Tory election losses cast doubt on Badenoch’s confidence

The wide electoral appeal that once propelled Boris Johnson to power continues to be dismantled by Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats

New York Stock Exchange to open private members’ club on Wall Street

Exclusive social hub planned for renovated vault as NYSE competes with Nasdaq for lucrative tech IPOs

Labour MPs battle over Starmer’s future after election rout

Lucy Powell warns demands for prime minister to step down are reckless

The narrow ceasefire rally

Little love for the S&P 500’s gains

Wales and Scotland favour independence parties

Plaid Cymru set to govern Senedd while SNP is poised to extend 19-year rule at Holyrood

NBA Europe’s path to profit

Also in today’s newsletter: what a boutique bank takeover says about sports

Britain’s elections in maps and charts

Nigel Farage’s Reform UK made sweeping gains in northern England, with a Brexit divide still clear

Photo London 2026

To mark this year’s fair, we invited four artists to show us the capital through their eyes. Plus: feminist photo collage, Thomas Duffield on father-son relations and an interview with The Photographer’s Gallery director

The glory of low expectations

They are the key to happiness — and not a matter of choice

Hendrix and the curse of the charismatic frontman

A recent court case over the rights to the rock star’s catalogue highlights the struggles of musicians seeking their due

Modi’s extraordinary comeback

Two years after losing its majority, the BJP is taking opposition strongholds, paving the prime minister’s way for a fourth term

WHSmith’s new owner makes a contrarian bet on the UK high street

Modella Capital plans to cut as many as 150 WHSmith stores out of the 480 it acquired and bring in new goods and services

The Iranian ‘mosquito fleet’ taking on the mighty US Navy

Tehran’s hundreds of small, fast boats are vital in maintaining its stranglehold on global energy markets

Standard Life and CVC square the circle on defined-benefit pensions

There are more than £1tn of assets sitting in UK retirement schemes that could be picked up in risk transfer deals

Who are the tastemakers now?

Few influencers have the same cultural gravitas as the late American heiress Bunny Mellon

Europe’s €14tn cash pile benefits banks not retail investors, BlackRock warns

World’s largest asset manager says governments must address under-investment of retail money in capital markets

Retail investors turn away from commercial property holdings

Rising interest rates and lower demand have hit returns in the past decade

Trump, Xi and the bid for a ‘grand bargain’ between superpowers

As the US president prepares to visit Beijing, America no longer holds all the cards — but China knows it must tread carefully

Hannah Barry on turning a Peckham car park into a cultural hotbed

Ahead of a new season of the Bold Tendencies festival, its founder reflects on its impact for artists and communities

The sailors who keep ‘ghost’ tankers moving

Working on an oil tanker under sanctions was a job like any other — until they ended up in the line of fire

Inside the White House’s most inscrutable marriage. (No not that one)

What the union of Stephen and Katie Miller says about Maga world

Why is central London one long pizza queue?

Viral pizza-slingers like Crisp have given a timeless formula fresh appeal

We are living in the age of the middleman

Special envoys are the new peacemakers precisely because they are unburdened by diplomatic expertise

The places where we seek wisdom

In a world seemingly obsessed with youth, we can easily miss the gifts that come from our elders