2022

• European blue-chip earnings are projected to grow 11.5% year-on-year in Q1 2026, according to LSEG data published on May 15. • This growth marks the first margin expansion since 2022, ending a long decline that followed the post-pandemic commodity boom. • The recovery is largely driven by surging AI demand, evidenced by massive year-to-date gains for semiconductor firms Aixtron (189%) and STMicroelectronics (133%).

• ESPN has provided a recap of major soccer storylines and developments that have occurred since the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. • A primary focus is the leadership of Brazil's new coach, Carlo Ancelotti, a five-time Champions League winner known for his tactical expertise and distinct sideline habits. • Ancelotti is now tasked with making the critical decision regarding Neymar's involvement and role within the Brazilian national team.

• The House of Commons Library has published a comprehensive timeline documenting the major events of the Russia-Ukraine conflict from the February 2022 invasion to the present. • The report tracks key military developments, diplomatic efforts, and geopolitical shifts resulting from Russia's full-scale aggression against Ukraine. • This resource serves as a critical reference for policymakers and the public to understand the progression of the war and the evolving strategic landscape.

• Indian stock markets experienced a significant downturn, with the Sensex recording its worst May performance since 2020 and the Nifty logging its worst since 2022. • Sectoral losses were led by Nifty Oil and Gas, which fell 2.58%, followed by Nifty Auto at 2.29%, while Consumption, Metal, and Rural sectors declined between 1.85% and 2.01%. • The crash is attributed to the ongoing West Asia crisis, though Asia-Pacific markets rose on Friday, including Japan’s Nikkei 225 (+1.52%) and South Korea’s Kospi (+1.73%).

With third-highest number of books banned, state removes renowned work about slave trade from library shelvesA Tennessee school district has banned Roots, the author Alex Haley’s groundbreaking novel and one of the most renowned and influential works about the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade.Knox county schools (KCS) took that step under a state law that has disappeared hundreds of titles from school libraries and alarmed advocates of free expression. Continue reading...

Bank holiday traffic predicted to peak on Thursday, as petrol and diesel prices surge from fallout of Iran warBusiness live – latest updatesDrivers are being urged to hunt for the cheapest petrol and “to fill up as usual” as UK travellers prepare to make 21.7m journeys on what is expected to be the busiest Easter on the roads in four years.The average price of a litre of unleaded petrol rose by 20p from 132.83p on 1 March to 152.83p by the end of the month, raising concerns about the cost of filling up for Easter journeys, as rising oil prices triggered by the US-Israel war with Iran translated to higher prices at the pumps. Continue reading...

DNA testing confirmed bones found on Salmon Creek beach belonged to Walter Karl Kinney, a man last seen in 1999Human remains discovered in the summer of 2022 on a beach in California recently were identified as those of a former banker who disappeared in 1999.The DNA Doe Project (DDP) on Thursday announced that bones found on Salmon Creek state beach in northern California in June 2022 – by a family searching for seashells – belonged to 59-year-old Walter Karl Kinney, a former banker who lived in nearby Santa Rosa. Continue reading...

• Crude oil prices have climbed to their highest levels since 2022, driven by geopolitical tensions from the ongoing Iran war and uncertainty over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. • President Trump extended his self-imposed deadline to "obliterate" Iran's power plants to April 6, contingent on Iran allowing oil tankers to freely exit the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz. • The elevated oil prices are contributing to market volatility, with Wall Street experiencing daily fluctuations as investor sentiment shifts between hopes for war resolution and renewed concerns.

President also held on to record from his first term so sensitive only six people had access, says letter from leading Democrat on House judiciary committeeHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.The White House says Donald Trump “did nothing wrong”, amid reports that he showed off a classified map on a 2022 flight to his New Jersey golf club.Violence continued across much of the Middle East a day after Donald Trump said the US was in “very good” talks with Iran to end the war in the region soon. Iranian barrages targeted Israel, Gulf Arab states and northern Iraq on Tuesday, while Israeli and US warplanes continued to carry out strikes across Tehran and on other targets in the Islamic Republic. More here.Democrats managed to flip a seat in the Florida state house in the district that is home to Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago. Emily Gregory, a Democrat, defeated Republican Jon Maples, who had an endorsement from the US president, in the special election in Florida’s 87th state house district. The Associated Press called the race on Tuesday evening, with Gregory, a public health expert and small business owner, leading by more than 2 percentage points. More here.Donald Trump on Tuesday swore in Markwayne Mullin as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), while Senate Republicans unveiled a compromise that would restart funding to most of the agency but appears to exclude reforms to immigration enforcement Democrats have demanded. More here.Donald Trump has described voting by mail as “cheating” at an event in Memphis, Tennessee, just days after casting a mail‑in ballot himself. “Mail-in voting means mail-in cheating. I call it mail-in cheating, and we got to do something about it all,” the US president said on Monday, in remarks to a roundtable on his administration’s crime taskforce. More here.Workers with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are reeling from the White House’s deployment of immigration law enforcement into airports as TSA workers enter their sixth week without pay as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown continues. More than 400 TSA workers have quit since the shutdown began in February, with major US airports reporting high call-out rates among workers, leading to longer security wait times. More here.The California governor, Gavin Newsom, backtracked on earlier remarks likening Israel to an “apartheid state” in a new interview with Politico published on Tuesday. In the interview, the Democrat, who is widely expected to launch a presidential bid in 2028, said that when he used the term three weeks ago, he meant it to apply to Israel’s future should it continue on its present trajectory. More here. Continue reading...

• The US long winter COVID-19 wave is ending with all major metrics showing declines or plateaus in SARS-CoV-2 spread nationwide as of mid-March 2026. • COVID-19 test positivity dropped to 2.5% for the week ending March 14, the lowest since 2022, while emergency department visits for COVID reached just 0.4%. • Cases are declining or likely declining in 45 states per CDC forecasts as of March 17, with flu-like illness visits down 12% to 3.3% and RSV levels also falling.

• A federal jury ruled Elon Musk liable for defrauding Twitter shareholders by intentionally driving down the stock price to renegotiate or exit the $44 billion takeover deal in 2022. • The verdict was reported by Reuters and Bloomberg News on Friday, with damages to be determined in a later phase of the trial. • This ruling holds significant implications for corporate takeover accountability, potentially affecting future high-profile mergers involving public companies.

Musician, AKA Michael Tyler, faces up to 20 years after entering plea in state court outside Baton Rouge, LouisianaThe US rapper Mystikal on Tuesday pleaded guilty to third-degree rape in connection with a case that led to his arrest in 2022.Mystikal – whose given name is Michael Tyler – faces up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty in a state courthouse outside Baton Rouge, Louisiana, according to reports from local news outlets WBRZ and WAFB. Continue reading...

Author says he doesn’t ‘feel symbolic’ and hopes to steer narrative to his books after surviving assassination attemptSalman Rushdie said he’s tired of being everyone’s “free speech Barbie” four years after the author survived an assassination attempt that left him blinded in his right eye.“It’s a subject I’m anxious to change,” Rushdie said Friday during a talk with the Atlantic’s George Packer at Tulane University’s New Orleans book festival. “I don’t feel symbolic. Continue reading...