Retired baseball star Roberto Alomar has sold his Florida home — an 18,700-square-foot mansion on more than three acres — for $4 million.

Pandemic or not, the ultra-wealthy are still buying and selling prized properties across L.A. County

A Mediterranean Revival-style home once owned by noted makeup artist Percival "Perc" Westmore is for sale in the Hollywood Hills for $5.495 million.

In Miami Beach, retired NBA star Dwyane Wade has trimmed the price of his waterfront mansion with a Heat-themed basketball court to $26.5 million.

Oscar-nominated actor Gary Sinise is asking $3.795 million for his two-story farmhouse in the hills of Calabasas after 12 years of ownership.

Heathrow, previously the busiest airport in Europe, did not even make the top three on 14 April

Exclusive: Half a million passports have expired since UK lockdown began

Food to be distributed to disadvantaged people across Manchester

Tesla, under pressure to show it can generate profits on its main business of making electric cars, on Monday trumpeted a custom-designed computer chip to let its vehicles drive themselves.

A jury ordered Toyota to pay $15.8 million to a dealer who alleged the company's recalls failed to remedy safety defects in its popular Prius models.

Tesla's $408-million second-quarter loss raises the question: How will Tesla ever make money?

CEO Mary Barra hopes to invigorate investor interest in GM's stock with an aggressive electric vehicle strategy.

California's stay-at-home order due to the coronavirus reduced vehicle collisions on roadways by roughly half, saving taxpayers an estimated $1 billion.

The Sundance Institute's Keri Putnam speaks about the $1-million relief fund for artists and arts organizations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Beyoncé's BeyGOOD initiative announced a $6-million coronavirus-relief fund to support organizations providing essential services to people in need.

Proceeds from Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé's new "Savage" remix will go toward coronavirus relief efforts in the artists' hometown of Houston.

All the latest rumours and gossip coming out of Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Barcelona and Real Madrid.

It seems the world is awash with money, even though most governments are facing economic pressures. Trillions are being hidden away by a very few global super elite in offshore bank accounts, avoiding billions in taxes such that constrained governments turn to austerity and other measures, inflicting more hardship on people who are typically already victims of the global financial crisis. Furthermore, it turns out that many of the banks we have all bailed out help with these offshore practices in various ways.

Tax avoidance by the super rich results in lost revenues in the order of hundreds of billions a year, which would (in theory at least) benefit most of society. But if you can afford an army of ingenious lawyers and accountants, it seems you can play by a different set of rules.

Recent high profile cases of companies and individuals avoiding taxes in recent years has resulted in governments claiming they will address this issue thoroughly. But that is as far as it seems to go.

This update includes additional figures and examples of recent tax avoidance issues that have come to light.

Read full article: Tax Avoidance and Tax Havens; Undermining Democracy

19% of the world’s reptiles are estimated to be threatened with extinction according to a study by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Zoological Society of London. Reptiles include snakes, lizards, crocodiles, turtles and tortoises. But some species are at more risk than others. For example, freshwater turtles alone are at a 50% risk of extinction. Reasons vary, but include the usual suspects such as climate change and loss of habitat.

A recent study also estimated that some 100 million sharks are being killed each year — an unsustainable rate, given how long some species take to mature and reproduce. Much of the demand is driven by Chinese rising affluence and demand for shark fin soup in the mistaken belief it has various health benefits.

This small update to the biodiversity loss page has further details.

Read full article: Loss of Biodiversity and Extinctions

In recent years, global military expenditure has increased again and is now comparable to Cold War levels. Recent data shows global spending at over $1.7 trillion, despite the global economic conditions. It is still approximately 1% increase since 2008 when the financial crisis began, for example.

Not all nations have felt the impacts of the global financial crisis in the same way. Some have grown economically, including many Asian countries, which has allowed some of them to increase their military spending. There are geopolitical interests at stake for various powers, so economic troubles or not, military spending is seen as important to maintain, or at least to minimize possible reductions.

The highest military spender is the US accounting for 39% of the world’s spending, more than the next top 10 countries combined, and more than all its potential enemies, combined. But this represents a slight decline over previous years as other nations, especially China and Russia, increase their spending. At the same time, the US has reduced military spending for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, while Western Europe’s austerity programs affect their military spending budgets.

This update includes new and updated figures, graphs and charts exploring this further.

Read full article: World Military Spending

Over 40 years ago, rich country governments agreed to give 0.7% of their GNI (Gross National Income) as official aid to poor countries for development assistance.

The average aid delivered each year has actually been between 0.2 to 0.4%. The shortfall has therefore accumulated to almost $5 trillion dollars at 2012 prices, while total aid delivered in that same time frame has reached $3.6 trillion.

This update includes updated charts and graphs that look into this further.

Read full article: Official global foreign aid shortfall: $4 trillion

VIRGIN Media and O2 are to merge to create a £31billion media and telecoms giant, their parent firms have announced. Liberty Global and Telefonica - the owners of Virgin Media and O2 respectively - had confirmed on Monday that they were in discussions over a possible combination.

A SURGE in bitcoin prices has seen the cryptocurrency market jump by over $13 billion overnight.

Lionel Messi boasts the most viewed goal on YouTube, according to a new study that has analysed the most iconic strikes on the internet.

The coronavirus emergency has brought uncertain and difficult times. It has changed how we live, separated us from our loved ones and tested our resolve as a nation. But the willingness of people to pull together and help those most in need is a powerful reminder of the strength of our communities.

ALARMING levels of plastic have been found on the Mediterranean seabed, scientists revealed yesterday.

The British and Irish Lions' tour of South Africa was due to take place next summer.

JEREMY CLARKSON is most well-known for his stint on BBC's Top Gear but has recently become solidified in a new role as presenter of hit ITV quiz show - Who Wants to be a Millionaire? With the show due to return tomorrow, Jeremy has opened up on some of the less successful contestants during his time in the hot seat so far.

GRANT SHAPPS announced the Government is introducing a £2 billion travel scheme to encourage Britons to use alternative transport as the UK slowly relaxes lockdown measures.

On 23 September 2019, we published an article headlined 'Labour's tax bombshell: Corbyn's benefits splurge plot would cost taxpayers £520 billion' the article focused on Labour's potential objective of introducing a universal basic income and its associated costs.

A TORY rift over lockdown emerged yesterday when Sajid Javid urged ministers to reopen the economy "as far and as quick" as possible to recover from the impact of the coronavirus crisis.

CHARITIES working to deliver food to the homeless and others in urgent need of support during the coronavirus emergency were last night promised a £16million boost from the Government.

The U.S. government's highway safety agency will not force automakers to recall 56 million newer Takata air bag inflators, citing industry research that shows the devices are safe.

SPAIN'S 24-hour death toll from coronavirus has hit one of the lowest levels since March 18.

IRANIAN agents are delivering suitcases stuffed with £800,000 in cash to Hezbollah terrorists despite the Islamic state begging for financial help to deal with coronavirus, it is claimed.

The coronavirus emergency has brought uncertain and difficult times. It has changed how we live, separated us from our loved ones and tested our resolve as a nation. But the willingness of people to pull together and help those most in need is a powerful reminder of the strength of our communities.

A “JAW-DROPPING” 1.6 million lost pension pots worth nearly £20 billion are being left unclaimed, according to estimates from an insurance industry body. Savers are losing track of their pension stash due to job changes or moving house, with future retirees potentially missing out on staggering sums for their golden years.

MILLIONS of women are in line for a pension boost following a landmark multi-billion pound High Court ruling. Lloyds Bank was told yesterday it had to equalise pensions benefits for men and women, in what could have huge consequences for thousands of companies.

The world is nearing 4 million cases of the coronavirus. More COVID-19 news Saturday.

Indianapolis' nonprofit arts sector supports about 30,000 jobs. The closures forced by coronavirus are causing damage to theaters, artists and more.

When Rahal bought the estate in November of 2017 for $6.1 million, it was the most expensive home ever sold in the city.

The cost of Britain's controversial new aircraft carriers is set to rise by at least £1bn, and perhaps almost £2bn, as a result of the government's decision taken last October to make them compatible with different aircraft than those originally envisaged.

I have learned that the working assumption of the contractors on the project, which are BAE Systems, Thales UK and Babcock, is that the carriers will now cost taxpayers some £7bn in total, compared with the £5.2bn cost disclosed by the Ministry of Defence last autumn - and up from the £3.9bn budget announced when the contract was originally signed in July 2008.

One defence industry veteran said the final bill was bound to be nearer £10bn, though a government official insisted that was way over the top.

The Ministry of Defence and the Treasury believe that total final costs could be nearer £6bn, if only one of the carriers is reconfigured to take the preferred version of America's Joint Strike Fighter aircraft.

An MoD official said no final decision had been taken on whether the first carrier to be built, the Queen Elizabeth, or the second carrier, the Prince of Wales, or both would be reconfigured.

He said it would probably be the case that changing the design specification for the Prince of Wales would be the cheapest option. But if that happened, it is not clear when - if ever - the Queen Elizabeth, due to enter service in 2019, would actually be able to accommodate jets (as opposed to helicopters).

Whatever happens, the increase in the bill will be substantial - and is only regarded by the Treasury as affordable because the increment is likely to be incurred later than 2014/15, when the expenditure constraints put in place by the Chancellor's spending review come to an end.

The Treasury is adamant that the MoD will receive no leeway to increase spending before then.

An MoD spokesman sent me the following statement late last night:

"The conversion of the Queen Elizabeth Class...will allow us to operate the carrier variant of the Joint Strike Fighter that carries a greater payload, has a longer range and is cheaper to purchase. This will give our new carriers, which will be in service for 50 years, greater capability and interoperability with our allies. Final costs are yet to be agreed and detailed work is ongoing. We expect to take firm decisions in late 2012."

The disclosure of the rise in costs is bound to reopen the debate about whether the UK really needs new carriers, especially since the UK will be without any aircraft carrier till 2019, following the decision to decommission Ark Royal.

British Tornado jets are currently active in Libya, flying from a base in Italy, without the use of a British aircraft carrier.

The latest increase in likely expenditure on the enormous carriers - which are almost the size of three football pitches - stems from the decision of the Ministry of Defence in October to change the design one or both of them so that they can be used by the carrier version of America's Joint Strike Fighter.

This would mean they have to be fitted with catapults and traps - or "cats and traps" - rather than ramps.

The likely final cost will depend on whether the cats and traps are cheaper traditional steam devices, or newer-technology electromagnetic ones - and also whether the cats and traps are fitted to both carriers or just one.

Industry and government sources tell me that even if the MoD goes for the cheaper option, and even if the cats and traps are fitted to only one carrier, the additional bill will still be of the order of £1bn.

The hope however would be that in the longer term savings could be achieved because the maintenance costs of the more conventional Joint Strike Fighter should be lower.

One of the reasons the refit could be relatively more expensive is that for one of the carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth, there would have to be a retrofit - because so much work has already been done on it.

"Retrofitting is always very pricey" said a senior defence executive.

The carrier project has been beset by controversy and cost increases.

In June 2009, I disclosed that the carrier costs had soared by more than £1bn as a result of a decision taken by the previous government to delay their entry into service.

Then last October the government, in its Strategic Defence and Security Review, came close to cancelling one or both carriers.

In the end, it committed to build both, but with the strange caveat that it might end up using only one of them. This was the reason given by the Prime Minister David Cameron in the Commons for building both:

"They [the previous government] signed contracts so we were left in a situation where even cancelling the second carrier would actually cost more than to build it; I have this in written confirmation from BAE Systems".

However in a memo to the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the Ministry of Defence estimated that cancelling both contracts would have saved £2bn and cancelling just one would have saved £1bn.

The MoD told MPs that "as the cancellation costs would have had immediate effect, the costs in the short term would have been significantly higher than proceeding with both carriers as planned; nearly £1bn more in financial year 2011/12 if both carriers had been cancelled".

The MoD was also concerned that cancelling the carriers would have undermined British capability and know-how in the manufacture of complex warships.

The carriers, called Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers, are being built by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, whose members are the UK defence giant BAE systems, the British engineering group Babcock, and Thales of France. The Ministry of Defence is also described as both a member of the Alliance and a customer.

Update 15:06:It has been pointed out to me, by what you might term a grizzled sea dog, that the UK does still possess two ships that can take aircraft. They are HMS Illustrious and HMS Ocean (which is a commando carrier with a flat top).

However they can't accommodate jet airplanes, only helicopters - so for veteran sailor it was a terrible error for the government to scrap the illustrious Harrier jumpjet.

He also takes the view, which I've heard from many other military personnel, that it would be bonkers to convert only one of the new carriers to take the carrier version of the Joint Strike Fighter - because if that were to happen, one of the carriers would be an enormous white elephant, and the other would not be able to provide a service for 100% of the time (it would need periodic servicing).

That said, the cost of retro-fitting the first carrier being built now and also redesigning the other one would certainly be nudging £2bn, maybe more.

He believes there is powerful strategic logic to building two new huge ships able to handle jets.

The problem for David Cameron is that he may find it hard to make the strategic case, since last autumn he justified building the two on the basis that it would not save any money to cancel one - which is not the most positive case for what turns out to be a very substantial public investment that anyone has ever advanced.

I can't recall a flotation like it, in terms of the sheer number of executives emerging as wealthy beyond most people's wildest dreams or expectations - not even the conversion of Goldman Sachs into a public company or the listing of Google.

When Glencore publishes its full flotation prospectus later this morning, it will show that there are four billionaires working for the world's leading commodities, minerals and energy trader.

These are led by the chief executive Ivan Glasenberg, who will be shown to be worth around $10bn.

But it is the quartet of billionaires, plus many others worth more than $100m each, and hundreds who are millionaires, that makes Glencore quite extraordinary.

Now all the top executives are saying they won't sell any of their shares for five years at least - that they won't use the flotation to cash in. As for Glasenberg, he's pledging not to sell even a single share till he steps down as chief executive.

Even so, the stock market listing converts their stakes into currency. These are not paupers.

Is there a price for them of this remarkable valuation of their respective Glencore holdings?

Well their company is already receiving vastly more public scrutiny - for it's environmental record and tax practices, for example - than it did as a pretty secretive private company over the last 20 years or so.

It won't like all this attention - such as claims in this morning's Daily Mail of how Glencore's copper mining operations in Zambia are doing too little for that country.

And it certainly didn't enjoy the furore sparked by remarks of the new chairman, Simon Murray, about how women's desire to have babies prevents them rising to then top in business.

But some of you might feel that whatever embarrassment is caused to Glencore's bosses will be softened by all that personal wealth.

Update 16:44: Oh dear. There’s another billionaire at Glencore I somehow missed.

The prospectus – which is longer than Proust, and racier than Proust in parts – shows that the chief executive, Ivan Glasenberg is worth just under $10bn.

Also, two of his lieutenants are each worth around $3.7bn, one other has a $3.2bn holding and the fifth in this billionaire quintet has a $2.8bn stake.

The poor finance director, Steven Kalmin, is worth a mere $610m.

As the FT points out, each one of these has a holding worth more than what the famous (some would use a less flattering epithet) founder of Glencore, Marc Rich, pocketed when he sold the business to management less than 20 years ago.

Indiana colleges and universities are getting millions in federal CARES Act dollars but say they need more guidance on how to spend it.

The private Catholic university in South Bend with $11 billion in reserves follows similar decisions by other endowment-rich institutions.

I don't like to reduce the hard work of the much respected Institute for Fiscal Studies and Morgan Stanley to a single number. Their annual Green Budget is after all 299 pages long. (It is nothing to do with environment...

2020-04-14 -

The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday passed the latest aid package to help the U.S. economy stay afloat during the coronavirus outbreak.

The city of Indianapolis and the Indy Chamber announced a $10 million rapid response loan fund for small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.

The parent company of Indiana's second largest coal company, with ties to the Trump administration, landed $10 million in coronavirus relief aid.