The Trump dollar coin sell-out came within hours of the El Paso Times reporting the new $1 coin going on sale, as the US Mint launched a commemorative piece bearing President Donald Trump’s portrait to mark America’s 250th anniversary. The coins were listed as “not currently in stock” on the Mint’s website within hours of going on sale on Wednesday.The coins carry Trump’s portrait alongside the inscriptions “LIBERTY,” “IN GOD WE TRUST” and “1776 ~ 2026,” tying the piece directly to the country’s semiquincentennial. The US Mint described them as created to celebrate “this historic national milestone” with a “once-in-a-generation…
Author: Helen Rourke
Helen Rourke
Helen Rourke trained as a chartered accountant and spent fourteen years in financial services before starting to write. She qualified at a mid-tier firm, moved in-house to a media company's finance team, and spent her last years as a finance director at a creative agency, which gave her an unusual vantage point on both sides of the balance sheet. She writes about personal finance, tax, pensions, and the money questions people ask at dinner parties but never ask their accountant. She explains numbers without condescension and has no interest in making simple things sound complicated. Helen lives in North London. She files her own tax return on the first day it opens and considers this a character flaw.
EnQuest’s chief executive has publicly confirmed the company’s interest in an EnQuest bid for BP North Sea oil and gas assets, as BP presses ahead with the sale of a portfolio that Rystad Energy estimates is worth about $2.6 billion on a risked basis. Amjad Bseisu made the confirmation in an interview with CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box Europe’ on Thursday, responding directly when asked whether EnQuest (which operates mainly in the UK Continental Shelf region) wanted to buy BP’s North Sea interests. His answer was a simple ‘yes.’ ‘There’s only a handful of companies left, so there’s only a handful of…
The question of the right leaving gift contribution amount is one that trips up workers across the country: too little feels awkward, too much feels like pressure nobody asked for. Workers in London have been sharing what they would put in, and a broader picture of UK workplace gifting habits helps put those views in context.What the Numbers Say About Leaving Gift Contribution AmountsAccording to Feel Good Times, the going rate for a colleague on your immediate team is £5 to £10. If you rarely crossed paths with the person leaving, somewhere between £2 and £5 is considered reasonable. For…
Iran launched missiles and drones at US military installations in Kuwait on Thursday, with Kuwait’s army confirming it was confronting hostile attacks and telling residents that explosions heard across the country were caused by air defence systems intercepting incoming targets. The Iran strikes on Kuwait form part of a rapidly broadening conflict that now stretches across the region.According to Anadolu Agency, Iran’s army said the attacks were conducted early Thursday as part of the 31st phase of its Operation Saeqeh, described as retaliation for recent US strikes on Iran. Iran claimed the operation targeted satellite communications systems, equipment warehouses and…
More than 3,000 jobs are being cut at Uber as part of an Uber global workforce restructuring that the company says will strip out management layers and redirect spending towards its core operations. The cuts amount to roughly 10% of the company’s total staff, returning headcount to levels last seen in 2021.Chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi told employees in a company email that Uber had grown quickly but in doing so had accumulated too many layers and small teams that were slowing decision-making. He said the changes would put the company in a better position for its ‘biggest opportunities ahead of…
The Strait of Hormuz oil flow exceeded 17 million barrels in a single day last Monday, according to US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who made the claim during an interview with CNBC’s Brian Sullivan in Venezuela on Wednesday. The disclosure came as Washington and Tehran traded military strikes, rattling global energy markets and sending US crude futures briefly to around $90 per barrel before they settled back, ending the day down about 1%.The Strait of Hormuz is the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman through which a large share of the world’s oil exports passes. Any disruption there ripples almost…
The Chevron Venezuela oil expansion forms part of a sweeping push by Washington to revive the country’s ailing energy sector through private investment, with the company announcing plans to more than double production through a $7 billion investment. The announcement follows a series of dramatic moves by the US government to assert control over one of the world’s largest crude reserves.Venezuela’s oil infrastructure has deteriorated sharply after years of mismanagement. The country is thought to hold around 303 billion barrels of crude oil, and President Donald Trump announced that the US had secured majority control over 65 billion barrels of…
Two oil tankers struck Strait of Hormuz tanker mines and were forced to disembark their crews as the United States and Iran continued trading military blows, with oil prices surging and regional neighbours caught in the crossfire.Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced that the vessels had been disabled after ignoring warnings not to take what the Guards called an “illegal route” through the Strait. According to The Hindu, the Guards said on 18 July 2026 that both tankers exploded after hitting the mines. The same Guards statement said separately that they had also “stopped” four other ships attempting to transit the Strait…
Oil prices climbed on Wednesday as oil prices Iran strikes fears deepened, with Brent crude advancing 0.92% to $95.52 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rising 0.60% to $90.76, after a fresh round of American military action against Iran prompted retaliatory drone and missile attacks on US allies across the Gulf.The back-and-forth comes at a moment of serious escalation in a conflict that is rattling energy markets and upending diplomatic efforts to find a ceasefire. Brent is the international benchmark most closely watched for oil traded across Europe, the Middle East and Asia; WTI is its American counterpart.…
CME Group’s new CME 10-barrel oil futures contract, pending regulatory approval, is set to launch on 30 August and is poised to give ordinary investors their cheapest ever route into the oil market, according to PR Newswire.The contract covers 10 barrels of West Texas Intermediate crude, meaning a trader would need to put up roughly $860 at current prices. That compares with 100 barrels for CME’s existing Micro WTI contract and 1,000 barrels for its standard futures contract, a size that historically placed oil trading out of reach for most private individuals.From commodity houses to kitchen tablesOil trading was, for…
