Musk takes $150bn hit as markets react to end of Trump bromance

The £1 ketchup that beat Heinz in our taste test and why you shouldn't book a holiday on your laptop

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As a newsletter subscriber, you'll get exclusive content that goes beyond the blog, with digestible information to help you make smarter decisions on your savings, mortgages, holidays and much more.

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Why disgruntled Notting Hill residents are painting their colourful houses black

Notting Hill residents are painting their bright and colourful houses black in an effort to stop tourists and influencers from posing outside their properties.

Homeowners on Lancaster Road, in west London, have said they are fed up with people constantly congregating outside their properties.

The residents, whose homes sit just a stone's throw away from Portobello Market, said swarms of visitors to the street were leaving rubbish outside their doorsteps and even making it hard to enter their homes at times.

One resident told The Evening Standard: "People just don't understand that these are homes. It's not a museum, it's not an amusement park, it's not a restaurant, these aren't hotels."

Some residents are now painting their homes black to ward off those seeking the perfect social media pictures and asking their neighbours to follow suit, The Standard reports.

In a letter sent to neighbours, the residents said: "It's clear that the bright and contrasting house colours are a major draw for photographs for their social media accounts.

"While we all value the charm of our street, the unintended consequence has been a surge in disruptive tourism."

Biggest lottery prize UK has ever seen could make winner instantly richer than Adele or Dua Lipa

A single ticket-holder could win the biggest lottery prize the UK has ever seen tonight.

If they match the right numbers in the EuroMillions draw, the winner would bag the top spot on the National Lottery's biggest wins list.

A solo winner would also instantly become richer than Adele or Dua Lipa, according to National Lottery operator Allwyn.

The EuroMillions jackpot has rolled over to an estimated £208m, after Tuesday's £199m draw - which also would have been a record-breaking amount - had no winners.

Language-learning app offering $1,000 travel prize

A language learning app is offering a whopping $1,000 (£738) prize for one lucky winner to put their skills to use in a country that speaks the language they're practising. 

Memrise's newly launched 30-day challenge is offering one user a $1,000 travel voucher to immerse themselves in the culture of a country associated with their chosen language.

The challenge officially kicked off on 2 June and users have until today to join.

From there, it's 30 days of consistent learning, with users needing to prove they're practising on the app daily.

The winner will be announced on 7 July.

Sports Direct accused of breaking law with misleading prices

Sports Direct's use of recommended retail prices (RRPs) could be breaking the law and misleading customers, a Which? investigation has found.

The consumer champion looked at the pricing of 160 popular products at Sports Direct and found items are being sold with RRPs that appear to be misleading, with researchers unable to find products sold at that RRP price anywhere else online.

They also found the company was using obscure terms such as manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) or suggested retail price (SRP). Which? argues that these can be interpreted as being the same as RRP. 

Overall, for 58 of the 160 products investigated, Which? found no retailer selling them online at or above the Sports Direct reference price.

Which? believes some of Sports Direct's uses of RRPs could be considered "misleading actions" under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

Which? has reported Sports Direct to the competition regulator - the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

According to the Advertising Standards Authority, price comparisons must not mislead by falsely claiming a price advantage. 

Which? legal expert Lisa Webb said: "If Sports Direct is misleading customers by inappropriate use of RRPs to dupe them into thinking they are getting a good deal, then the competition regulator needs to step in and take strong action to stop this from happening."

Sky News has contacted Sports Direct for comment.

Musk takes $150bn hit as end of Trump bromance sees Tesla shares slump

It's been a quiet week for financial markets generally - but that could all change today.

The abrupt end to the Trump-Musk bromance has certainly unnerved Tesla shareholders.

Its stock, already plagued by jitters over falling sales and a lack of focus by Musk, plunged by 14%.

The decline, in cash terms, amounts to $150bn.

Ouch.

It leaves Tesla shares 25% down in the year to date.

Given the threats the president and his former confidante are now trading, there could be further falls to come.

Pre-market data shows a rise of 1% is expected - but that could change.

There is important US economic data out at 1.30pm this afternoon, which market analysts believe has the potential to reignite US recession fears after a pile of soft economic numbers this week so far.

That said, a strong print for hiring in the US during May could temper interest rate cut expectations and also trigger a negative market reaction.

The FTSE 100 was 0.4% up on the week so far ahead of Friday's open.

It gained 0.1% when trading began, with investors' eyes firmly focused on that US jobs report.

Why is it important for UK shares?

Most FTSE 100 constituents have US earnings. Difficulties in the world's largest economy have much wider implications and are felt on the markets globally.

Average UK house prices fell last month, according to Halifax

Average UK house prices fell by 0.4% in May - a drop of around £1,150 - following a modest rise in April, according to the latest Halifax house price index.

It means that, over the past year, prices have gone up by 2.5%, adding just over £7,000 to the value of a typical home (the average property price now stands at £296,648).

House prices have risen most in Northern Ireland, where they have jumped up 8.6% since this time last year. 

But, London remains the most expensive place to buy, with properties costing an average of £542,017. 

While the news is positive for buyers, affordability remains one of the biggest challenges in the market, according to Halifax, with house prices still high when compared to incomes.

However, lower mortgage rates and steady wage growth have helped support buyer confidence.

Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, said: "These small monthly movements point to a housing market that has remained largely stable, with average prices down by just 0.2% since the start of the year. 

"The market appears to have absorbed the temporary surge in activity over spring, which was driven by the changes to stamp duty."

She added that the housing market has "shown resilience" despite the uncertain picture for the wider economy and ongoing pressures on household incomes.

Reacting to the latest index, one analyst said: "None of these indicators suggest the market is weakening significantly. 

"Instead, it's just not recovering quite as soon and as strongly as we had expected."

-SKY NEWS