Federal Reserve Chair Powell under criminal investigation over HQ renovation
11 Jan

Federal Reserve Chair Powell under criminal investigation over HQ renovation

News in Focus
​ The U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Columbia has opened a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, focusing on the renovation of the central bank’s Washington headquarters and whether he was truthful in his congressional testimony about the project. Officials told The New York Times, which was first to report the probe, that it centers on whether Powell accurately characterized the scope and cost of the renovation during congressional appearances. THE FED’S $2.5B RENOVATION IS IRKING PRESIDENT TRUMP AND TEAM Powell confirmed the Federal Reserve had been served. He said he respected the rule of law…
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Hawaii: A Kingdom Crossing Oceans review – a feather-filled thriller full of gods, gourds and ghosts
11 Jan

Hawaii: A Kingdom Crossing Oceans review – a feather-filled thriller full of gods, gourds and ghosts

Art
​ British Museum, LondonThis retelling of Captain Cook’s death and the merging of two cultures is a trove of miraculously preserved wonders – but beware of the shark-toothed club! Relations between Britain and the Pacific kingdom of Hawaii didn’t get off to a great start. On 14 February 1779 the global explorer James Cook was clubbed and stabbed to death at Hawaii’s Kealakekua Bay in a dispute over a boat: it was a tragedy of cultural misunderstanding that still has anthropologists arguing over its meaning. Cook had previously visited Hawaii and apparently been identified as the god Lono, but didn’t…
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UK business confidence weakened and hiring fell at end of 2025, surveys find
11 Jan

UK business confidence weakened and hiring fell at end of 2025, surveys find

Social Economy
​ Rising costs and economic uncertainty take toll, in contrast to Keir Starmer saying Britain will start to feel richer UK business confidence weakened sharply at the end of 2025 and hiring fell amid rising costs and uncertainty about the economic outlook, according to key business surveys. Contrasting with the prime minister’s optimistic new year message that the country was about to start feeling richer again, the jobs market weakened, with full-time and temporary appointments falling in December, according to a study by the accountants KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC). Continue reading...  Read More from Economics |…
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