"Medusa Deluxe," a British murder mystery set in the world of regional hairdressing competitions, has been described as Agatha Christie meeting Pedro Almodóvar. Director Thomas Hardiman’s debut feature follows the story of a hairdresser who is found dead backstage, after being scalped during the creation of his greatest triumph. The film offers an impressive cast of female hairdressers, who become murder suspects, while speculation and gossip spread through the soundtrack. While losing steam in the second half, this film “with sweary hairdressers macing each other with TRESemmé” could adjust into a successful TV series.
Several potential Republican presidential candidates are expected to launch their bids this week, including former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, former Vice-President Mike Pence, and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum. Despite the crowded field, former President Donald Trump has a clear lead in national polling averages, with rival Ron DeSantis trailing behind. However, Trump faces legal issues, including in New York and Georgia. Other candidates, including Nikki Haley and Tim Scott, could become more viable if Trump and DeSantis damage each other's prospects. Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur, is a wildcard candidate.
A gauge of leveraged activity in China has hit another record as onshore financial institutions took advantage of ample liquidity to boost borrowing. Turnover of so-called overnight pledged repo trades soared to an all-time high 7.9tn yuan ($1.1tn) on 2 April, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. While officials discourage signs of leverage in the financial systems, the latest data suggests some traders are betting the People’s Bank of China will keep easy money conditions to support a still-fragile economy.
The UK Treasury may have to pay billions of pounds more in interest on its debt if interest rates rise much further to fight persistently high inflation, according to economists at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. They warned that significant extra monetary tightening could be required globally. The warning follows the most aggressive interest rate rises in decades by western central banks, including the Bank of England. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has allowed himself just £6.5bn in fiscal headroom. This minimal margin could undermine the UK’s fragile economic recovery if borrowing costs rise further, the report cautioned.
Four of China's largest banks have cut rates on deposit products by at least 10 basis points in response to a government request to bolster the economy, with Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China and Bank of Communications agreeing to reduce rates on three-year and five-year deposits by 15 basis points, respectively, and annualised demand deposit rates by 10 basis points. Critics have said the rate cut risks causing a capital flight in a country where investment in wealth management products is already high.
CNN has removed Chris Licht as its head after a year of low ratings, in-house criticism, and a lack of success at transforming CNN into a station for unbiased, fact-based reporting. In an effort to increase diversity of opinion on shows in the channel’s repertoire, Licht eventually hosted former US President Donald Trump, to widespread criticism both inside and outside the channel. Ultimately, CNN’s experiment failed because cable news audiences rely on receiving news that favors their own opinion over the unbiased facts.
The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan is considering submitting a no-confidence motion against Japan's Cabinet to show its opposition to a bill that will provide funds for the country's defence capability. It has been suggested Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida respond to the motion by dissolving the House of Representatives, resulting in a general election. Kenta Izumi criticised rival opposition party Nippon Ishin no Kai, accusing the party of pandering to the Liberal Democratic Party's bias. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno stated it would be possible to dissolve the Lower House when Emperor Naruhito is overseas, during his visit to Indonesia in June.
Former spy and adviser to 'Missing Cryptoqueen' Ruja Ignatova, Frank Schneider, has disappeared while under house arrest in France. Schneider faced charges of fraud and money laundering and was awaiting extradition to the US. Like Ignatova, who is thought to have boarded a Ryanair flight from Sofia to Athens in 2017, he has gone missing before facing US justice. Schneider reportedly worked as a troubleshooter for Ignatova, coordinating London-based lawyers and PR advisers who helped prolong her 'OneCoin' crypto scam, allegedly also providing her with confidential police information, a claim he has denied.
Indonesia is preparing for a new president in 2022, with incumbent President Joko Widodo's remarks on Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo widely seen as an endorsement. A recurring campaign theme for Widodo in recent weeks has been describing a “brave leader," with many observers saying he is pinning this quality on Pranowo. An antisemitism row engulfed Pranowo after he joined a group opposing Israel’s participation in the Fifa Under-20 World Cup football tournament previously scheduled for Bali in May 2021. The international contest event was eventually moved to Argentina after Fifa pulled the hosting rights from Indonesia, which supports the Palestinian cause. Despite a recent slump in polls, Pranowo remains a popular choice, with the latest survey by pollster Litbang Kompas showing 40% of 1,200 respondents would vote for him if the election were held today, while defence minister Prabowo Subianto – a former general running for a third time after twice losing to Widodo – had a 37% approval rating.
Former Conservative Cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg has warned the party not to block Boris Johnson if he seeks to stand in another parliamentary constituency in the future. This comes after Johnson resigned as MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip on Friday. Rees-Mogg argued that any attempt to block Johnson would "shatter our fragile party unity and plunge the Conservatives into civil war". Johnson resigned from his position after the Commons Privileges Committee investigated whether he deliberately misled the Commons over lockdown breaches in Downing Street. The sanction recommended to Johnson was a suspension from the Commons lasting more than 10 days.
Japan's largest opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, has criticized any attempt by the government to call a snap general election, calling it a "waste of taxpayer money." There is speculation that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will dissolve the Lower House for an early election before the current parliamentary session ends on June 21. The opposition leader has hinted that the party will submit a no-confidence motion against the Kishida Cabinet, which could trigger a snap election.
UK Labour leader Keir Starmer has called for an election following the resignation of three lawmakers from the Conservative Party, including former prime minister Boris Johnson, amid an investigation into whether he lied to parliament about breaches of Covid lockdown rules. In a statement, Starmer said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak “must finally find a backbone, call an election, and let the public have their say on 13 years of Tory failure." Three by-elections will be triggered, adding to pressure on the current Conservative government, which is behind in the polls.
Celtic's managerial changes create an ongoing cycle of convenience, whereby the team's supporters must take care not to be emotionally invested in any individual coach, writes Ewan Murray in The Guardian. The paper suggests that the club should take into account planning for succession and broader goals, rather than just narrowly focusing on Scottish success. However, Celtic's recent quick appointment policy and long-term approach to selecting a coach is questioned, and club shareholder Dermot Desmond could potentially appoint a big-name coach as a short-term plan to placate fans. The newspaper identifies former Celtic coach Brendan Rodgers as the possible candidate, but new prospects including Kjetil Knutsen and Enzo Maresca, and Club Brugge's Rik De Mil, AZ Alkmaar's Pascal Jansen, Daniel Farke and Graham Potter have also emerged as contenders.
Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's resignation honours list scandal has been marked by a series of events that led to the exclusion of most MPs from the list due to errors and a growing discontent with Johnson in the Conservative Party. The scandal began after Johnson resigned as prime minister in July 2022 and nominated individuals for peerages. However, it later emerged that some of his nominations were not eligible if they were still serving as MPs. By the time the issue came to light, it was too late to rectify. In March 2023, the Privileges Committee published its interim report, which included damaging evidence suggesting that Johnson may have misled parliament. Johnson gave evidence to the committee in March, along with a legal team, where he rejected some of the committee's findings. On 8 June, it was revealed that Johnson's sanction would be serious enough (20 days) to trigger a recall petition in Uxbridge and a possible by-election. Many Conservative MPs became increasingly disillusioned with Johnson's behaviour and made moves to distance themselves from the situation.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has agreed to debate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Fox News, moderated by Sean Hannity. Tensions between governors Newsom and DeSantis have arisen after a dozen migrants were flown from Texas to Sacramento by the Florida Division of Emergency Management. Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta question whether the flight to Sacramento was legal and suggest it could have amounted to “state-sanctioned” kidnapping. Hannity pushed back on Newsom, noting the migrants had signed a waiver, and Newsom responded by saying that Florida was not a border state but DeSantis is desperate “to get in on the action.”
Aggregate financing in China, which is a broad measure of credit, was 1.6tn yuan ($224bn) last month, lower than the predicted 1.9tn yuan in a Bloomberg survey of economists. China total debt levels have now climbed to over 300% of GDP and so this weakening of demand will put new pressure on the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), which eased its policy monetary policy to spur growth on Monday. Many analysts believe the PBOC will have to do more, and that the government will have to inject more spending to push up the economy.
Japan's prime minister, Fumio Kishida, says he will decide when to call a snap general election after monitoring "various circumstances". There has been speculation that Kishida intends to go to the polls soon after taking over as prime minister last month. Kishida commented on the state of declining birth rates in Japan at the press conference, detailing initiatives to counter it including removing the limit on rearing allowances and an increase on paternal leave payments. The country's government has pledged to spend roughly ¥3.5tn on child care, which is equivalent to countries such as Sweden, but it has not yet decided how it will fund the commitments.
Japanese insurers and pension funds are eagerly awaiting the end of the Bank of Japan's yield-curve-control policy, according to a number of anonymous sources. The central bank has been maintaining low interest rates to boost Japan's economy, but investors have been seeking to exit loss-making offshore bonds in favour of yen holdings in anticipation of the policy changing. While new BOJ governor Kazuo Ueda was expected to tweak or even abandon the policy, insiders expect the central bank to stick with it at its policy meeting on Friday.
Shell plans to increase dividends and share buybacks, while maintaining oil production steady through to 2030. The move comes as CEO Wael Sawan looks to regain investor confidence in the company's energy transition plan. Shell will increase overall shareholder distribution to 30-40% of cash flow from operations, up from 20-30%. The company will also raise its share buyback programme to $5bn from $4bn, and increase its dividend by 15%. Shell's previous target to reduce oil output by 20% by 2030 has been scrapped after largely reaching the goal.
Japan's exports grew at the slowest pace in over two years in May, increasing by just 0.6% compared to the previous year. The weak growth reflects a global economic slowdown and weakening global trade. Declines in exports of mineral fuel, chip making machinery, and semiconductor parts dragged on Japan's shipments abroad. Meanwhile, imports fell by 9.9%, the largest drop in over two years, mainly due to falls in fuel prices. The trade deficit remains large at 1.37 trillion yen, which is likely to continue to weigh on Japan's recovery from the pandemic. The slowdown in exports reflects stagnation in external demand, with sluggish production activity in major trading partners such as the US, Europe, and China.
