cash

Gianni Infantino has indicated a greater amount of money could be distributed to Fifa members from its estimated £4.4bn cash reserves.

In a letter seen by BBC Sport, and sent to the governing body’s six continental confederations on Monday, Fifa president Infantino said he would support “the greatest level of additional funding that can responsibly be delivered”.

Infantino has come under increasing pressure over his aborted Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) plan, which proposed selling stakes in the World Cup and other competitions to private investors, sparking a major backlash.

His letter comes after Uefa and Concacaf – the confederations for Europe and North America, Central America and the Caribbean – demanded Fifa pays $10m (£7.5m) to all 211 members from its reserves.

The proposal will be considered by the Fifa Council when they meet on 15 October.

“I will not prejudge the amount,” Infantino said in the letter.

“A single figure can begin the discussion, but it cannot complete a global policy.”

Infantino issued his latest defence of the failed proposal to sell a slice of the World Cup commercial rights that brought calls for his resignation, again claiming it had been intended to generate additional money for the game.

“The recent commercial proposal, now withdrawn, was intended to enable Fifa to invest more in football,” wrote the Swiss-Italian.

Earlier this month, Football Association chair Debbie Hewitt, a Fifa vice-president, told Infantino to release all documents relating to his controversial plan, and called for an independent review of FFE.

Infantino will stand for election for a fourth time in March 2027, with his opponents having until 18 November to find an alternative candidate.

WASHINGTON — Republicans are growing increasingly grim about their chances in November, with aligned groups pumping money into reliably GOP states and candidates scrambling to distance themselves from unpopular White House policies.

From Texas to Ohio and Alaska to Iowa, campaigns are grappling with a fed-up electorate that is sour on the president and angry over soaring fuel prices driven by an unpopular war. While Republicans are flush with unprecedented cash that could move the needle in some races, overall the mood is glum heading into the election’s final stretch as campaigns try to counter palpable Democratic enthusiasm to maintain their narrow lead in the House and Senate this November.

“Everybody is tired. You see the poll numbers. Everybody is cranky about gas prices,” said Jeanette Hoffman, a Republican strategist from New Jersey. “The party in power is playing defense. This is a referendum on the incumbents.”

Trump is trying to protect Republicans with cash

After mounting pressure from endangered candidates in battleground states, groups affiliated with President Trump finally began unleashing their stockpile of campaign cash earlier this month, joining with Republican committees that have amassed a record fortune that dramatically eclipses their Democratic counterparts.

“Republicans have air superiority. House Democrats are scrambling to catch up with the very limited resources they have,” said Mike Marinella, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

But the spending underscores the extent to which Republicans are playing defense.

Three Trump-aligned groups — MAGA Inc., No Going Back PAC and Safety and Affordability PAC — have spent more than $163 million on advertising and air time since Sept. 1. Nearly 40% of that money — more than $63 million — has been spent in states and districts where Trump won by 10 percentage points or more in the 2024 election, according to an Associated Press analysis of data from AdImpact, which tracks media spending and ad buys.

That includes 12 House districts and three states with major Senate races.

In Texas, Republicans have spent nearly $107 million on ads and reservations since the beginning of the month trying to bolster scandal-plagued attorney general Ken Paxton in his Texas Senate race against Democratic state Rep. James Talarico. The spending, which is for ads through Election Day, is nearly four times as much as Democrats in a state Trump won by nearly 14 points.

Further north in Ohio, Republican spending to defend Sen. Jon Husted has exceeded $152 million, compared with $90 million on behalf of Democratic nominee Sherrod Brown, according to AdImpact.

Terry Casey, an Ohio Republican strategist, said both Republicans and Democrats are “kind of sitting on pins and needles because of the national and economic circumstances.” The outcome, he said, would depend on whether Democrats can turn out voters.

Democrats are competing in Republican stronholds

States that Trump won by wide margins — like Texas, Iowa, Ohio and Alaska — have become some of the most competitive battlegrounds in the midterms.

The White House is even investing time in states that haven’t been considered competitive for years. Vice President JD Vance recently traveled to Kansas to campaign for Sen. Roger Marshall, who is facing a challenge from Democratic nominee Adam Hamilton.

The founder of the nation’s largest United Methodist church, Hamilton received a rousing welcome from scores of people who crammed into a Topeka coffee shop to see him Tuesday.

“In all my 50, 60 years in politics, I’ve never seen a candidate that quite has the momentum going,” said Jim Ploger, an 82-year-old longtime Democratic activist from Topeka who believes Hamilton gives the party “the best chance we’ve ever had” to win a Senate seat.

Vance has also been to Iowa, Ohio, Maine and North Carolina to bolster Republican candidates, while Trump is also hitting the road. The week after the party’s unusual midterm convention in Dallas, he traveled to North Carolina to hold a rally with Michael Whatley, his former national party chairman. Republicans are increasingly concerned that he could fall short in his Senate race against Democratic former Gov. Roy Cooper.

There are more concerns about Georgia, where Rep. Mike Collins is trying to unseat Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. Although Ossoff began the cycle as Republicans’ top target, Collins has endured weeks of negative headlines about a House ethics investigation and his son-in-law’s white nationalist views.

“I don’t think anyone’s expecting Collins to win,” said Tim Waters, chairman of the Peach County Republican Party. “Do I like that? No, I don’t like that. But it’s just the facts.”

In Texas, officials are hoping a huge influx of last-minute cash will help save Paxton. Sen. John Cornyn, who lost his primary to Paxton after Trump turned on him earlier this year, isn’t so confident.

“I think it’s going to be very rough, lots of headwinds,” he said. “Even in places like Texas, which are pretty red, we’ve got flawed candidates who I think are going to have a hard time.”

Republican National Committee spokesperson Natalie Baldassarre said the party is focused on turnout and is well aware of the historic trend in which the party in control typically loses seats in the midterm.

“We have money to spend and we’re not taking anything for granted this cycle,” she said. “This is very high stakes, and it’s unfortunate that other people feel glum and down. But we’re doing everything we can to protect and expand our majorities so we’re full steam ahead.”

Party officials are more bullish on races in Maine and New Hampshire, where Democrat Kamala Harris won in 2024, and remain optimistic about Michigan, where Trump won by less than two points and where former Rep. Mike Rogers faces progressive Democrat Abdul El-Sayed.

Some Republicans call for an end to the war

Some Republicans are taking steps to distance themselves from Trump even as he urges his supporters to vote like he is on the ballot.

Rep. Tom Tiffany and Rep. John James, the party’s nominees for governor in Wisconsin and Michigan, both joined calls for an end to the war in Iran.

“War is terrible, and no one likes war,” James told reporters.

Mike Rogers, the Republican Senate nominee in Michigan, released an ad in which he also called for ending the war. Standing in a grocery store, he bemoaned high prices and said the government should suspend gas taxes and stop diesel exports.

“The war with Iran needs to end and end quickly,” Rogers said. ”Michigan families can’t afford to wait.”

In Iowa, where Republicans are trying to hold onto the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Joni Ernst, Rep. Ashley Hinson, who is locked in a tight race against Democrat Josh Turek, voiced the same frustrations.

“Iowans are being squeezed and shouldn’t have to foot the bill at the pump or the checkout line for the war in Iran” she wrote on social media. “These actions to lower costs are needed ASAP, and the war needs to be brought to a successful and immediate end.”

Hinson, however, did not join two fellow Iowa Republicans in battleground districts — U.S. Reps. Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks — in voting with Democrats on a resolution intended to halt Trump’s ability to continue military action without lawmakers’ approval.

Perhaps the most dramatic break with Trump came from Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, a Republican defending her seat in a competitive, majority Hispanic South Florida district. Last week, she released an ad filmed in front of the White House as she criticized the president for going “too far” on immigration policy.

Others have continued to scrub references to Trump from their websites. The latest was Republican Byron Donalds, who is running for governor in Florida, who recently revamped his site so that it no longer includes a number of prominent references to Trump and his endorsement, the Miami Herald first reported.

‘It’s a very competitive environment out there’

White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said Trump “is the unequivocal leader, best messenger, and unmatched motivator for the Republican Party” and that “the choice has never been more clear: doubling down on President Trump’s winning, commonsense agenda or the Democrats’ extreme liberal policies and obstruction.”

Some Republicans are acknowledging that voters aren’t satisfied.

“We shouldn’t say, ‘Hey everything’s perfect,’ because it’s not,” said Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio. “But look what we’ve done in 18 months, and we need two more years to finish the job.”

Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana, who has traveled across the country campaigning for his colleagues, said Democrats appeared to have enthusiasm on their side in the midterms, and he said his party needed to level with the country.

“You can’t look the American people in the eye and say, ‘Don’t believe your lying checkbooks,’” he said. “The cost of living increase is real.”

He also said that voters are “confused about the war” and “they don’t understand how we’re going to get out.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., was measured in his assessment on Tuesday.

“Well, I’m hopeful, obviously, but also realistic,” he said. “It’s a very competitive environment out there.”

Colvin and Kessler write for the Associated Press. Colvin reported from New York. AP writers Mike Catalini in Morrisville, Pa., Bill Barrow in Atlanta, Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa, John Hanna in Topeka, Kan., and Lisa Mascaro, Mary Clare Jalonick, Steven Sloan and Joey Cappelletti in Washington contributed to this report.

HELEN Flanagan has put on a busty display and risked popping out of her racy black dress on a night out.

The former Coronation Street star, 36, took to Instagram to share some new snaps as she enjoyed a meal out at Gaucho restaurant in Manchester.

She wore a long ribbed black dress as she showed off plenty of cleavage in the revealing outfit.

Helen threatened to spill out of her attire as she only had three small gold clasps holding her boobs in.

The figure hugging dress perfectly cinched her waist as she displayed her hourglass figure.

She wore her blonde locks in a curly hairstyle and opted for a chic make-up look, complete with false eyelashes, eye shadow and a pink gloss.

READ MORE ON HELEN FLANAGAN

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ON THE TOWN

Helen Flanagan stuns in crop top as she attends Manchester Pride event

Helen appeared to be in great spirits as she beamed from ear to ear and enjoyed some beverages.

The actress simply used a kissing lip emoji as the caption.

Her followers rushed to the comments section to compliment her as one gushed: “The most gorgeous woman ever.”

Another person enthused: “Stunning and classy.”

Somebody else commented: “Sydney Sweeney ain’t got nothing on you.”

Yet another joked: “I mean…..come on, give the other women a chance.”

While a fifth follower added: “You are so gorgeous.”

Helen’s night out comes just days after she joked about selling her knickers to pay for her solicitors fees, amid her ongoing feud with her ex Scott Sinclair.

The Sun revealed how she has had some recent financial concerns after the father of her kids, 37, recently sold their family home, forcing her to downsize.

In a post on Monday, she shared a video where she quipped that she was going to flog her underwear for cash.

In the short clip, Helen was seen shimmying out of her knickers from underneath a long dress, before swinging them in the air.

In the next shot, she headed into the Post Office where she purchased an envelope.

The saucy star was then seen leaving the shop empty handed, implying she had posted her knickers to a fan.

Helen wrote over the top of the video: “When you have to figure out a way to pay for solicitor fees.”

Experts have given their take on where the Pound is

Experts have urged Brits to buy holiday cash now as the Pound is expected to weaken over this week’s market chaos with a warning that “it’ll hit wallets immediately”. Bond yields have risen sharply, increasing the cost of government borrowing and renewing concerns about whether Britain’s growing public-debt burden is sustainable.

Although higher yields can sometimes support a currency by offering investors better returns, Sterling has weakened as markets focus instead on inflation, rising debt costs and the Government’s limited financial room ahead of the Budget. The Bank of England is expected to hold interest rates at 3.75% this month, leaving it caught between supporting economic growth and preventing higher energy and import costs from fuelling another wave of inflation.

For households, a weaker Pound could mean more expensive holidays, fuel, food and other imported goods. Rising gilt yields can also push up swap rates, placing further pressure on fixed mortgage pricing just as many borrowers prepare to refinance.

Dave Huggett, founder of Lucid Foreign Exchange, said there was no need to be patient when buying your holiday cash.

He added: “Higher gilt yields and worries about debt sustainability tend to weigh on the Pound. Not always straight away and not always by much, but it’s one more thing dragging on sentiment. When investors get nervous about a country’s finances, they usually want more reward to hold that currency, or they just move their money elsewhere.

“So what do you do? Buy it all now, or hold in the hope of a recovery. The answer to that always lies in the need, not the want. If you’re buying currency to go on holiday, you basically get what you’re given. ‘Getting it right’ on a few thousand Pounds still doesn’t really move the dial. But if the numbers are bigger, and the situation can afford a bit more patience, then zooming out and looking at the situation objectively often pays.”

Iain Thompson, director of Evolve Finance, said everything was affected by a weaker Pound.

He added: “A sliding Pound is a quiet inflation tax on everyday households. When the Bank of England holds interest rates down while government borrowing costs climb, currency markets lose confidence, causing Sterling to steadily weaken against the Dollar and Euro. For the average person, this isn’t just an abstract financial chart – it’ll hit wallets immediately.

“A weaker Pound means everything the UK imports, from petrol to supermarket groceries, becomes instantly more expensive, keeping domestic inflation sticky. Holidaymakers will feel the sting the fastest at the exchange bureau. If you have a trip planned over the coming months, waiting and hoping for a sudden Sterling recovery is a high-risk gamble.

“While predicting currency is never guaranteed, the downward pressure is real. If your holiday budget is tight, locking in half of your travel cash now protects you from worst-case rate drops, ensuring a sudden currency dip won’t derail your family holiday budget before you even pack your bags.”

Tony Redondo, founder of Newquay-based Cosmos Currency Exchange, said the Bank of England was between a rock and a hard place.

He added: “Rising UK gilt yields are a double-edged sword for the Pound. At first, they boost Sterling’s appeal, a fatter carry-trade return over rival currencies. But soon markets ask why yields are climbing: borrowing costs rising as investors fret over debt sustainability, with the UK’s debt pile racing toward £3 trillion.

“That leaves the Bank of England boxed in; raise rates to choke off the inflationary wave from Brent crude above $95 or hold rates down to protect growth. My money’s on Sterling grinding lower, toward $1.30 and €1.13 ahead of the 28 October Budget, as fiscal deficits erode investor confidence.

“For consumers, a weaker Pound means pricier holidays abroad and imported inflation with higher supermarket bills, fuel costs, and goods prices. Elevated yields also lift swap rates, pushing fixed mortgage pricing higher. Anyone with confirmed overseas costs should buy currency in tranches now, hedging against further falls without gambling on timing.”

Prem Raja, head of trading floor at Currencies 4 You, said people could save as much as €230.

He added: “The rise in gilt yields is not automatically good news for Sterling. UK 10-year borrowing costs reached 5.29%, their highest since 2007, but the Pound still fell below $1.35. Investors appear more concerned about inflation, debt costs and the Government’s limited room ahead of the October Budget than attracted by higher yields.

“The Bank of England is expected to hold rates at 3.75% this month. If markets scale back expectations of a later rise, Sterling could lose another 1-2% over the coming months. GBP/EUR is around €1.16-€1.17, but €1.15 is realistic if fiscal concerns grow. GBP/USD could retest $1.33-$1.34, although US developments matter too.

“Travellers would notice that: a 2% fall means roughly €230 less when exchanging £10,000. I would not tell everyone to buy everything now, but anyone with a confirmed Euro or Dollar requirement should consider securing part of it and staggering the balance. That limits the risk of further weakness without committing everything at one rate.”

Anita Wright, chartered financial planner at Ribble Wealth Management, said a weaker Pound arrived in people’s shopping baskets within weeks, not months.

She added: “Everyone will watch the Pound against the Dollar and Euro. That’s the wrong yardstick. Those currencies are run by governments with the same problem so the Pound can look stable at the bureau de change while quietly losing purchasing power where it matters the supermarket, the petrol station, the energy bill.

“The real test of a currency is what it buys at home, and on that measure Sterling has been slipping for some time. What’s actually going on is this. The BoE holds bank rate down while the gilt market demands 5% and more. That gap gets filled by the Bank buying gilts, which is printing money by another name.

“More Pounds chasing the same goods. Diesel is already tightening and Britain imports most of its energy and much of its food, so a weaker Pound arrives in your shopping basket within weeks, not months. On holiday money swapping Pounds for Euros just moves you from one leaking boat to another.”

Samuel Mather-Holgate, managing director and IFA at Swindon-based Mather and Murray Financial, said there was no point waiting for the Pound to get stronger.

He added: “Sterling is not staring at an instant cliff edge, but the warning lights are flashing. With 10-year gilt yields around levels last seen in 2008 and the Pound slipping below $1.35, markets are telling Britain the free lunch is over. Higher borrowing costs squeeze the Treasury, unsettle mortgage markets and make imported goods, fuel and holidays more expensive if the Pound weakens further.

“For families, this is felt at the airport exchange desk, in supermarket prices and in the next remortgage quote. I would not tell people to gamble on currencies, but anyone with a known Euro or Dollar cost in the next few months may prefer certainty over trying to outguess a very twitchy market. Waiting for a stronger Pound is starting to look like a heroic assumption.”

Nouran Moustafa, practice principal and IFA at Roxton Wealth, said the weak Pound could be seen in airports.

She added: “The Pound is being squeezed from both sides. UK borrowing costs are rising, but markets still expect the Bank of England to hold Bank Rate at 3.75% this month. Sterling has already slipped to around $1.35 and €1.16. For households, this becomes painfully real at the airport.

“A weaker Pound means your hotel, meals and spending money abroad quietly become more expensive without the price tag changing. But I would not tell somebody to panic-buy thousands of Euros today based on a currency forecast. Nobody can reliably call Sterling over the next few weeks.

“If you know you need €2,000 or $3,000 for a trip, buying it in stages is far more sensible than gambling your entire holiday budget on one exchange-rate prediction. The bigger warning is this: when markets lose confidence in government finances, ordinary people eventually feel it. The bond market may look boring. Its consequences absolutely are not.”