EXCLUSIVE Savage way socialite's ex learned she was dating Australia's No.1 real estate agent - as insiders reveal details of the romance that's stunned Jewish high society: 'He's spending a fortune on her'
Gavin Rubinstein, the founder of prestige real estate agency The Rubinstein Group, is sailing across the continent with his new girlfriend Ruby Adler.
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The Independent
11 minutes ago
- The Independent
US-EU trade deal wards off further escalation but will raise costs for companies, consumers
President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have announced a sweeping trade deal that imposes 15% tariffs on most European goods, warding off Trump's threat of a 30% rate if no deal had been reached by Aug. 1. The tariffs, or import taxes, paid when Americans buy European products could raise prices for U.S. consumers and dent profits for European companies and their partners who bring goods into the country. Here are some things to know about the trade deal between the United States and the European Union: What's in the agreement? Trump and von der Leyen's announcement, made during Trump's visit to one of his golf courses in Scotland, leaves many details to be filled in. The headline figure is a 15% tariff rate on 'the vast majority' of European goods brought into the U.S., including cars, computer chips and pharmaceuticals. It's lower than the 20% Trump initially proposed, and lower than his threats of 50% and then 30%. Von der Leyen said the two sides agreed on zero tariffs on both sides for a range of 'strategic' goods: Aircraft and aircraft parts, certain chemicals, semiconductor equipment, certain agricultural products, and some natural resources and critical raw materials. Specifics were lacking. She said the two sides 'would keep working' to add more products to the list. Additionally, the EU side would purchase what Trump said was $750 billion (638 billion euros) worth of natural gas, oil and nuclear fuel to replace Russian energy supplies, and Europeans would invest an additional $600 billion (511 billion euros) in the U.S. What's not in the deal? Trump said the 50% U.S. tariff on imported steel would remain; von der Leyen said the two sides agreed to further negotiations to fight a global steel glut, reduce tariffs and establish import quotas — that is, set amounts that can be imported, often at a lower rate. Trump said pharmaceuticals were not included in the deal. Von der Leyen said the pharmaceuticals issue was 'on a separate sheet of paper' from Sunday's deal. Where the $600 billion for additional investment would come from was not specified. And von der Leyen said that when it came to farm products, the EU side made clear that 'there were tariffs that could not be lowered,' without specifying which products. What's the impact? The 15% rate removes Trump's threat of a 30% tariff. It's still much higher than the average tariff before Trump came into office of around 1%, and higher than Trump's minimum 10% baseline tariff. Higher tariffs, or import taxes, on European goods mean sellers in the U.S. would have to either increase prices for consumers — risking loss of market share — or swallow the added cost in terms of lower profits. The higher tariffs are expected to hurt export earnings for European firms and slow the economy. The 10% baseline applied while the deal was negotiated was already sufficiently high to make the European Union's executive commission cut its growth forecast for this year from 1.3% to 0.9%. Von der Leyen said the 15% rate was 'the best we could do' and credited the deal with maintaining access to the U.S. market and providing 'stability and predictability for companies on both sides.' What is some of the reaction to the deal? German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed the deal which avoided 'an unnecessary escalation in transatlantic trade relations" and said that 'we were able to preserve our core interests,' while adding that 'I would have very much wished for further relief in transatlantic trade.' The Federation of German Industries was blunter. "Even a 15% tariff rate will have immense negative effects on export-oriented German industry," said Wolfgang Niedermark, a member of the federation's leadership. While the rate is lower than threatened, "the big caveat to today's deal is that there is nothing on paper, yet," said Carsten Brzeski, global chief of macro at ING bank. 'With this disclaimer in mind and at face value, today's agreement would clearly bring an end to the uncertainty of recent months. An escalation of the US-EU trade tensions would have been a severe risk for the global economy," Brzeski said. 'This risk seems to have been avoided.' What about car companies? Asked if European carmakers could still sell cars at 15%, von der Leyen said the rate was much lower than the current 27.5%. That has been the rate under Trump's 25% tariff on cars from all countries, plus the preexisting U.S. car tariff of 2.5%. The impact is likely to be substantial on some companies, given that automaker Volkswagen said it suffered a 1.3 billion euro ($1.5 billion) hit to profit in the first half of the year from the higher tariffs. Mercedes-Benz dealers in the U.S. have said they are holding the line on 2025 model year prices 'until further notice.' The German automaker has a partial tariff shield because it makes 35% of the Mercedes-Benz vehicles sold in the U.S. in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, but the company said it expects prices to undergo 'significant increases' in coming years. What were the issues dividing the two sides? Before Trump returned to office, the U.S. and the EU maintained generally low tariff levels in what is the largest bilateral trading relationship in the world, with some 1.7 trillion euros ($2 trillion) in annual trade. Together the U.S. and the EU have 44% of the global economy. The U.S. rate averaged 1.47% for European goods, while the EU's averaged 1.35% for American products, according to the Bruegel think tank in Brussels. Trump has complained about the EU's 198 billion-euro trade surplus in goods, which shows Americans buy more from European businesses than the other way around, and has said the European market is not open enough for U.S.-made cars. However, American companies fill some of the trade gap by outselling the EU when it comes to services such as cloud computing, travel bookings, and legal and financial services. And some 30% of European imports are from American-owned companies, according to the European Central Bank.
Daily Mail
12 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Britain facing pension poverty 'time bomb' as Rachel Reeves' tax grab helps crater retirement savings by 20 per cent in six months
Britain is facing a pension poverty 'time bomb' after Rachel Reeves ' punishing tax grab helped plunge retirement savings by 20 per cent in six months. Survey figures suggest Britons may have been reducing their pension contributions since Christmas as the economy reacted to Labour's new tax regime. The Chancellor's national insurance hike has been partly blamed for high inflation this year, raising the cost of goods and services. Critics said last night the increased cost of living is 'squeezing' households and preventing people from putting money away for their retirement. As a result, the average monthly pension contribution has slumped to £53.40 this month from £59.10 in April and £65.10 in December. This is the first time in two years contributions have dropped for six months in a row, according to data from the House Money Index compiled by price comparison website MoneySuperMarket. At the same time, average household spending on bills and other outgoings surged by 12 per cent to £1,564 per month. The data showed the average Brit is now shelling out £52.14 per day on essentials, up from £46.40 in December. Kara Gammell, personal finance expert at MoneySuperMarket, said: 'People are reducing their private and workplace pension contributions, perhaps to help offset rising costs and stretched household finances.' Last night, Helen Whately MP, shadow pensions secretary, said: 'Britain is facing a pension poverty time bomb of Labour's making. 'By squeezing the public with more taxes and higher bills, people are being forced to make terrible choices – choices we won't see the full consequence of for years. 'The Conservatives will always stand on the side of the makers – those who work hard, do the right thing, and want to get on in life. 'And so we will hold Labour to account for the economic mess they are making.' John O'Connell, chief executive at the TaxPayers' Alliance said: 'Sky-high taxes and soaring living costs mean hard-pressed households are dipping into their retirement savings just to stay afloat.' This month, the Office for National Statistics said UK inflation jumped higher than economists had expected to 3.6 per cent in June, up from 3.4 per cent in May. It marked the steepest increase since January 2024, with critics blaming Mrs Reeves' 'job tax'. Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said the Government was reviving New Labour's Pensions Commission to help people save more. She said: 'People deserve to know they will have a decent income in retirement – with all the security, dignity and freedom that brings. 'But the truth is, that is not the reality facing many people, especially if you're low paid, or self-employed.
Times
12 minutes ago
- Times
What links a sexy devil, UFOs and a tsar's drunken night out?
In a secluded hollow in Brussels Park a monument marks the spot where the Russian tsar Peter the Great was drunkenly sick after attending a particularly boozy banquet in April 1717. The strange memorial is featured in a new travel guide, Bizarre Belgium, gathering together 50 of Belgium's strangest places — and making a good case for the country to be considered among Europe's most idiosyncratic. 'Belgium is an eccentric country because of its history and weird situation, with the different languages and peoples. So, I think we try to make it fun and this is why we have a surrealist tradition,' Kamiel De Bruyne, one of the guide's authors, said. Belgium is a country regarded by many historians as an artificial creation by Europe's great powers after the defeat of Napoleon, which often seems to be on the brink of falling apart. It is an uneasy marriage between the Dutch-speaking Flemish and francophone Walloons, governed by a famously dysfunctional state, with various dark chapters in its less than 200-year history. • The best of Belgium: where to stay and what to do Karen François, De Bruyne's girlfriend and co-author, said Belgians think their nation 'very normal', adding: 'We wouldn't say 'weird little Belgium' ourselves.' The couple, both aged 33, are uncovering the remains of a fountain basin in Brussels Park, formerly known as the Royal Park, dating back to the 18th century and covered by hedge trimming dumped by park keepers. It bears an inscription in cod Latin: 'Petrus Alexiowitz Czar Moscoviae magnus dux margini hujus fontis insidens illius aquam nobilitavit libato vino hora post meridian tertiadie XVI April's anno 1717'. Translated, Kamiel said, the inscription relates that the tsar, 'seated at the edge of the fountain, enriched its waters with the wine he has consumed, at 3pm on April 16, 1717'. Drunk after a lavish banquet, Peter the Great was sick and, legend has it, fell asleep there until the next morning. Several feet away is a bust of the Russian autocrat and emperor raised in the 19th century by an aristocratic countryman to mark the visit. 'It is a tribute to a royal puke,' said De Bruyne. 'Instead of politely forgetting the whole thing, someone in Brussels decided to immortalise it.' Located in a less-than-inviting corner of the park, right opposite and below the present royal palace, reflecting the lower street level of the 18th century, the statue was once infamous as a trysting spot between government officials and prostitutes, according to François. De Bruyne said that of other landmarks in the travel guide he had a particular soft spot for western Europe's only monument or memorial to UFOs by a roadside in Flanders. 'It is absolutely my favourite,' he said. It recalls a traffic jam, a traditional sight on Belgium's national day of July 21, as everyone headed to the coast in 1955. Marin Vandercruyssen, an 18-year-old soldier, was riding pillion on his father's motorbike when they saw a crowd of more than 20 people pointing up in the air. He followed their gaze and saw five gigantic silver circular flying saucers. They were at least 100 metres in diameter, according to Vandercruyssen and other witnesses. After ten minutes the UFOs supposedly disappeared but changed Vandercruyssen's life for ever. 'He was convinced the alien would come back,' De Bruyne said. 'His dream was to be taken to their planet and that is why he wanted to put the marker there, so they could find him. It even includes a picture of him from 1955 so they can recognise him.' Vandercruyssen died in 2020 — 'no aliens ever turned up', De Bruyne added. 'It is very sad, beautiful and Belgian.' The top pick for François is the 'sexy Satan' of Liège. The 19th-century statue of Lucifer in the city's cathedral depicts the fallen angel as a brooding and muscular young man. The first version of the work, L'ange du mal (Angel of evil) by Joseph Geefs in 1842, was considered to be too seductive and was removed. It is now in a Brussels museum. The second, 1848's Le génie du mal, (The genius of evil) by Joseph's brother William, was still controversial, even though it had more clothes, and was allowed to stay. 'Very typical Belgium: we make something. Oh, no, it's too much. Too hot. Sexy Satan. We will remove it. Now we'll make an even better one. Super sexy Satan,' she said, recounting how the 'sunlight streams through the stained glass windows right on to his six-pack and muscular thighs'. No guide to Belgium can be complete without Leopold II, the great, great, great-uncle of the present king, Philippe. Now seen as a monster, he ran the Congo as his personal colonial fiefdom between 1885 and 1908 when at least ten million Congolese people, more than half the population, either died or were killed. The book includes a British-built pedal tricycle, now in a military museum, which Leopold used to visit one of his mistresses, Blanche Delacroix. The guide also features a now boarded-up royal station. Built in a neo-classical style, the station was purpose-built to receive high-ranking guests and, rumour has it, to ensure Leopold received the first edition of The Times by express train every day. 'I think you should come and visit Belgium and do all the typical tourist places and visit Bruges, which is great and amazing and beautiful,' De Bruyne said. 'But if you come to Belgium a second time, bring this book to go to these weird and peculiar places that otherwise you would miss.'
