A fired Rockstar Games employee claims the company placed workers on a watch list after they signed a 2023 petition about remote working. Rockstar disputes this, stating 31 Scottish employees were dismissed for sharing confidential information on Discord, not for union activity. An employment tribunal in Glasgow is examining whether the dismissals violated trade union rights.
Central bankers in the US, Japan, and UK face decisions this week on interest rates amid surging inflation and higher oil prices. Fed chair Kevin Warsh must balance pressure from President Trump for rate cuts against inflation concerns, while the Bank of England and Bank of Japan navigate rising energy costs and above-target inflation.
Global bond markets are experiencing a sell-off as surging oil prices above $107 per barrel, driven by Houthi advances in Yemen and the Iran conflict, intensify inflation concerns. Central banks including the ECB are raising interest rates in response, pushing borrowing costs to their highest levels since 2007 in the UK and 2023 in the US, creating fiscal challenges for governments.
Oil prices surged above $100 per barrel for the first time since July as escalating tensions between the US and Iran threaten Middle East energy supplies, with Brent crude rising over 3% and UK gas prices climbing sharply. The conflict has driven petrol prices to four-year highs and sparked concerns about inflation and interest rates, while energy companies' shares rallied on the back of higher oil costs.