Happy Monday. One of our countries greatest current exports ramps up again next week as the Premier League 2026/27 season starts. Call that a reminder for the Fantasy Football deadlines too - and send a league code around your office to get people involved, why not.

In the same spirit, try your luck against the Teapot admin and other readers with the FPL code xbwdr8. Let’s be having you!

Notable UK earnings this week: BAE Systems (BA.), Kingfisher (KGF), Spirax Group (SPX), B&M (BME).

Notable US earnings this week: Walmart (WMT), Home Depot (HD), Target (TGT), Lowe’s (LOW), Alibaba (BABA).

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🌊 OEG wins Gennaker OWF contract for corrosion protection. Read more

🏥 Supply chain event opens up for hospital construction work. Read more

🏗️ JV lands lead construction for National Grid upgrade in NW London. Read more

Second quarter growth for UK economy
The British economy managed a decent summer-sized bounce in the second quarter, growing by 0.4% between April and June, according to official figures. That was in line with expectations, though a touch softer than the 0.6% seen in the first three months of the year — because, naturally, the economy does love a bit of drama when everyone else was hoping for a quieter run-up to the bank-holiday season.

The Office for National Statistics said growth remained “relatively robust”, with the UK ahead of other G7 nations so far this year. But economists were quick to slap a warning label on the good news, pointing out that much of the lift came from temporary factors such as warm weather and sporting events — the sort of thing that gives hospitality a nice boost before everyone returns to rationing optimism and checking energy bills.

The economy is now 1.2% bigger than a year ago, despite anxieties around the conflict in the Middle East and political uncertainty closer to home. Fergus Jimenez-England of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research said the UK had “weathered the recent energy shock better than many feared”, though he cautioned that the current pace of growth may not last. Translation: resilience is nice, but it won’t pay the gas bill forever.

Frasers swoops for Harvey Nichs
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has snapped up Harvey Nichols after the upmarket department store fell into administration, because apparently even luxury retail has to queue up for a rescue these days. The Sports Direct owner has said it will oversee a turnaround of the British institution, though not without the sort of “tough choices” that usually accompany a corporate makeover and, in retail terms, mean the scissors are coming out.

The deal followed an auction in which Frasers beat rival Next for control of the brand, in a contest that had all the glamour of a derby-day scrap but rather more balance sheets. Harvey Nichols had already warned in its latest accounts that it might have to “cease trading” within a year unless it secured fresh investment — a reminder that even the grand old names of the high street are not immune from the sort of pressures that have been hammering retail from all sides.

Farage’s Fancy Victory
Nigel Farage has won the Clacton by-election for Reform UK, though the winning candidate skipped the count.

Count Binface, the satirical candidate, made gains and finished second.

Trump’s AI Washington weekend
As you do, Donald Trump spent part of the weekend sharing yet another flurry of AI-generated oddities, this time picturing himself showing George Washington around a brand-new White House ballroom. In the clip, Trump strides about with plans in hand while Washington nods along like a guest being politely shown the conservatory at a country house, only with rather more gold trim and slightly less plausibility. Nothing gets decision makers onboard with your plans like an AI video of a hero seeming approving - I’m going to do the same showing Winston Churchill my loft conversion after the planning permission was rejected.

The substance behind the spectacle is far less fanciful. Trump’s proposed $400 million ballroom has been put on hold after a federal appeals court ruled he could not push through such a major White House change without Congress signing off. The court did, however, allow work on an underground bunker beneath the site to continue — because nothing says “modern democracy” quite like a luxury ballroom above a fortified bolt-hole.

Trump’s weekend of digital rebranding also included an AI image of him and Washington on horseback, plus another of the pair apparently writing together with feather quills over a map. It’s pageantry by algorithm, and very on-brand for a president whose Truth Social feed often reads like a fever dream with admin rights.

Leavitt going to leave it
Karoline Leavitt, the youngest White House press secretary in history and one of Donald Trump’s sharpest defenders, will leave her role at the end of the month, the US president said on social media. Leavitt said on X that she had made the “bittersweet decision” after returning from maternity leave and deciding she could not give the job and her two young children the sort of attention they deserved. Even Washington’s most relentless spin machine has met its match in nursery logistics and the family focus trade off.

Leavitt has been described as one of Trump’s closest advisers and fiercest defenders during his second term, and her departure lands at a tricky moment for the White House. The administration is juggling foreign and domestic headwinds, while the run-up to the midterms will demand polished messaging and a press operation with all the subtlety of a Brit trying to complain about the weather without sounding like they’ve entirely given up.

BlackBerry Bounceback

Once the phone every executive, celebrity and president seemed glued to, BlackBerry is enjoying an unlikely revival. Its handsets may be long gone, but its QNX software now powers cars, while its encryption technology serves governments and banks. The company has returned to positive cash flow and its shares have surged, proving that in tech, sometimes the comeback is quieter—and considerably more useful—than the original.

Books, Bots And Bother

Secondhand booksellers are seeing enormous, mysterious orders, with speculation that AI companies are buying books to scan and train models. Some volumes may ultimately be destroyed during the process, raising awkward questions about copyright and cultural preservation. Useful for AI, perhaps; slightly less useful for the poor 18th-century book that survived everything only to meet a scanner.

Meta’s Major Makeover

Meta is facing a huge US trial over allegations that Instagram and Facebook harm young users. Thirty states want sweeping changes, from ending like counts and infinite scroll to restricting notifications and addictive recommendation systems. A defeat could force changes across platforms used by millions—and make scrolling endlessly at 2am considerably harder to blame on “just checking one thing”.

Crypto Gets Cosier

A US regulator has conditionally approved a bank charter linked to Donald Trump’s family-backed crypto venture, World Liberty Financial. If final approval arrives, the company could issue its USD1 stablecoin and manage its dollar reserves directly. Critics see potential conflicts of interest; supporters see a crypto-friendly banking future. Either way, the family business is getting rather bankable.

Renaissance robbery

Thieves bypassed alarms at Sicily’s Museo Regionale di Messina during Italy’s Ferragosto holiday, stealing four 15th-century paintings by local master Antonello da Messina.

Three panels from his San Gregorio Polyptych were taken from secure cases, along with two-sided devotional works. The museum says it is devastated; investigators are now on the empty art case. Art theft: the sort of shading and shadowing shopping spree nobody would or could paint up.

A costly canvas conundrum, the theft comes shortly after Italy spent $15m on another Antonello, potentially alerting criminals to the loot. But selling such famous paintings is notoriously tricky (unless you're a tough guy) the thieves may find their masterpieces rather less useful than anticipated. Meanwhile, police recently recovered three stolen works by Cezanne, Renoir and Matisse.. proof that, occasionally, the art world gets its happy third coat.

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Charlie’s comeback
Charlie the tabby vanished in 2016, shortly after her family moved, leaving owners heartbroken. Ten years later, a vet called on Lucy’s 30th birthday..

Thanks to her microchip, the now-13-year-old cat was reunited with her family, recognised them immediately and is apparently making up for lost time.

A decade-long adventure, then, followed by the sort of homecoming even the most sentimental cat video probably vibe coded up would struggle to beat, and so pleased it wasn't a renaissance robbery.