
Billionaire to open maths school for the most talented children
One of Britain's biggest taxpayers is opening the country's first specialist secondary school for exceptionally talented young mathematicians.
Alex Gerko, a Russian-born billionaire, has already spent millions of pounds trying to improve numeracy in this country. He is now launching a 'needs blind' private school, offering bursaries to those who cannot afford the fees, which is due to open in September next year in north London.
It will be called 1729 Maths School because of the number's significance in maths as the smallest sum of two cubes expressed in different ways (it is known as the Hardy-Ramanujan or 'taxicab' number).
Gerko, the founder of XTX Markets, went to a specialist maths school in Moscow from the age of 12 and wants British children to
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Sweet-toothed fans are racing to Iceland for retro snack inspired by iconic 2000s drink
SHOPPERS are flocking to Iceland to get their hands on a snack inspired by an iconic 2000s drink. Nesquik now comes in yogurt form, and they are bringing back some core memories for millennials. 1 The cereal treat is a split pot with a generous helping of sweet yogurt made from 83 percent milk and crunchy chocolate balls. The four-pack of 107g Chocoballs pots is being sold exclusively at Iceland for £2.80. There is also a deal on now where you can buy three packs for just £6.00 - saving yourself £2.40. Or you can mix and match them with a choice between Muller Corners or Quality Street's Toffee Dessert. One savvy shopper spotted the tasty treat in their local Iceland and shared a photo on Snack Reviews Facebook page. "I need," one wrote, adding the eyes emoji. "I want these for me, not the kids," another joked. Nesquik was a huge hit in the 2000s and is known for its range of flavoured milk drink powders, particularly the iconic chocolate variety. It has been a staple in many British households for decades, often associated with childhood memories and nostalgic comfort. In addition to the classic powders, Nesquik in the UK has expanded its product range to include ready-to-drink bottles and cereal, further cementing its presence in the breakfast and snack categories. Dunnes Stores fans set for frenzy as major new food section lands in supermarkets This comes as Nesquik's creator Nestle revealed it hiked the cost of its chocolate and coffee for customers. The Swiss company said it's raised its prices by 2.1% overall - but for some items the hikes are in the double digits. It blamed surging costs of coffee beans and chocolate. "Despite the significant level of the increases in many markets, the actions were implemented with limited customer disruption," Nestle said. Nestle produces a range of products, including chocolates, sweets, cereals, drinks, ice cream and pet foods. Among its popular brands are Aero, Milkybar, Smarties, Milo, Haagen Dazs, San Pellegrino, and Felix cat food. The company said it had better-than-expected sales growth of 2.8% in the first three months of the year. The higher prices accounted for much of the rise. Nestle said it had seen demand drop significantly following the price increases but it is now bouncing back. It also warned there could be further impacts on customers due to higher global tariffs. Donald Trump recently launched a global trade war when he announced major tariffs on dozens of countries. The move has raised fears of a global recession, sent stock markets tumbling and caused economic uncertainty for businesses trading internationally. Mr Trump has called on American companies to produce their products in the US to avoid costly tariffs. But for chocolate makers this is near impossible as the key ingredient, cocoa, can only be grown in tropical climates. On top of this, the price of cocoa has soared in recent years. Farmers in West Africa, where 70% of the world's cocoa is harvested, have been struggling with climate-related issues that have decimated their cocoa production. It's estimated 400,000 tonnes less of cocoa has been produced over the last few years, hiking the price significantly.


Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Dollar steadies after rally, focus shifts to US-China trade talks
June 9 (Reuters) - The dollar held steady against all major currencies on Monday, as exuberance over an upbeat U.S. employment report gave way to caution ahead of pivotal U.S.-China trade talks set to take place in London later in the day. The talks come at a crucial time for both economies, with China grappling with deflation and trade uncertainty dampening sentiment among U.S. businesses and consumers, prompting investors to reassess the dollar's safe-haven status. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are expected to represent the U.S. at the trade talks, while vice premier He Lifeng would likely be present with the Chinese delegation. "A deal to keep talking might be better than nothing, but unless we see a concrete breakthrough, the impact on sentiment is likely to remain muted," said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo Markets. Friday's upbeat U.S. jobs report yielded some relief for investors following other bleak economic data last week. The dollar advanced against major peers after the employment report, which cut weekly declines in the dollar index by more than half. However, it is still down by more than 8.6% for the year. On Monday, the yen firmed 0.10% at 144.750 per dollar, as data showed Japan's economy contracted at a slower-than-expected pace in the January-March period. The Swiss franc was steady at 0.8221 per dollar by 0041 GMT. The euro was last flat at $1.1399, while the sterling fetched $1.3535. The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against six others, was steady at 99.169. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes was flat in early Asia trading, after a more than 10 basis points jump on Friday. New Zealand's dollar last bought $0.6020, while the Australian dollar inched up 0.1% at $0.65 in light volumes as markets were closed for a public holiday. An inflation report out of the U.S. for the month of May will be in the spotlight later in the week as investors and Federal Reserve policymakers look for evidence on the damage trade restrictive policies have had on the economy. Fed officials are in a blackout period ahead of their policy meeting next week, but they have signalled that they are in no rush to cut interest rates and signs of better-than-feared economic resilience are likely to further cement their stance. Interest rate futures indicate that investors are anticipating the central bank may cut borrowing costs by 25 basis points, with the earliest move expected in October this year, according to data compiled by LSEG. "May is the first month where the impact of Trump's 10% universal tariff on imports ex-USMCA is expected to show. The Fed will want a few months of inflation data in order to judge the tariff impact and most importantly, its persistence," analysts at ANZ Bank said. Elsewhere, China's offshore yuan was last at 7.187 per dollar ahead of inflation and trade data.


BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Tariffs: US and China set to meet for trade talks in London
A new round of talks aimed at resolving a trade war between the US and China is set take place in London on President Donald Trump announced on Friday that a senior US delegation would meet Chinese representatives. Over weekend, Beijing's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Vice Premier He Lifeng will attend the announcements came after Trump and China's leader Xi Jinping had a phone conversation last week, which the US president described as a "very good talk".Last month, the world's two biggest economies agreed a temporary truce to lower import taxes on goods being traded between them, but since then both countries have accused the other of breaching the deal. Writing on his Truth Social platform on Friday, Trump said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer would meet Chinese officials in London on Saturday, China's foreign ministry said Vice Premier He would be in the UK between 8 and 13 June, and that a meeting of the "China-US economic and trade mechanism" would take new round of negotiations came after Trump said his phone conversation with Xi on Thursday mainly focused on trade and had "resulted in a very positive conclusion for both countries".According to Chinese state news agency Xinhua, Xi told Trump that the US should "withdraw the negative measures it has taken against China".The call was the first time the two leaders had spoken since the trade war erupted in Trump announced sweeping tariffs on imports from a number of countries earlier this year, China was the hardest hit. Beijing responded with its own higher rates on US imports, and this triggered tit-for-tat increases that peaked at 145%.In May, talks held in Switzerland led to a temporary truce that Trump called a "total reset".It brought US tariffs on Chinese products down to 30%, while Beijing slashed levies on US imports to 10% and promised to lift barriers on critical mineral agreement gave both sides a 90-day deadline to try to reach a trade deal. But since then, relations appeared to have soured. Last month, Trump said China had "totally violated its agreement with us", and then a few days later China said the US had "severely violated" the US accused China of failing to restart shipments of critical minerals and rare earth magnets vital to car and computer Saturday, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said it had approved some applications for rare earth export licences, although it did not provide details of which countries announcement came after Trump said on Friday that Xi had agreed to restart trade in rare earth speaking on Sunday, White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told CBS News that "those exports of critical minerals have been getting released at a rate that is, you know, higher than it was, but not as high as we believe we agreed to in Geneva".