A woman meets a man online. They flirt. Then, after a few weeks, they begin imagining a future together. Fast forward a few months and one of them has had their heart broken and been defrauded of their life savings. It sounds like a classic romance scam, but it isn’t. This is “pig butchering”: a brutal, elaborate and rapidly expanding form of organised crime, often involving criminal syndicates, modern-day slaves and victims around the world. Since it came to prominence in 2021, the fraud – which involves scammers grooming their…
Tag: Money
UK energy bills to fall to about £2,200 from July as wholesale gas costs drop
Energy bills are expected to fall to about £2,200 from July in a fillip for the government and households struggling with ballooning costs. Leading energy consultancy Cornwall Insight has predicted that, excluding government subsidies, typical annual household energy bills will have fallen from £4,279 now to £3,208 from April, and then will ease to roughly £2,200 for the remainder of the year. The forecasts are about £300 a year lower than its previous expectations because of the recent fall in wholesale gas costs. Nevertheless, bills are set to remain far…
Leading economies sliding into recession as Ukraine war cuts growth, OECD finds
The world’s leading economies are sliding into recession as the global energy and inflation crises sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine cut growth by more than previously forecast, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). A dependency on expensive gas for heavy industry and home heating will plunge Germany, Italy and the UK into a long period of recession after global growth was projected by the OECD to slow to 2.2% in 2023 from a forecast in June of 2.8%. With the global economy needing to grow…
The Guardian view on Biden’s risky gamble: betting on lowering oil prices | Editorial
Joe Biden’s trip to Saudi Arabia this month highlights the paradox of American power. The US has the economic heft to punish an opponent – but not enough to alter the behaviour of a determined adversary. Sanctions will see Russia’s economy contract by 9% next year. But Washington needs more nations to join its camp to halt Moscow’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. Mr Biden has been forced to prioritise war objectives over ethics in meeting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who the CIA says ordered the barbaric murder of the…
Wealthy Chinese exile Guo Wengui, tied to misinformation campaigns, sued by investors in media company
Fugitive Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui hold a news conference on November 20, 2018 in New York, on the death of of tycoon Wang Jian in France on July 3, 2018. Don Emmert | AFP | Getty Images Wealthy Chinese businessman Guo Wengui, an outspoken critic of China’s government, and several others are accused of breaking state securities laws in a class-action lawsuit filed in Arizona. The civil complaint was filed in late June in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. The plaintiffs claim to have tried to…