Happy Monday. Anybody for some good UK transport related new for a change? Well here you go: In May 2022, the Elizabeth line burst onto the scene in London - and as we’re approaching the three year anniversary it’s worth a nod to the progress.

Transport boffins reckon 700,000-720,000 passengers take this line every day! For context - the busiest highway in Los Angeles supports 500,000 vehicles a day, and the busiest highway in the whole of North America (Canada’s Highway 401) peaks at about 550k per day. So while our economic might may not be what it once was, we still win at trains - and that’s what really matters. Genuine success on the tracks, just don’t mention HS2.

Notable UK earnings this week: quiet week for UK earnings, check back next week.

Notable US earnings this week: Goldman Sachs (GS), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C), United Health Group (UNH), American Express (AXP).

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🔌 £380m government grant for Somerset car battery gigafactory. Read more

🏗️ Plans submitted for Salford waterfront housing. Read more

Told you we’d get a Lidl drunk
Lidl has started work on its first-ever pub in Dundonald, east Belfast, with a summer 2026 opening pencilled in — because when the law bars you from selling wine in-store, the sensible thing is to build a pub next door. The new venue will be separate from the shop, hold about 60 customers and sell “selected lines” from Lidl’s beer, wine and spirits range, with a nod to local suppliers.

This curious outcome is a product of Northern Ireland’s strict licensing regime: supermarkets can only buy licences that have been “surrendered” by another business and must pass an “inadequacy” test proving the area lacks licensed premises. Two nearby bars had closed, freeing a licence, but Lidl failed the inadequacy test for a standard off-sales licence — so they chose to apply for a licence that comes with the right to operate an off-sales section by running a bona fide pub. Novel? Yes. Clever? Certainly. Legal? A High Court judge said so.

Co-op to buy Southern Co-op
The Co‑op Group has put forward plans to take over Portsmouth‑based Southern Co‑op, in a move that would add roughly 300 food, funeral and Starbucks outlets across the south of England. The merger would use a “transfer of engagements” — the traditional co‑op way of folding two societies together — and still needs the nod from members.

If approved, Southern’s c.300,000 members would join the Co‑op Group’s seven million‑strong membership, expanding the society’s footprint in Hampshire, Dorset and beyond. No price has been disclosed, and the deal is only expected to complete in the final quarter of 2026 if members back it — so there’ll be plenty of room for ballots and leaflets.

The takeover brings more than shops: the Co‑op would also pick up three crematoria, beefing up its funeral services arm. Charming, if you like vertical integration into eternity — and timely given ongoing scrutiny of funeral costs and an ageing population that keeps the sector in the headlines.

Island impasse
Britain’s Chagos Islands deal has been unceremoniously yanked after Donald Trump labelled it “great stupidity” - never the kiss of approval. The plan was to hand sovereignty to Mauritius while leasing back Diego Garcia, a crucial UK–US military base.

But with Washington wobbling, Downing Street has popped the whole thing in the diplomatic freezer. Critics call it a costly climbdown; or a human rights violation, officials insist it was the only way to keep Uncle Sam sweet. Either way, the empire strikes pause.

Rental rush
Back home, landlords appear to be playing beat-the-clock before the Renters’ Rights Act kicks in next month. Tenant groups say “no-fault” evictions are spiking as some owners clear house before new protections arrive. Landlords, naturally, say they’re just weighing risks. Tenants, less naturally, are packing boxes.

Farage frenzy
Nigel Farage is juggling two mini-storms: a police look at Reform’s “free energy bills” raffle (possibly a whiff of old-school vote wooing), and a row over defending Kanye West’s right to enter the UK. Kanye was banned from entering the UK, and caused Wireless festival, where he was scheduled to perform, to be cancelled completely. Critics, see culture war theatrics; Farage sees free speech.

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Video gamers urged to apply for air traffic control
The Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Transportation are literally recruiting players to run the skies, with a plea to gamers to take up roles in air traffic control. The FAA is trying to plug a shortfall that has it running on 11,000 controllers and 4,000 trainees, but still needing thousands more.

The DOT’s bet is that gaming skills transfer: quick decision-making, sustained focus and juggling complex information under pressure. Fair point — and it’s a clever pivot: aim for the 65% of Americans who play video games, rather than relying on the roughly 25% of controllers with traditional degrees.

A late-2025 Government Accountability Office report found controller numbers fell about 6% over the last decade and flagged inconsistent recruiting and training assessments — shortages aggravated by Covid, government shutdowns and a wave of retirements. Safety worries have been sharpened by recent incidents, most notably the March LaGuardia collision involving an Air Canada Express flight and a firetruck, which is still under investigation and has focused attention on heavy workloads and thin staffing - all with a summer World Cup looming in just a couple of months!

Ackman pitches for Universal
Pershing Square has pitched a takeover of Universal Music Group worth about $64.3bn (£48bn), with billionaire Bill Ackman proposing a merger that would re‑list the music giant in the US. Universal — home to Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, Sabrina Carpenter, Abbey Road and labels such as EMI and Island — would swap its Amsterdam listing for a New York spotlight if the deal goes through.

Ackman lavished praise on Sir Lucian Grainge and his team, saying they’ve built a world‑class roster and navigated AI opportunities while defending intellectual property. Still, he argued the stock has “languished” and blamed external factors, not the music, for the underperformance — notably an 18% holding by the Bolloré Group and a delayed US float.

Markets sang along at first: Universal’s shares leapt nearly 30% on the news, settling later about 10% up. Pershing already owns a stake and, if successful, Universal would likely become the only major record label on the S&P 500 — a tidy American encore that some insiders, like ex‑Universal VP Adrian Cheesley, call more about financial engineering than day‑to‑day change.

Moon mood
Artemis II has splashed home after a 10-day loop around the moon, and NASA’s four astronauts were greeted like moon rock stars. Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen came back from the farthest human trip ever, survived the 23,000mph (30 times the speed of sound and more than 6 miles a second) fiery plunge through Earth’s atmosphere, then promptly got sentimental about families, teamwork and our “tiny Earth”.

Fair enough: when you’ve spent ten days staring into the cosmic abyss, home does look rather lovely. More than a stunt, the mission was a dress rehearsal for getting human boots back on the cheesy surface. The plans for habitation/colonisation by both the USA and China are quite something, the lunar base race is on!

Motor mania
Nederland is the first in Europe to let Teslas drive themselves. Tesla’s FSD (Full Self-Driving) has been approved there, meaning the car can accelerate, steer, brake and park, but the driver must still stay alert and responsible, and will take the driver from A to B without them touching a thing except go. The Dutch could become Europe’s test track for Musk’s motoring ambitions.

Scroll scold
And Greece has decided enough is enough with teenage doomscrolling, planning to ban under-15s from social media from 2027. The government says anxiety, sleep loss and addictive platforms are to blame; many parents seem to agree. Athens wants the EU to follow suit too. The children, one imagines, will be absolutely thrilled.

Polar plunge
China has drilled a rather audacious hole - 3,413 metres deep - into Antarctica’s ice, reaching the buried Qilin Subglacial Lake and smashing the previous record. Using hot water instead of mechanical drills, the expedition carved a cleaner, faster path through ice thicker than most people’s patience on a Monday.

The point isn’t just bragging rights: these hidden lakes are time capsules for ancient climates and possibly extreme life. In short, it’s science at full kettle - boiling through ice to better predict Earth’s future, while proving China can now poke around most of the polar ice sheets without making a mess.

Ballot box brinkmanship
Meanwhile, Hungary heads to the polls, where Viktor Orban - 16 years in power and counting - may finally be shown the door. Once a liberal reformer, now the EU’s resident contrarian, he’s built an “illiberal democracy” and kept cosy ties with Moscow, much to Brussels’ irritation.

His challenger, Peter Magyar, promises a Western reset and has united a usually fractious opposition. With economic grumbles rising and electoral rules tilted, the result could be decisive - or deliciously chaotic. Either way, Europe is watching with its tea going cold.