Greater Greenfield MA - Franklin County

Chancellor to take Treasury questions amid market turbulence linked to Middle East conflictReform UK leader, Nigel Farage, and his Treasury spokesperson Robert Jenrick are expected to hold a press conference at a petrol station in Derbyshire shortly and will no doubt be accusing ministers of not doing enough to help motorists.Writing in The Sun, Farage and Jenrick said:If Reform were in government, it would never have happened. We will spend the next few months trying to shame Rachel Reeves into cancelling it.But if she doesn’t – whether because she’s running scared of the Greens or in hock to her far-left backbenchers – then Reform will reverse it in our first budget. Because what she’s doing just isn’t fair. Continue reading...

José Antonio Kast, who voted against legalising divorce in 2004, has pushed for return to total abortion banWomen’s rights activists in Chile are bracing as the most conservative president since the Pinochet dictatorship prepares to take office on Wednesday.José Antonio Kast, a 60-year-old ultra Catholic whose father was a member of the Nazi party, has consistently blocked progressive bids for women’s rights and equality across his three-decade career in politics. Continue reading...

Election will be a test of Trump’s sway and may provide a rare opportunity for Democrats in the southern stateSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxA special election for the successor to Marjorie Taylor Greene’s congressional district in Georgia on Tuesday will be a test of Donald Trump’s sway, and may provide a rare opportunity for Democrats in a deep-red pocket of the southern state.Republican former prosecutor Clay Fuller is likely to come out of Tuesday’s jungle primary, in which the top two candidates go to a runoff regardless of party, alongside retired army general Shawn Harris, a Democrat. The two would face a run-off election on 7 April. Continue reading...

US president says war is ‘very complete’ and threatens worse strikes if passage of oil via strait of Hormuz is blocked; IRGC says it will not let out ‘one litre of oil’Oil prices drop sharply after Trump moves to reassure marketsTrump says Iran war is ‘very complete, pretty much’ as economic toll risesHow have you been affected by the latest Middle East events?Investor hopes for a swift resolution to the Middle East conflict propelled Australian shares higher today, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 finishing the day up 1.1% and recovering about $35bn in value after yesterday’s $90bn plunge.Oil prices surged to a four-year high early in the week before coming back down below $US90 a barrel after Donald Trump suggested the Iran conflict would end soon, sending global stock markets higher. Continue reading...

Growing fears that elevated interest rates will continue, as Barclays finds worries that war will push up inflationBusiness live – latest updatesA leading British housebuilder has warned the Iran conflict could knock homebuyer sentiment, amid growing fears of a jump in inflation and a prolonged period of elevated interest rates.Persimmon said it was “monitoring the impact the conflict with Iran could have on our markets in 2026”, but noted that consumer sentiment could be sensitive amid more financial uncertainty. Continue reading...