to share original, timely tips to help the agency crack down on bad actors. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) plans to automatically award successful whistle-blowers 30 per cent of any enforcement penalties collected if a tipster is due to receive US$5 million (S$6.3 million) or less, the agency said on Sept 11. The derivatives regulator said the change would speed up payouts and reduce paperwork for the majority of whistle-blower awards and align the agency’s whistle-blower programme with its fellow Wall Street watchdog, the Securities and Exchange Commission. Established after the 2008 financial crisis, the CFTC’s whistle-blower programme aims to motivate people to share original, timely tips to help the agency crack down on bad actors.Qualified whistle-blowers may be eligible for payouts ranging from 10 per cent to 30 per cent of collected penalties. Analysing each award to determine the percentage takes time, the CFTC said when it proposed the automatic threshold in June.Setting a set amount for smaller penalties – which make up more than 80 per cent of the CFTC’s whistle-blower awards – will free up resources to devote to larger, more complex cases, the agency said in the final rule. “The whistle-blower programme plays an important role in supporting the commission’s enforcement programme,” Whistleblower Office director Raagnee Beri said in a statement. “This final rule will protect and enhance the programme’s effectiveness and further incentivise whistle-blowers to report.” BLOOMBERG

US derivatives regulator clears faster payouts for tipster awards under $6.3 million
Europe
BBC Business

Scammers demand ransoms from Instagram users over fake copyright claims

Extorters have filed bogus claims to the Meta-owned social media platform, then asked for ransoms to withdraw them - knowing repeated claims can lead to account bans. One Instagram user, who has 1.5 million followers, told the BBC he paid a scammer $50 (£37) to get his account back, claiming Meta's appeal process would take weeks, which had previously cost him thousands in lost income. "We understand this can be frustrating for those impacted, and our systems are designed to protect people from this happening in the first place," a Meta spokesperson said. "Following our review, we have restored the affected content and added additional protections to safeguard accounts against further attempts of this kind." However, content creators the BBC has spoken to say Meta is poor at identifying obviously spurious cases, and say its appeals process is slow to respond unless you pay a monthly fee. The Lost in Time History Instagram account posts historical pictures to its more than 1.5 million followers. Its creator Olly, who did not share his last name, told the BBC he posts pictures in the public domain or where he has permission from the rights holder. Meta does not check the authenticity of complaints when they are made, so if someone is hit repeatedly, their account can be temporarily taken down. Olly says he often gets struck for multiple posts at a time, all from the same email address. He then gets contacted by the person asking to go on to the private messaging app Telegram. "They'll demand a certain amount of money," he said - usually amounting to a few hundred dollars - to withdraw the claim. Olly ultimately agreed to pay an extorter $50 in cryptocurrency to restore his account, which had been temporarily taken down by Instagram.

Scammers demand ransoms from Instagram users over fake copyright claims
North America
CNBC Economy

Women accounted for almost all of job gains in August. Here's why

Women accounted for 158,000 — or around 98% — of the 162,000 jobs added in the month, according to a CNBC analysis of data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Men represent the remaining 4,000 net positions added, meaning their contribution to overall payroll growth was nearly 40 times smaller. The Economic Security Project, a progressive nonprofit, first pointed out the anomaly in Friday's data. With Friday's report, the gap between the number of jobs held by women compared with men climbed to levels never before seen, according to Laura Ullrich, director of economic research at the Indeed Hiring Lab. "We are in the midst of a shift," Ullrich said. "It is changing right before our eyes." Friday's report offers the latest signal of how much momentum women are gaining in an otherwise lackluster job market. Compared with 12 months ago, the BLS found that the level of employed women has grown by more than 870,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis. The male gender has lost nearly 1.5 million employed workers over the same timeframe. Part of the recent outperformance among women could stem from what sectors are driving labor force expansion. Healthcare, considered the engine of labor market growth for more than a year, continued adding positions in August. Upwards of four out of every five workers in the industry are women. The local government and education sector roared back to life in August, accounting for 42,000 jobs — or about a fourth of the total net gain. Women hold close to three-quarters of positions related to education, training and libraries. But Friday's report also showed their hiring prowess in sectors like manufacturing that are considered male-dominated, Ullrich said. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for women came in at 3.9% in August, down 0.4 percentage points from the same month a year prior. The male rate jumped to 4.4%, equal to where it sat in August 2025.

Women accounted for almost all of job gains in August. Here's why
North America
CNBC Finance

Labor Day marks the start of 'fallcations' as wealthy travelers avoid summer crowds

Fall is the new peak season for luxury travel, as the wealthy continue to shift their holidays to September and October to avoid the summer crowds, according to a new study. Fall bookings for luxury travel and experiences are up 59% compared with last year, while sales surged 69%, according to Virtuoso, the global luxury travel network. September is now a peak month, with sales up 77%. October and November sales are up 54% and 71%, respectively. Virtuoso calls it the "fallcation," with the wealthy moving their typical summer getaways to autumn. "Especially for the high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth group, we're seeing huge gains for fall this year," said Misty Belles, vice president at Virtuoso. "September is really eclipsing August. That shoulder season is no longer really a shoulder season. It's becoming a peak season unto itself." While the shift to fall has been happening for years, it accelerated in 2025 and 2026, travel experts said. Summer heat waves in Europe have made travel in July or August increasingly unpleasant. Growing wealth and the shift in spending from goods to experiences have fueled more luxury travel and ever-growing crowds in popular destinations like southern Italy and France. Top hotels and restaurants are often fully booked and charging ever-higher prices, making a summer trip to Europe often an exercise in disappointment. Demographics also play a role. Most wealth is now held by baby boomers, who are often retired and enjoying global travel. Gen Xers are joining them, since their kids are often grown and are no longer tied to the school calendar. Add in the millennial and Gen Z digital nomads, who aren't tied to the office, and the population of wealthy travelers who can ditch the traditional summer months in favor of fall is growing. "Wealthy travelers have more experience. They have experienced destinations in the summer," Belles said. "They know it's hot. They know it's crowded. They know it's not often the best time to see a destination, so they're shifting over to fall because the lines are going to be shorter, less crowded and the temperatures are more moderate." The most popular destinations for wealthy Americans this fall are largely in Europe, according to Virtuoso. Paris is the top destination, followed by the Amalfi Coast, the French Riviera, Tuscany in Italy and then New York. London, Lake Como, Italy, Maui, Hawaii, and Rome are also popular. There are signs, however, that the fallcation is recreating some of same problems travelers are trying to avoid in the summer. Hotel rates in Europe for September are now close to summer rates, with some charging even more, travel experts said. Average daily hotel rates are up 131% in the Greek Isles, 78% in Puglia in Italy and 179% on the French Riviera, according to Virtuoso. Crowds in Southern Europe could start to rival July and August, especially in wealthier resorts. "I don't think they're expecting no crowds," Belles said. "But they are expecting a better experience than they would see in the summer and I think that's going to continue for a while."

Labor Day marks the start of 'fallcations' as wealthy travelers avoid summer crowds
Europe
BBC Business

'I performed on stage to get my first job' - the firms turning recruitment into competitions

Yumi Liberman was up on stage in front of a panel of judges and an audience of 300 people, and she had to perform. But rather than singing, dancing or playing a musical instrument, she and two friends were in an auditorium in London in 2024 to pitch their business idea, hoping to secure a full-time job with cosmetics giant L'Oreal. "It reminded me of when I used to do competitive sports growing up and the pressure would get heavy," says Liberman, now 24. "But somehow you just get into flow mode." She and her friends had got through to the UK final of Brandstorm, an international competition run by the French company, where young adults outline their product and business ideas. Their proposal for a haircare app saw them crowned UK winners and they went on to that year's global final in Paris where they came third. While only members of the team that finished first automatically got full-time jobs, Liberman had so impressed senior figures at the company that she managed to secure a place on its marketing management traineeship, with a full-time position at the end. Turning recruitment into X Factor-style competitions, with jobs as the prize, generates publicity and buzz for companies. But for the young people involved, is it exciting - or unfair? In the current global economic environment, youth unemployment is higher than the national average in many countries, as companies are reluctant to take on new staff. In the UK the unemployment rate for young adults is 16.2%,, external compared to the overall level of 4.9%., external Competitions like L'Oreal's can offer hope. But the vast majority of the 380,000 people around the world who applied for it this year, up 58% from 240,000 in 2025, didn't win anything. L'Oreal told the BBC that its Brandstorm competition works well because it helps the company attract a wider range of potential new recruits, including young people who wouldn't necessarily have thought of applying for a job at the firm. Yet while Liberman says she enjoyed the formal competition structure, others who have been through similar recruitment competitions are critical. Melissa Alcruz now works in marketing for a US real estate business based in New York City, but in the past she did the same job for TV channel MTV.

'I performed on stage to get my first job' - the firms turning recruitment into competitions