Crypto soars after Trump announcement - but Bitcoiners aren't happy

Defence and military spending dominates markets

Defence and military spending has dominated the news cycle over the past week - and today it's dominating the markets.

Arms maker BAE Systems, up a massive 17.5% at one point today, is leading the UK's benchmark FTSE 100 stock index.

It's followed by defence firm Rolls-Royce Holdings, up nearly 6%.

The boost to weapons makers can be seen across Europe. The aerospace and defence companies of the pan-European Stoxx index saw the biggest daily jump since November 2020.

Leaders from across the continent backed Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his war against Russia over the weekend after a summit held by Sir Keir Starmer yesterday. 

EU leaders rallied to defend Ukraine after a brutal Friday evening showdown between Zelenskyy and Donald Trump, vowing to provide support if US input decreases or come up with their own Russia-Ukraine peace deal.

Likely boosting UK arms companies was Starmer's promise of a loan and delivery of Belfast-made missiles.

But it's the prospect of a peace deal that's likely pushed oil to the lowest price all year - $72.49 for a barrel of Brent crude.

There's been little change in sterling with £1 equal to $1.2584, around the $1.26 level of the last two weeks. 

Against the euro, the growth of the last six weeks continues apace, with a pound getting you €1.21. 

Young people killing music venue by not drinking, says Sex Pistol agent

Music venues are struggling because young people aren't drinking as much, one of the UK's leading music agents has said. 

John Giddings, who has represented the Sex Pistols and run the Isle of Wight Festival since 2002, said small venues are facing difficulties while larger stadiums are doing very well.

"At the top level, it's going gangbusters with acts like Coldplay and Oasis playing a string of big stadium gigs this year. It's the small, pub-style venues which are struggling but that's partly because one in four young people don't drink these days," he told the Telegraph. 

Asked if there should be a levy charged in stadium gigs to help smaller venues, the 71-year-old said he didn't believe in the principle. 

"Good small and medium-sized venues will continue to thrive," he added. 

Is Topshop teasing a return to high street?

Topshop posted a series of cryptic messages on Instagram this weekend which could hint at a possible return.

Three posts, which featured the same clip, appeared on the brand's feed with the captions spelling out: "Watch this space."

Two more clips were posted yesterday saying the unknown project will start with conceptual artist Russ Jones. 

The clip showed a series of slogans for Topshop and Topman in pink lettering on mirrors. "Your era your Topshop," one of them read. 

"I'm normally shy about collaborations. This upcoming project felt different. Championed by a titan of the retail industry. With a brand that will always be iconic," Jones wrote on Instagram. 

"I'm partnering with one of the most iconic British brands to ever grace our high street. Growing up, I couldn't afford to shop here. Now, we're working together." 

Fans were quick to jump into the comments on posts, saying they hope the brand's stores were returning to the high street.

"Oooh what's happening. Please say it's bringing back shops," one person said. 

"Please say they are opening stores again," said another. 

Reports have suggested the clues are actually teasing the relaunch of a dedicated Topshop website. 

Topshop had 70 stores, including a flagship site on London's Oxford Street during its prime, but fell into administration in  2020 as part of the collapse of Sir Philip Green's Arcadia empire.

A year later, it relaunched on Asos as an online-only clothing brand. In 2024, Asos sold a 75% stake of Topshop and Topman to Heartland, an arm of fashion business Bestseller, in a £135m deal. 

As part of the joint venture with the group, Asos announced its intention to relaunch Topshop.com as a standalone website.

That doesn't mean high street stores aren't coming, though. Asos's chief executive, Jose Antonio Ramos Calamonte, has previously hinted that high street stores could return under Bestseller's leadership. 

"We might open stores. We will consider it for sure but we have no specific agreement to open a certain number," he said.

Money has contacted Asos for a statement. 

The worst supermarkets for online grocery shopping substitutions revealed

Fish steaks instead of cupcakes and sanitary towels instead of sandwich wraps are among some of the worst supermarket substitutions reported by shoppers.

A survey of more than 1,000 online grocery shoppers by Which? found three in 10 (29%) reported having an item substituted in their last order.

Customers said they received bananas instead of pizza and a roasting tin instead of roast potatoes. One said they had been given a type of facial cleanser, micellar water, instead of drinking water.

Asda customers experienced the most issues, with 47% getting a substitution in their last order. The supermarket was given just two out of five stars for the choice of substitute.

Next up was Sainsbury's, where 32% of customers said they received a substitution, but the supermarket was given three out of five - suggesting shoppers were generally happier with what was sent out. Among the most bizarre examples reported to Which? were beef dog treats instead of beef steaks, and leeks instead of flowers.

Three in 10 Morrisons customers had received a replacement item, but it only managed two stars for the choice of these. Inappropriate examples included sanitary towels instead of sandwich wraps and fish steaks in place of lemon cupcakes.

Meanwhile, an Amazon Fresh customer was sent orange flavour vitamins instead of a Terry's chocolate orange, while another who ordered ham was sent cat food.

While some customers saw the funny side, those with dietary restrictions were less than impressed. Multiple customers complained about getting meat and dairy instead of vegetarian and vegan alternatives.

What can you do if you receive the wrong item?

Reena Sewraz, Which? money and retail editor, said you can reject an item on arrival - or sometimes opt out of receiving substitutions altogether, "although your dinner plans could be disrupted if key ingredients don't show up".

An Asda spokesperson said its own data showed the vast majority of substitutions are accepted by customers.

"We don't charge more for substitutes, even where the item has a higher value, and where the replacement item is of less value we refund the difference to the customer," they added.

Sainsbury's said: "If a product a customer has chosen for their groceries online order is no longer available, our colleagues are trained to pick an alternative that's as close as possible to the original item.

"We're sorry that on the rare occasion this might not be quite right, our customer satisfaction scores tell us that our substitutions have improved over the last few years."

Crypto surges after Trump announcement - but Bitcoiners aren't happy

Donald Trump has announced that the US will start investing in cryptocurrencies.

Prices surged after his unexpected post on Truth Social - but according to the Crypto Today podcast, some Bitcoiners are furious.

Trump wrote that three smaller cryptocurrencies - called XRP, SOL and ADA - would be included in this so-called strategic reserve.

But his initial statement didn't mention Bitcoin and Ether, the two biggest digital assets.

In a follow-up post, the president added: "And, obviously, BTC and ETH, as other valuable Cryptocurrencies, will be the heart of the Reserve."

This is a significant policy shift, and one that is light on detail at the moment. 

On the campaign trail, he had initially promised to create a "strategic Bitcoin reserve".

The US has seized BTC worth £15bn from criminals in recent years - with Trump arguing these funds should be kept, rather than auctioned off.

Bitcoin supporters have long called for a policy like this, but say the addition of other cryptocurrencies into this reserve creates "a basket of garbage".

Bitcoin rose 8% on the news - hitting £73,000 and rebounding from extensive sell-offs last week.

But it's the smaller cryptocurrencies named in Trump's plans that have surged the most.

XRP's price has jumped 25% higher, with SOL up 18% and ADA spiking by 60%.

I flew to Budapest for a spa day: Inside the world of extreme day-tripping

The first rule of extreme day-tripping is the shorter, the better.

An overnight stay is tolerated, two nights barely, but the real winner is managing to cram a visit to a European destination into the space of a single day.

The real test of an extreme day trip is if "you tell someone 'I'm doing this' and their response is 'that's ridiculous'," says Michael Cracknell, founder of the EDT Facebook group.

He first took an extreme day trip in 2002, travelling to Switzerland for the day with his dad. But in 2019, it ramped up a gear. After a break during COVID, the delivery driver now takes around ten a year, with destinations including Germany, Switzerland, Northern Ireland and Spain.

He has also started to run group trips, uniting strangers with their love of far-flung day visits.

Michael set up an online group in 2022, with the community now home to more than 300,000 members who trade tips and itineraries and flag cheap flights.

So what's the best way to start extreme day-tripping?

"Check the Extreme Day Trips Facebook page," he says, laughing. "There are so many itineraries, so much detail on there."

Making sure you research your airport transport is crucial, he says, as you usually don't have long in the country to be worrying about getting delayed.

"Switzerland is the only country in the world where I trust the trains to run on time. You can go three hours away from the airport and you can trust you will get back in time."

-SKY NEWS