Revealed: Key projects that could feature in the budget

📍Top line: The upcoming UK budget is expected to focus on major infrastructure projects to support economic growth, the transition to net zero, and the enhancement of public services. Below are some of the significant projects still under consideration:

• Lower Thames Crossing: A £9 billion tunnel project to relieve M25 traffic congestion, potentially funded by private investors through toll revenue.

• HS2 to Euston/Extra Birmingham-Manchester Rail Capacity: Revived plans for HS2 to extend from Old Oak Common to Euston and new rail options heading north.

• Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR): A £30.6 billion rail project connecting northern cities, with some mass-transit funding potentially reduced.

• Railway Restoration Projects: £500 million plan to reopen rail lines closed in the 1960s, with several schemes facing delays or cancellation.

• Reservoirs: Thames Water’s new reservoir near Oxford to address water shortages, funded by water bill increases instead of Treasury subsidies.

• Schools: Potential reallocation of £1 billion in unspent capital to repair crumbling school buildings, with schools possibly needing to reapply for funds.

• Hospitals: Some paused hospital rebuilds, like West Suffolk Hospital, may be revived, but others could face extended delays.

• Low-Carbon Energy: Government-backed plans for renewable energy expansion and a direct 20% stake in the £20 billion Sizewell C nuclear power project.

New Starbucks boss pledges change after dire sales

📍Top line: Starbucks' new CEO, Brian Niccol, has announced plans to revamp the coffee chain as the company grapples with declining sales.

Key Points:

• Global same-store sales fell 7% in Q4, with a 6% decline in the U.S. and 14% in China.

• Starbucks suspended its annual forecast due to the CEO transition and poor business performance.

• New CEO Brian Niccol plans to simplify the menu and improve customer experience to restore growth.

• The company's stock price fell 3.8% after the release of the Q4 results.

• Starbucks aims to address employee benefits, reduce bottlenecks, and streamline processes to improve store operations.

• Critics argue that Starbucks has strayed from its roots as a community coffeehouse, negatively affecting customer experience.

Elsewhere in business:

🍔 The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that McDonald's Quarter Pounder sandwiches have been linked to an E. coli outbreak in the U.S., sickening 49 people across 10 states. Ten patients were hospitalized, and one person has died. Most cases occurred in western and Midwest states. The company's shares dropped 9% after the news.

🏦 British health tech company Zoe, which gained popularity with endorsements from celebrities like Davina McCall, has announced a second round of layoffs within six months. Once recognized as one of the fastest-growing companies in the UK, Zoe became well-known for its bright yellow blood sugar sensors that users wore on their arms.

Government to slash foreign aid spending

📍 Top line: The government is set to reduce overseas aid spending in the upcoming Budget, declining to continue top-ups that previously compensated for funds being diverted to domestic asylum seeker housing, according to the FT.

Key Points:

• UK aid spending could fall to 0.36% of GNI, the lowest since 2007, due to reduced funding.

• A growing portion of the development budget is being used to house asylum seekers in the UK, with £4.3 billion spent last year.

• The Home Office is under pressure to reduce the backlog of 120,000 asylum claims and cut accommodation costs.

• Labour’s projected cost for the asylum system is expected to rise to £6.4 billion this year, and efforts are being made to cut it by at least £800 million.

• Former chancellor Jeremy Hunt previously allocated £2.5 billion to the aid budget to offset these domestic expenditures.

Elsewhere in the economy:

🇬🇧 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised its growth forecast for the UK economy, now predicting a growth rate of 1.1% for this year, an increase from the previous estimate of 0.7%. While this growth is modest compared to historical standards, it positions the UK among the average global performers.

💷 Rachel Reeves is considering increasing taxes on major online companies like Amazon as part of her effort to support UK high street shops in her upcoming budget. This initiative forms part of a broader plan to reform the current business rates system, which many believe disadvantages brick-and-mortar retailers.

Investment management firm Baillie Gifford has opened applications for its 2025 Technology Solutions Graduate Scheme in Edinburgh. Successful applicants will be immersed in the increasingly technology-driven sector, collaborating with internal clients to develop technical systems and applications meeting their objectives. The scheme is open to STEM subject graduates. Apply now here.

Meta to clamp down on celebrity scammers

📍Top line: Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is set to introduce facial recognition technology to combat scammers who use fake celebrity endorsements in ads.

Key Points:

• Celebrities like Elon Musk and Martin Lewis have been targeted in scams promoting fraudulent investment schemes.

• Meta’s system will compare flagged ad images with celebrity profile photos to detect fraud and remove ads.

• Early tests of this technology have shown "promising results," with Meta planning to expand in-app notifications for affected public figures.

• The problem of scams has worsened with the use of deepfake technology, making it harder to detect fraudulent ads.

• Meta will also use facial recognition to help users unlock social media accounts, comparing video selfies with profile images.

• Privacy concerns exist, and facial recognition won’t be available in the UK or EU initially due to regulatory issues.

Elsewhere in tech:

🤖 Thom Yorke, Julianne Moore, and 10,500 other creatives have signed a statement warning AI companies against using their work without permission. The artists claim AI training on unlicensed creative content is an "unjust threat" to their livelihoods. This comes amid growing legal battles over the misuse of intellectual property to train AI models like ChatGPT.

❌ Meta has removed several accounts on Threads and Instagram that were used to track the private jets of celebrities and business leaders, including its CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The decision comes amid concerns over potential “physical harm” to individuals being tracked, with the accounts relying on publicly available data such as jet locations and CO2 emissions.

🍺 Small breweries across the UK are moving away from the term “craft beer” and instead adopting “indie beer,” warning that large global corporations have misled many consumers into thinking once-independent brands are still artisanal and authentic. A YouGov survey has highlighted the confusion, revealing that 40% of respondents believed that Neck Oil, brewed by Heineken-owned Beavertown, was still independent.

🚨 Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries, along with his partner Matthew Smith, has been arrested and charged with running an international prostitution and sex trafficking ring. The charges accuse Jeffries and Smith of using force, fraud, and coercion in violent and exploitative sexual acts involving men recruited from around the world.

🇺🇸 Donald Trump's campaign has filed a legal complaint against the UK's Labour Party, accusing it of providing "illegal foreign campaign contributions and interference" to support Kamala Harris in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. The complaint claims that Labour strategists, including key figures from Prime Minister Keir Starmer's team, have assisted Harris's campaign.