A train crash in Spain kills 68, as dear fuel keeps pushing up rates and bills

Europe's main gas price passed 100 euros a megawatt-hour on Wednesday. The European Union paid about 9.9 billion euros more a month for almost the same amount of oil.

Shell, Europe's biggest oil company, nearly doubled its profit as damaged refineries left too little fuel. A barrel of oil eased 0.7% to $114.50 on hopes of peace talks with Iran.

Diesel costs near 1.99 pounds a litre in Britain, and petrol near 1.73 pounds. Moody's, a US research firm, puts the war's cost to the average US household at about 2,000 dollars so far.

Britain's NFU farmers' union says fuel costs farms 65% more than a year ago. The World Bank expects world food prices to rise just over 10% in 2026.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said three tankers hit sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow sea lane that carries much of the Gulf's oil.

The US central bank held its rate at 3.75% to 4% with prices rising 3.7% a year, and 2 of its 12 voters wanted a rise. The Bank of Canada raised its rate to 2.5% so dear energy does not spread into all prices.

A typical two-year fixed mortgage in Britain costs 5.54%, against 4.25% before the Iran war. The average 30-year US home loan rate is 7.37%, more than a point above a year ago.

Memory chip prices rose 500% in a year, so HP, Asus and Acer moved some PC making back to China. Microsoft's sales of Windows for new PCs fell 22% as memory pushed up PC prices.

Xbox's money from consoles fell 14% in July to September. Its boss says she has more buyers than consoles, as AI firms buy up memory chips.

Alphabet, Google's owner, spent $9.07 billion more than its businesses brought in, and its shares fell 10% before trading opened. Bank of America expects a record $175 billion of company bonds in November, mostly for AI.

Most homes in England get 100 pounds towards energy bills in January, costing 2.6 billion pounds. Income tax lines stay frozen to 2031, and tax on savings interest and rent rises to 24%.

Britain doubled its extra tax on bank profits, from 3% to 6%, to pay for the help with energy bills. Britain's borrowing costs eased after the Budget.

The Budget cut 1 billion pounds from Britain's plan to warm homes. Carbon Brief, a climate news site, found 2.1 billion pounds of Britain's climate aid was money relabelled, not new.

The Budget kept a 3.7p a litre cut on farm diesel while fuel costs farms 65% more than a year ago.

British horse racing says it will urgently talk to the UK government after a tax rise on betting-shop machines.