Australia’s mortgage burden is now above 1989 levels – when interest rates were 17% 01. July 2026 (16:01) KPMG analysis rebuts claims older generations had it harder when it came to buying and paying off a homeGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia’s national mortgage burden is heavier now than it was when lending rates reached 17% at the end of the 1980s, new analysis reveals.Terry Rawnsley, an urban economist at KPMG, said his research was in part a “myth-busting” exercise aimed at rebutting oft-repeated claims that previous generations had it harder when it came to buying and paying off a home. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Beautiful blobs’: synthetic life a step closer as scientists make cells using lab-made DNA 01. July 2026 (16:00) Tiny, quivering spheres designed to feed and multiply raise prospect of artificial organisms to make drugs, food and fuelResearchers claim they are closer to creating life from scratch after building tiny, quivering blobs that use lab-made DNA to feed, grow and multiply in a dish.The synthetic cells were made from chemical compounds and are believed to be the first to demonstrate the complete cell cycle of growth, genetic replication and splitting to produce the next generation. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Save student loan plan ends, leaving millions of US borrowers 90 days to find a new one 01. July 2026 (15:48) Trump administration is requiring borrowers to choose new options after Biden-era plan ruled unconstitutionalMore than 7 million Americans will be forced to change their student loan repayment plan beginning on Wednesday, as the Save plan officially ends. The termination of the Biden-era initiative, which was launched in 2023, coincides with a larger overhaul of the US student loan repayment system.The seismic changes to the student debt landscape are the results of the Trump administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed in 2025 and a March 2026 federal court ruling that the Save plan, an income-driven repayment program created with the goal of cutting undergraduate loans in half, was unconstitutional. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Crypto and stock stakes: key takeaways from Trump’s financial disclosures 01. July 2026 (15:30) US president raked in more than $1bn from crypto – an industry he has sought to deregulate – and a total of $2.2bn last year, files revealAlarm bells over conflict of interest as filing shows Trump raked in $2bn in 2025Donald Trump’s money-making ventures enriched him by more than $2bn last year, according to newly released financial disclosures.The revenue was supercharged by the Trump family’s crypto projects, with the documents showing the US president made more than $1bn (£0.76bn) from crypto – an industry he has sought to deregulate. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Businessman accused of ordering Daphne Caruana Galizia murder stands trial in Malta 01. July 2026 (15:18) Yorgen Fenech, who denies all charges, appears in court more than nine years after the journalist’s deathThe businessman accused of ordering the murder of the Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia has gone on trial, more than nine years after her death in a car-bomb attack that sent shockwaves through Europe.Yorgen Fenech, the heir to a property empire worth hundreds of millions, is one of seven men prosecutors accused of involvement in the killing, and the last to face trial. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Pilot program to provide cheaper GLP-1 via Medicare stokes shortage fears 01. July 2026 (15:00) Some adults aged 65 and above will be able to get the drug for $50 through Medicare GLP-1, a temporary programKathryn, a retiree who worked in healthcare, has throughout her life experienced “cyclical weight-loss, weight-gain”.“Every time that that has happened, it’s been a little bit greater of the loss and the gain, which is really unhealthy,” said the 66-year-old who lives in Denver, Colorado, and requested that only her first name be used. At her heaviest, the 5ft 1in-woman weighed 220lbs. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
UK national lottery review to give public more say in how funds are spent 01. July 2026 (14:53) Culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, launches consultation on first changes to system in more than two decadesThe government is to review the future of the national lottery for the first time in more than 20 years as the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, promised to give the public a greater say in how billions of pounds raised by ticket sales is spent.“The national lottery is played by millions of people every single week. It is not just public money, it is literally the public’s money and they must be in the driving seat of how it is spent,” said Nandy. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US cooking oil market shrinking due to Ice pressures on Latino households, Mazola owner says 01. July 2026 (14:52) Economic squeeze and anti-immigration raids have hit Hispanic communities, prompting people to shop online and reuse oilBusiness live – latest updatesThe US cooking oil market is shrinking and unlikely to improve soon because of economic and immigration enforcement pressures on Latino households, the owner of the Mazola brand has said.George Weston, the chief executive of Associated British Foods (ABF), told City analysts that cooking oil sales had suffered as “our heavy use consumer is that Hispanic population who are under financial pressure, who are under pressure from Ice [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and are feeling a bit miserable”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Most spectacular own goal in history’: new EU rules threaten to shut out UK car manufacturers 01. July 2026 (14:50) EU urged to make UK exempt from rules that risk becoming the most damaging consequence of Brexit yetThe EU’s car industry has called for the UK to be fully included in new “Made in Europe” rules that threaten to shut out British manufacturers from their biggest export market.The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (Acea) on Wednesday urged Brussels to give the UK, Turkey and Morocco “justified, targeted exemptions” to the rules, which will require cars and parts to be made within the EU to qualify for subsidies or public procurement. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Sudan’s RSF committed crimes against humanity in El Fasher, Amnesty says 01. July 2026 (14:45) Report accuses paramilitary force of crimes including ethnic cleansing in systemic campaign against civiliansThe Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces committed crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing during its campaign to capture El Fasher, Amnesty International has alleged.Many of the crimes, including murder, torture, rape, enslavement and sexual slavery, were carried out as part of a widespread and systematic attack against civilians and amounted to crimes against humanity, the human rights organisation said in a report released on Wednesday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
