Hugo Boss shares jump as it ‘thoroughly examines’ Frasers’ takeover offer

Mike Ashley’s retail group has made near-€2bn bid for the German fashion house, in which it holds a 26% stake

Global growth is slowing to lowest level since pandemic, says World Bank

Forecast for this year downgraded to 2.5% and inflation expected to jump as a result of war in the Middle East

BT boss takes home £5.6m as pay and bonus package more than doubles

Allison Kirkby pocketed the payment after BT’s share price surged nearly 80%

ITV says its biggest-yet World Cup is a ‘six-week Super Bowl’ for advertising

Broadcaster reveals revenues from expanded tournament are running about 30% higher than for Euro 2024

ECB raises eurozone interest rates as Iran war stokes inflation

European Central Bank increases main deposit rate to 2.25%, with two further rises expected by next spring

Young people in Britain are suffering a joblessness epidemic – and, so far, Labour is just making it worse

Youth unemployment is harming the mental health of a generation. A sluggish economy will only make things harder, says Guardian columnist Larry Elliott

China’s Jingye seeks compensation from UK over British Steel takeover

Sources say firm is asking for more than £1bn in row that could put pressure on two countries’ relationship

Met police chief calls for law to make stolen phones ‘unusable bricks’

Home secretary also urged to force tech firms to share data on stolen devices and if they are reactivated

Ryanair investigated over charging parents to sit with their children

Budget airline describes inquiry as ‘bogus’ as watchdog says it is only large carrier flying from UK to impose charge

Home Office contractor investigates claims of staff racism and hate speech

Whistleblowers from Mitie allege some employees have made offensive remarks or liked abusive social media posts

Labor to set terms for datacentre and AI growth as it vows not to repeat mistakes of resources boom

Assistant minister agrees concerns over resource usage are legitimate but argues Australia cannot ignore ‘consequential’ economic wave

Australian billionaire Brett Blundy wages high-stakes campaign to oust chair of Victoria’s Secret

Blundy’s investment firm, BBRC International, owns about 13% of the US-listed lingerie brand, giving it a potential platform to launch a hostile takeover

Mike Ashley’s Frasers makes €1.98bn takeover bid for Hugo Boss

Fashion and sportswear group, which owns 26% of the German luxury brand, is now seeking full control

Trump says ‘I love the inflation’ as rate rises to 4.2% amid Iran war pressure

Before the conflict began, inflation was at 2.4%, but the closure of the strait of Hormuz has affected energy prices

UK minister defends changes to student loans as criticism mounts

Lucy Rigby tells MPs heavily subsidised system gives the government the right to alter terms of existing agreements