The weekend edition of the Financial Times is one of several papers to lead on the news that the UK is out of recession. It says Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is taking "heart" from the "stronger than expected" economic growth in the first three months of the year - and says it is a "boost" for him ahead of the general election.
The FT also highlights that Britain's growth beat the US and the Eurozone in the first quarter, but carries a Labour warning that the UK economy is “still £300 smaller per head” than when Mr Sunak became prime minister in October 2022.
The "economy's going gangbusters" is the Daily Mail's headline after what it calls the "shortest and shallowest recession on record".
"That's positive!" declares the Daily Express - adding that the UK economy is getting "back to full strength".
Meanwhile, the i reports that the Treasury is working on plans for what it calls a "2p Tory tax giveaway in September". The paper says the chancellor is understood to be targeting a cut to National Insurance "weeks ahead of the election", if the economy allows.
It says Labour insiders fear that the general election could become a repeat of 1992, when Sir John Major's Conservative Party pulled off a shock victory. Anneliese Dodds - who chairs Labour - tells the paper: “We can be very good at losing elections people thought we would win."
The Guardian leads on the UN General Assembly backing a Palestinian bid for full membership of the UN. The paper says the "highly charged gesture" drew an immediate rebuke from Israel. But it says the vote signals what it calls "Israel's growing isolation" over the war in Gaza, and the extent of the humanitarian crisis.
The Times reports that private schools face a "testing time". It says the number of children being enrolled has dropped by the biggest proportion in more than a decade - with admissions falling by 2.7% this academic year. The paper says the independent schools' sector blames Labour’s pledge to put VAT on fees if it wins power.
"Euro division" is how the Sun sums up this year's song contest in Sweden. The paper says Eurovision has been plunged into crisis ahead of Saturday's final, with more than 20,000 pro-Palestinian protesters expected to turn out against the inclusion of Israel's contestant, Eden Golan. The Sun says some UK venues have also decided not to show the event - or face what it calls a "mob backlash".
Finally, the Guardian reports that tennis fans at Wimbledon may be treated to the "cream of the crop" of strawberries this year. It says many farms have borne the brunt of the extreme, wet weather during the winter. But berry growers tell the paper that if it is cool, that means strawberries ripen more slowly - and are bigger and juicier.
According to a report, President Biden’s proposed 2025 budget would increase the top marginal rate on long-term capital gains and qualified dividends to an astonishing 44.6%.
The crypto industry recorded its biggest-ever U.S. policy win on Wednesday when the House of Representatives approved a wide-reaching bill to establish regulations for digital assets markets, recording a 279-136 vote that saw Democrats crossing party lines to support it.
After several unexpectedly high inflation readings, Federal Reserve officials concluded at a meeting earlier this month that it would take longer than they previously thought for inflation to cool enough to justify reducing their key interest rate, now at a 23-year high. Minutes of the May 1 meeting, released Wednesday, showed that officials also debated whether their benchmark rate was exerting enough of a drag on the economy to further slow inflation. Many officials noted that they were uncertain how restrictive the Fed's rate policies are, the minutes said.
Microsoft President Brad Smith said the tech company's high profile deal with the United Arab Emirates-backed AI firm G42 could eventually involve the transfer of sophisticated chips and tools - a move that a senior Republican congressman warned could have national security implications. In an interview with Reuters this week, Smith said the sales accord, many details of which are being reported here for the first time, could progress to a second phase that entails the export of crucial components of AI technology such as model weights, a crown jewel of AI systems that determine how powerful they are. Smith said there is no firm timeline for the second phase.
Ty Cobb, former Special Counsel to President Trump & former Federal Prosecutor, shares his insight on why the public has to wait a week before the jury will be able to deliberate on former President Donald Trump's hush money trial. Cobb states that he expects the jury to convict Trump, and talks about why he thinks the former President did not testify in his own defense. Ty Cobb speaks with Kailey Leinz and Joe Mathieu on Bloomberg's 'Balance of Power."
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The USD continues to rally against the lowly Japanese yen on Tuesday, as the market will eventually have to settle on what the Bank of Japan can, or more to the point, cannot do.