Financial

If being forcibly displaced from their destroyed homes and neighbourhoods wasn’t bad enough, Palestinians in Gaza are facing crippling financial costs of complying with Israel’s displacement orders. Al Jazeera’s Moath Al-Kahlout breaks it down.

One international student after another told the University of Central Missouri this summer that they couldn’t get a visa, and many struggled to even land an interview for one.

Even though demand was just as high as ever, half as many new international graduate students showed up for fall classes compared with last year.

The decline represents a hit to the bottom line for Central Missouri, a small public university that operates close to its margins with an endowment of only $65 million. International students typically account for nearly a quarter of its tuition revenue.

“We aren’t able to subsidize domestic students as much when we have fewer international students who are bringing revenue to us,” said Roger Best, the university’s president.

Signs of a decline in international students have unsettled colleges around the U.S. Colleges with large numbers of foreign students and small endowments have little financial cushion to protect them from steep losses in tuition money.

International students represent at least 20% of enrollment at more than 100 colleges with endowments of less than $250,000 per student, according to an Associated Press analysis. Many are small Christian colleges, but the group also includes large universities such as Northeastern and Carnegie Mellon.

The extent of the change in enrollment will not be clear until the fall. Some groups have forecast a decline of as much as 40%, with a huge impact on college budgets and the wider U.S. economy.

International students face new scrutiny on several fronts

As part of a broader effort to reshape higher education, President Trump has pressed colleges to limit their numbers of international students and heightened scrutiny of student visas. His administration has moved to deport foreign students involved in pro-Palestinian activism, and new student visa appointments were put on hold for weeks as it ramped up vetting of applicants’ social media.

On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security said it will propose a rule that would put new limits on the time foreign students can stay in the U.S.

The policies have introduced severe financial instability for colleges, said Justin Gest, a professor at George Mason University who studies the politics of immigration.

Foreign students are not eligible for federal financial aid and often pay full price for tuition — double or even triple the in-state rate paid by domestic students at public universities.

“If an international student comes in and pays $80,000 a year in tuition, that gives universities the flexibility to offer lower fees and more scholarship money to American students,” Gest said.

A Sudanese student barely made it to the U.S. for the start of classes

Ahmed Ahmed, a Sudanese student, nearly didn’t make it to the U.S. for his freshman year at the University of Rochester.

The Trump administration in June announced a travel ban on 12 countries, including Sudan. Diplomatic officials assured Ahmed he could still enter the U.S. because his visa was issued before the ban. But when he tried to board a flight to leave for the United States from Uganda, where he stayed with family during the summer, he was turned away and advised to contact an embassy about his visa.

With the help of the University of Rochester’s international office, Ahmed was able to book another flight.

At Rochester, where he received a scholarship to study electrical engineering, Ahmed, 19, said he feels supported by the staff. But he also finds himself on edge and understands why other students might not want to subject themselves to the scrutiny in the U.S., particularly those who are entirely paying their own way.

“I feel like I made it through, but I’m one of the last people to make it through,” he said.

Colleges are taking steps to blunt the impact

In recent years, international students have made up about 30% of enrollment at Central Missouri, which has a total of around 12,800 students. In anticipation of the hit to international enrollment, Central Missouri cut a cost-of-living raise for employees. It has pushed off infrastructure improvements planned for its campus and has been looking for other ways to cut costs.

Small schools — typically classified as those with no more than 5,000 students — tend to have less financial flexibility and will be especially vulnerable, said Dick Startz, an economics professor at UC Santa Barbara.

Lee University, a Christian institution with 3,500 students in Tennessee, is expecting 50 to 60 international students enrolled this fall, down from 82 the previous school year, representing a significant drop in revenue for the school, said Roy Y. Chan, the university’s director of graduate studies.

The school already has increased tuition by 20% over the last five years to account for a decrease in overall enrollment, he said.

“Since we’re a smaller liberal arts campus, tuition cost is our main, primary revenue,” Chan said, as opposed to government funding or donations.

The strains on international enrollment only add to distress for schools already on the financial brink.

Colleges around the country have been closing as they cope with declines in domestic enrollment, a consequence of changing demographics and the effects of the pandemic. Nationwide, private colleges have been closing at a rate of about two per month, according to the State Higher Education Executive Officers Assn.

The number of high school graduates in the U.S. is expected to decline through 2041, when there will be 13% fewer compared with 2024, according to projections from the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.

“That means that if you lost participation from international students, it’s even worse,” Startz said.

Vileira, Seminera and Binkley write for the Associated Press.

BREAKINGBREAKING,

The US president says Lisa Cook to be removed from position ‘effective immediately’.

United President Donald Trump has ordered the removal of Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook amid unproven claims of mortgage fraud.

In a letter posted on social media on Monday night, Trump said Cook was being sacked “effective immediately”, in accordance with his powers under the US Constitution and the 1913 Federal Reserve Act.

Citing allegations made last week by the US federal mortgage regulator, Trump said there was “sufficient reason to believe you may have made false statements on one or more mortgage agreements”.

“The Federal Reserve has tremendous responsibility for setting interest rates and regulating reserve and members banks,” Trump said in the letter, which was shared on his platform Truth Social.

“The American people must be able to have full confidence in the honesty of the members entrusted with setting policy and overseeing the Federal Reserve. In light of your deceitful and potentially criminal conduct in a financial matter, they cannot and I do not have such confidence in your integrity.”

Trump had on Friday threatened to fire Cook, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, if she did not resign.

Trump’s extraordinary move is set to raise further questions about the independence of the US central bank, which has been under intense pressure from Trump to lower interest rates.

In a letter addressed to US Attorney General Pam Bondi and Department of Justice official Ed Martin earlier this month, Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte, a staunch Trump ally, alleged that Cook had listed two properties as her primary home addresses.

The Federal Reserve did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.

More to follow…

Warren Buffett’s incredible track record makes him one of the best investors ever. There’s no denying that. His successful ability at allocating capital has made Berkshire Hathaway a trillion-dollar business. It makes sense that the average investor might keep a close eye on what’s in its portfolio in order to find potential ideas.

As of Aug. 21, the conglomerate owned more than 605 million shares in a leading bank, a holding valued at $29 billion, making it Berkshire’s third largest position. While this financial stock has produced a total return of more than 118% in the past five years, Berkshire has been a notable seller in the past year or so.

So should you still buy shares right now?

Image source: Getty Images.

Operating from a position of strength

The business in Berkshire’s portfolio that investors might consider is Bank of America (BAC -0.10%). With $3.4 trillion in total assets, it’s the second-biggest bank in the U.S. based on this metric. Based on the company’s second-quarter financial performance, investors have reasons to be confident.

During the quarter, net revenue increased by 4% year over year. There was 7% loan growth. Net interest income was up for the fourth straight quarter. In a sign of credit quality, the net charge-off rate improved compared to Q2 2024. And the bank remains a leader in deposit gathering, with top retail market share.

Bank of America is a dominant financial services entity. Besides the factors already mentioned, one obvious reason why is because of how diversified its operations are. It has its hands in consumer and small business banking, corporate and investment banking, capital markets, and wealth management. If any segment comes under weakness, it can be offset by better results elsewhere.

Investors should follow in Buffett’s footsteps in the sense that they should try and identify businesses that have an economic moat, or durable competitive advantages that help them outperform rivals and new entrants. Bank of America fits the bill. Its massive scale gives it a cost advantage. And as is the case with banks, there are switching costs for customers.

Tremendous capital returns

During the second quarter, Bank of America generated $7.1 billion in net income. The business is consistently profitable. This setup allows management to return lots of capital to shareholders.

Bank of America bought back $5.3 billion worth of its own stock in Q2. And it paid out $2 billion in dividends. The current dividend yield of 2.29%, which is significantly higher than the S&P 500‘s 1.25%, provides a nice income stream.

Investors can expect the capital returns to continue. Bank of America just approved authorization for $40 billion in share repurchases. And in the past decade, the dividend has climbed 460%.

Taking a cautionary view

Valuation can have a notable impact on the returns investors achieve. Bank of America shares trade at a price-to-book (P/B) ratio of 1.3 today. This is higher than the trailing five- and 10-year average.

Additionally, investors have to think about the broader economy. For what it’s worth, there’s always a certain level of uncertainty. And no one has any clue what interest rates are going to do, although there is a view that they will come down. Regardless, there’s always the threat of a looming recession, which would negatively impact Bank of America and the industry at large. This is something bank investors can’t ignore.

The fact that Buffett and Berkshire have been selling could be an ominous signal. And maybe it’s best if investors avoid Bank of America right now. That perspective could change if the valuation was much more compelling, like at a P/B multiple below one.

Brookfield Asset Management (BAM -0.61%) manages over $1 trillion in assets, making it one of the largest alternative investment managers in the world. The company is growing briskly as more investors look to diversify into alternative assets.

The company’s robust growth potential makes it one of the best financial stocks you can buy today. Here’s a look at its impressive growth profile.

Image source: Getty Images.

Rapidly rising fee-based income

Of Brookfield’s $1 trillion in assets under management (AUM), about $563 billion currently generates fees. Over the past year, this fee-bearing capital produced $2.7 billion in fee-related earnings. Brookfield returns most of this income to shareholders through a dividend that currently yields close to 3%.

Brookfield sees strong growth ahead for its fee-bearing assets, earnings, and dividend payments through 2029. The company expects to more than double its fee-bearing capital to $1.1 trillion by the end of the decade by putting more of the capital it has already raised from investors to work and attracting new capital. Key growth drivers include rising investor demand for alternatives, new fund launches, and expanding into new capital sources, such as insurance companies and high-net-worth investors.

As Brookfield’s fee-bearing capital grows, the company expects it to drive 17% compound annual fee-related earnings-per-share growth through the decade. Distributable earnings per share are on track to rise even faster at 18% annually, helped by the realization of carried interest (its share of the profits from funds it manages above certain return thresholds). By 2029, Brookfield estimates it will generate $2 billion in carried interest alone.

With earnings rapidly rising, Brookfield expects to grow its dividend by more than 15% per year. This combination of rising earnings and dividends positions the company to deliver strong total returns over the next five years.

Asian stock markets see big gains amid growing expectations of an interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve.

Japan’s benchmark stock market index has topped its all-time high for a second straight day amid expectations of an interest rate cut in the United States and easing trade tensions between Washington and Beijing.

The Nikkei 225 rose above 43,421 points on Wednesday after better-than-expected US inflation data bolstered the case for a rate cut by the US Federal Reserve at its next committee meeting in September.

The milestone came after the Nikkei on Tuesday breached the 42,999-point mark for the first time.

In the US, the benchmark S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also closed at record highs on Tuesday after rising 1.13 percent and 1.39 percent respectively, as investors cheered the latest inflation data release, which showed consumer prices rising a lower-than-expected 2.7 percent in July.

The inflation data added to a positive turn in investor sentiment following US President Donald Trump’s announcement on Monday of a 90-day extension of his pause on crippling tariffs on Chinese goods.

Other Asian stock markets also racked up big gains on Wednesday, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and South Korea’s KOSPI rising about 2.50 percent and 1 percent, respectively.

The Fed and its chair, Jerome Powell, have for months been under intense pressure from Trump to lower interest rates.

A cut in the benchmark rate would deliver a boost to the US economy, the biggest driver of global growth, by lowering borrowing costs for American households and businesses.

But the Fed has been reluctant to cut the rate due to concerns it could stoke inflation at a time when Trump’s sweeping tariffs are already putting pressure on prices.

“Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell must NOW lower the rate,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, claiming that the Fed chair had done “incalculable” damage to the economy by not lowering borrowing costs.

On Tuesday, CME Group’s FedWatch tool raised the likelihood of a September rate cut to 96.4 percent, up from 85.9 percent the previous day.

Hong Kong’s Security Bureau announces measures over activists’ alleged role in unofficial parliament overseas.

Hong Kong authorities have cancelled the passports of 12 activists based overseas in their latest crackdown on activities that they claim pose threats to national security.

Hong Kong’s Security Bureau announced the measures on Monday after a local court issued arrest warrants last month for the 12 activists and seven other pro-democracy campaigners over their alleged roles in establishing an unofficial parliament overseas.

The bureau said it had also banned individuals from providing financial support or leasing property to 16 of the “absconders,” and entering into joint ventures or partnerships with them.

The wanted activists include Chongyi Feng, an Australian citizen and professor at the University of Technology Sydney, and Sasha Gong, a United States citizen and journalist who previously worked for Voice of America.

Hong Kong authorities allege that the 19 activists’ participation in the “Hong Kong Parliament” advocacy group constitutes subversion under the Chinese-ruled city’s sweeping national security law.

A Hong Kong government spokesperson said the activists had continued to “blatantly engage in activities that endanger national security” while hiding in countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.

The Hong Kong parliament condemned last month’s announcement of arrest warrants and bounties for the campaigners as a “blatant abuse of legal instruments to pursue political persecution”.

“These actions represent a clear escalation of Beijing’s transnational repression, extending its coercive reach beyond China’s borders and infringing upon the sovereignty of democratic nations, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, and members of the European Union,” the group said.

Once known for its spirited political opposition and media, Hong Kong has radically curtailed the space for dissent since the introduction of a sweeping Beijing-decreed national security law in 2020 in response to violent anti-government protests.

Opposition parties have been effectively eliminated from the city’s legislature, and public commemorations of sensitive events, such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, essentially outlawed.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said last month that 332 individuals had been arrested for national offences since 2020.

Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong officials have defended the law, and additional national security legislation introduced in 2024, as necessary to restore stability to the city after the turmoil caused by the mass protests.

“We’ll still gather together and talk about the old times, what we’ve done and where we’ve been. But we should still be able to do it here, every week,” adds Barker.

“Inside I’m being absolutely torn apart.”

Where once on the town’s seafront there were multiple fairgrounds, theatres, piers and miniature zoos, there are now a smattering of bars and restaurants, many of which are funded by matchday income and travelling away supporters.

The club’s peril means local businesses are now at risk.

“The winter months are the hardest here, because it’s the seaside,” says Chris Donaldson, owner the The Royal Hotel on the seafront. “The football season sees us through that.

“I’ve got 19 bedrooms here and away fans are coming from all over fully booking them weeks in advance. The whole town can be full.

“It’ll cost us tens of thousands, easily. It’s crazy what it’ll do to the town to lose that kind of money. Everyone will feel the effect of it.”

For staff at the fans’ matchday pub, the difference in demeanour is already stark.

“We get around 400, 500 people on a matchday,” says Michael Woolworth, manager of the Hurley Flyer opposite the stadium. “It feels like everyone in Morecambe is in here.

“It’s a ritual every weekend. In here we see that football really brings people together.

“But in the last few months we’ve seen the happiness taken away from them. We have regulars who have come in visibly upset.”

Morecambe FC has been one of the area’s biggest employers in recent times. But the club’s financial issues mean that salaries paid to staff and players have been delayed or not paid at all in some months. Dewhirst was last paid in May.

“I’m eating into my savings now,” he says. “Some people aren’t lucky enough to have savings – some are going to food banks because they can’t afford to buy their shopping.

“It’s been hard watching players leave. There was another one gone yesterday. I’ve known lots of them for years.

“I feel broken. Numbness has set in.”

WASHINGTON — For all of President Trump’s promises of an economic “golden age,” a spate of weak indicators last week told a potentially worrisome story as the effects of his policies are coming into focus.

Job gains are dwindling. Inflation is ticking upward. Growth has slowed compared with last year.

More than six months into his term, Trump’s blitz of tariff hikes and his new tax-and-spending bill have remodeled America’s trading, manufacturing, energy and tax systems to his liking. He’s eager to take credit for any perceived wins and is hunting for someone else to blame if the financial situation starts to totter.

But as of now, this is not the boom the Republican president promised, and his ability to blame his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, for any economic challenges has faded as the world economy hangs on his every word and social media post.

When Friday’s monthly jobs report turned out to be decidedly bleak, Trump ignored the warnings in the data and fired the head of the agency that produces the report.

“Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can’t be manipulated for political purposes,” Trump said on his social media platform, without offering evidence for his claim. “The Economy is BOOMING.”

It’s possible that the disappointing numbers are growing pains from the rapid transformation caused by Trump and that stronger growth will return — or they may be a preview of even more disruption to come.

A political gamble

Trump’s aggressive use of tariffs, executive actions, spending cuts and tax code changes carry significant political risk if he is unable to deliver middle-class prosperity. The effects of his new tariffs are still several months away from rippling through the economy, right as many Trump allies in Congress will be campaigning in the midterm elections.

“Considering how early we are in his term, Trump’s had an unusually big impact on the economy already,” said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist at Firehouse Strategies. “The full inflationary impact of the tariffs won’t be felt until 2026. Unfortunately for Republicans, that’s also an election year.”

The White House portrayed the blitz of trade frameworks leading up to Trump’s tariff announcement Thursday as proof of his negotiating prowess. The European Union, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia and other nations that the White House declined to name agreed that the U.S. could increase its tariffs on their goods without doing the same to American products. Trump simply set rates on other countries that lacked settlements.

The costs of those tariffs — taxes paid on imports to the U.S. — will be most felt by American consumers in the form of higher prices, but to what extent remains uncertain.

“For the White House and their allies, a key part of managing the expectations and politics of the Trump economy is maintaining vigilance when it comes to public perceptions,” said Kevin Madden, a Republican strategist.

Just 38% of adults approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, according to a July poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs. That’s down from the end of Trump’s first term when half of adults approved of his economic leadership.

The White House paints a rosier image, casting the economy as emerging from a period of uncertainty after Trump’s restructuring and repeating the economic gains seen in his first term before the pandemic struck.

“President Trump is implementing the very same policy mix of deregulation, fairer trade, and pro-growth tax cuts at an even bigger scale — as these policies take effect, the best is yet to come,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said.

Hints of trouble

The economic numbers over the last week show the difficulties that Trump might face if the numbers continue on their current path:

— Friday’s jobs report showed that U.S. employers have shed 37,000 manufacturing jobs since Trump’s tariff launch in April, undermining prior White House claims of a factory revival.

— Net hiring has plummeted over the last three months with job gains of just 73,000 in July, 14,000 in June and 19,000 in May — a combined 258,000 jobs lower than previously indicated. On average last year, the economy added 168,000 jobs a month.

— A Thursday inflation report showed that prices have risen 2.6% over the year that ended in June, an increase in the personal consumption expenditures price index from 2.2% in April. Prices of heavily imported items, such as appliances, furniture and toys and games, jumped from May to June.

— On Wednesday, a report on gross domestic product — the broadest measure of the U.S. economy — showed that it grew at an annual rate of less than 1.3% during the first half of the year, down sharply from 2.8% growth last year.

“The economy’s just kind of slogging forward,” said Guy Berger, senior fellow at the Burning Glass Institute, which studies employment trends. “Yes, the unemployment rate’s not going up, but we’re adding very few jobs. The economy’s been growing very slowly. It just looks like a ‘meh’ economy is continuing.”

Attacks on the Fed

Trump has sought to pin the blame for any economic troubles on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, saying the Fed should cut its benchmark interest rates — even though doing so could generate more inflation.

Trump has publicly backed two Fed governors, Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, for voting for rate cuts at Wednesday’s meeting. But their logic is not what the president wants to hear: They were worried, in part, about a slowing job market.

But this is a major economic gamble being undertaken by Trump and those pushing for lower rates under the belief that mortgages will also become more affordable as a result and boost homebuying activity.

His tariff policy has changed repeatedly over the last six months, with the latest import tax numbers serving as a substitute for what the president announced in April, which provoked a stock market sell-off. It might not be a simple one-time adjustment as some Fed board members and Trump administration officials argue.

‘Universal tariffs’

Of course, Trump can’t say no one warned him about the possible consequences of his economic policies.

Biden, then the outgoing president, did just that in a speech in December at the Brookings Institution, saying the cost of the tariffs would eventually hit American workers and businesses.

“He seems determined to impose steep, universal tariffs on all imported goods brought into this country on the mistaken belief that foreign countries will bear the cost of those tariffs rather than the American consumer,” Biden said. “I believe this approach is a major mistake.”

Boak and Rugber write for the Associated Press.

SEOUL, July 21 (UPI) — South Korea’s special prosecutor is intensifying its probe into the Unification Church, focusing on its top leadership over allegations of financial crimes and unlawful political activities.

The team led by Special Prosecutor Min Jung-ki conducted a second raid Monday at the church’s headquarters in Seoul’s Yongsan District, during which investigators seized additional internal records and digital data.

The operation followed a broader crackdown Friday, when authorities searched more than 10 church-affiliated sites, including the Cheon Jeong Gung palace in Gapyeong and the private residence of former church executive Yoon Young-ho.

According to the Hankook Ilbo, the search warrants identified several senior officials as criminal suspects: Han Hak-Ja, the church’s current chairwoman; Jung Wonju, executive secretary to Hak and vice president of the Cheon Mu Won, the church’s highest administrative body; and Lee Cheong-woo, director of the Central Administration Office.

Jung Wonju has emerged as a central figure in the case, with prosecutors focusing on her behind-the-scenes coordination of operations, reportedly enabled by her close ties to Han.

All three are being investigated for alleged violations of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, particularly involving brokered bribery and influence peddling.

Yoon Young-ho is accused of offering cash and luxury gifts to lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong in return for political favors. Rep. Kweon, a close ally of then-presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol, allegedly played a key role in facilitating the candidate’s appearance at an event hosted by a Unification Church-affiliated organization on Feb. 13, 2022.

Yoon Young-ho served as the co-organizing chair and delivered the opening declaration at the event, raising suspicions that Kweon may have acted as an intermediary between Yoon Young-ho and the Yoon presidential couple.

Beyond the financial and political charges lies a deeper theological rift within the church. According to multiple former insiders, a group of church leaders and members who remained faithful to the original teachings and spiritual mission of founder Rev. Sun Myung Moon were systematically expelled by the current leadership.

These reformers opposed what they described as opportunistic reinterpretations of Rev. Moon’s core teachings — altered, they argue, to legitimize the centralization of power and the silencing of dissent, while elevating Han to a quasi-divine status.

Prosecutors are now examining three years of financial records and digital evidence seized during the raids, seeking to trace suspicious financial flows and uncover evidence of systemic wrongdoing.

Analysts say the outcome of the investigation may determine not only the legal future of the Unification Church, but also its spiritual legitimacy in the eyes of its followers and the public.

EXCLUSIVE: Actress Kellie Shirley has revealed how appearing on BBC One’s EastEnders changed her life and helped her purchase her first home following her success

Former EastEnders actress Kellie Shirley has praised the show for completely changing her life. The actress appeared on the programme as Carly Wicks between 2006 and 2008, before making her final appearance on September 7, 2012.

Throughout her time on the programme, Kellie’s character faced a string of huge storylines, including fights, romances, and even secretly giving birth to a son behind her mum, Shirley Carter’s, back. Although she’s not been on screens in over a decade, Carly was last mentioned in 2022, following the death of her brother Mick Carter.

As Mick’s mum’s Shirley struggled to cope, she and Carly rekindled their bond and Shirley went to stay with her. Speaking about her time on the soap, Kellie exclusively told the Mirror: “I auditioned for it exactly 20 years ago, it changed my life as an actor because you’ve got a tiny bit of a profile that can open doors for you.

“I’m very grateful for that. I had a really good time there. Matt Di Angelo got in touch with me to ask for some advice,” she said of the friendships she made on the show. Kellie added: “That’s the best thing for me about the show, apart from being able to get on the property ladder.

“There are friendships that have stood the test of time for 20 years. Emma Barton (who plays Honey Mitchell), I always talk to her; she’s a friend for life. I don’t see her all the time, but when I do, it’s great. I’m grateful to the show.” But could fans expect to see Carly back on the show any time soon?

“People always ask me that, who knows?” she said. Kellie went on to say: “Anything’s possible, isn’t it, if they’re bringing people back from 20 years ago. But I’m enjoying my career, the variety, independent films and doing my own writing – that’s something that I really love as an actor. I feel like I’m getting somewhere with it, finally.”

Kellie has just written and starred in a short film, Croydon Cowgirl, set in Barry, South Wales, focusing on the life of two lonely strangers. Speaking about the career change, Kellie revealed that she was part of a roundtable with Stephen Graham at a BAFTA Elevate event, who offered invaluable advice.

She said that the Liverpudlian explained that actors shouldn’t moan if they want to play a certain part, and if a script doesn’t appear, they should write it themselves. “It just kind of dawned on me that all the people that I really respect have created it themselves. It was a lightbulb moment.

“I just started writing with a friend of mine, Phoebe Barron, and we work really well together. We’ve got three other projects that we’re working on. Croydon Cowgirl is doing various BAFTA BIFA (British Independent Film Awards) qualifying festivals, we’re developing it into a feature film, which is really exciting!” The actress is also set to play all seven characters in the production, Two, at Greenwich Theatre between August 21 and September 12, with Peter Caulfield playing all the male characters.

Kellie, who is an ambassador for Anthony Nolan, is now fronting the Omaze Million Pound House draw for the charity. “Ever since I was in EastEnders, I ran the marathon for them in 2008,” she said. Kellie added: “I went to see the amazing work that they were doing with stem cell transplants and I’ve met so many people along the way and different events and really seeing firsthand the work they do.

“They literally give people a second chance of life if you have blood cancer, the proof’s in the pudding. And when you hear people’s stories, you cannot help but have that connection and want to raise awareness and do as much as you can for the charity, because without them, it’d be really quite frightening.

“I think it’s four people every day they help, who have blood cancer and can save their life because of the register.”

Kellie Shirley is an Anthony Nolan Ambassador and is backing the charity’s partnership with Omaze, which is giving away a luxury contemporary home in Cheshire worth £4 million – along with £250,000 in cash – to raise money for the charity. Draw entries are available now on their website. The Draw closes at midnight Sunday July 27th.

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.

Chelsea and Barca top a list of European teams fined by the continent’s governing body for breaches in financial rules.

Chelsea have been fined 31 million euros ($36.5m) by European football’s governing body UEFA for breaches of its financial rules, while Aston Villa, Barcelona and Olympique Lyonnais were also levied with large fines.

The punishments come with the potential for far harsher fines down the road, with Chelsea, who agreed to a four-year settlement with UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB), risking being hit with a further 60 million euros ($71m) if they do not get their finances in order.

Barcelona must pay a 15 million euro fine ($17.7m), but could potentially face 60 million in total, with UEFA fining Lyon 12.5 million and Aston Villa 11 million.

Chelsea’s fines were split into 20 million for not complying with the football earnings rule and 11 million for breaching the squad cost rule, while Aston Villa were fined five million and six million for their respective rule violations.

The clubs are also subject to a restriction on the registration of new players on their List A for UEFA club competitions such as the Champions League and Europa League.

Lyon’s four-year agreement with UEFA’s financial control body, the club’s ownership group said on Friday, would enable them to play in the Europa League next season, subject to a favourable outcome of their appeal with the DNCG, the French football financial watchdog.

Lyon’s demotion to Ligue 2 was provisionally announced by the DNCG in November due to financial irregularities and was confirmed last week.

They risk exclusion from European competitions, however, if they fail to meet the agreed targets.

The teams accepted settlement agreements which cover periods of two, three or four years, with the clubs’ final targets to be fully compliant with the football earnings rule by the end of their specific settlement period.

Chelsea sold their women’s team for 235 million euros ($277m) to a parent company, Blueco, which helped to balance their spending and avoid huge losses, despite their lavish spending in the transfer market under owner Todd Boehly. UEFA, however, refused to count the sale of the team as an asset.

The club also sold two hotels to a ­sister company in a deal that appears to have helped the club remain compliant with profitability and sustainability rules (PSR).

Premier League clubs are not permitted to have losses of more than 105 million pounds ($143.29m) over a three-year period.

June 20 (UPI) — Colombia’s recent entry into the BRICS-backed New Development Bank marks a significant shift in its foreign and economic policy. With the move, President Gustavo Petro’s administration aims to reduce the country’s long-standing reliance on Western financing and attract new investment for strategic infrastructure projects.

“Colombia officially joins the BRICS New Development Bank. This membership opens new financing opportunities for strategic projects and is a key step toward diversifying alliances and strengthening the country’s economy,” the Colombian presidency announced Thursday in a post on X.

Colombia’s membership involves an initial $512 million commitment and makes it the first South American nation to formally join the bank, which is backed by 11 BRICS full members, including China, Russia, India, South Africa and Brazil.

Foreign Minister Laura Sarabia welcomed the announcement, saying the move goes beyond financial strategy and reflects broader national goals. “We continue to pave the way for new opportunities for the country,” she wrote on X.

Beyond access to loans with fewer conditions, the move carries significant symbolic weight. It reflects the Petro administration’s interest in redefining Colombia’s international role, shifting away from the traditional Washington-Bogotá axis to pursue a more independent path aligned with the Global South.

The announcement has sparked both enthusiasm and skepticism among Colombian analysts, who warn of financial risks, geopolitical consequences and the delicate balance Bogotá must maintain with the United States, its primary trading and military partner.

The Petro government has defended the move as a pragmatic step amid global economic volatility and the weakening of the traditional multilateral order.

Officials also see it as an opportunity to advance strategic projects such as the interoceanic railway — an ambitious infrastructure initiative aimed at positioning Colombia as a commercial hub between Asia and the Caribbean.

Colombia’s Foreign Ministry and Finance Ministry officials emphasized that joining the New Development Bank does not signal a break with the Inter-American Development Bank or the International Monetary Fund.

“This is about having more options, not replacing allies,” Finance Minister Ricardo Bonilla said.

Still, reactions in Colombia remain divided. While lawmakers from the ruling coalition praised what they called the country’s “financial emancipation,” opposition groups and business associations raised concerns about the fiscal burden and reputational risks of aligning with a bloc that includes China and Russia.

“Do we want to depend on the yuan or the ruble? What guarantees does a bank dominated by authoritarian regimes offer?” conservative senator and former presidential candidate Enrique Gómez asked.

Colombia has long been one of the United States’ closest allies in the fight against drug trafficking and in supporting the liberal economic model promoted by Washington. Against that backdrop, closer ties with China have raised tensions.

The U.S. State Department has said it will firmly oppose financing for Latin American projects tied to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a global investment strategy backed by Beijing that aims to expand its economic influence through critical infrastructure development around the world.

Founded in 2015, the New Development Bank aims to provide financing for infrastructure and sustainable development in emerging economies, with fewer political conditions than the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank.

To date, it has approved more than $40 billion in funding for 122 infrastructure projects in sectors such as transportation, clean energy and sanitation.

Leave it to Megan Abbott to tap into the American zeitgeist and play on her readers’ fears like a conductor leading a doomsday orchestra. As high school and college graduates across the country celebrate the completion of a major milestone, they — and their nervous parents — are looking ahead to a future marked by political uncertainty and economic insecurity.

In an eerie echo, Abbott begins “El Dorado Drive,” her 11th novel, with a graduation party at the beginning of the Great Recession. Though the party is not a lavish affair — just a gathering for friends and family in the backyard of a rental property on El Dorado Drive in Grosse Pointe, Mich. — it’s more than Pam Bishop can afford, and every one of her guests knows it.

Any party, no matter how modest, reminds Pam and her two older sisters, Debra and Harper, of all that they’ve lost. Born into a world of wealth and privilege thanks to Detroit’s automotive-fueled postwar prosperity, the Bishop sisters — along with their parents, their peers and their children — watched it all disappear during the decline of the American automobile industry.

Pam’s ramshackle rental on El Dorado Drive, though several steps down from the home she grew up in or the mansion she moved into when she got married, is a symbol of the reckless pursuit of wealth that destroys those who can’t see through the illusion.

“When you grow up in comfort and it all falls away — and your parents with it — money isn’t about money,” Abbott writes. “It’s about security, freedom, independence, a promise of wholeness. All those fantasies, illusions. Money was rarely about money.”

For Pam’s ex-husband, Doug Sullivan, money is a game to be played in order to get what he wants, and he will stop at nothing to get it. But when Pam is brutally murdered in the opening pages, he emerges as a prime suspect. The first half of the novel backtracks from the discovery of Pam’s body to the graduation party nine months prior, when each Bishop sister is struggling with serious financial hardship.

Locked in an acrimonious divorce with no end in sight, Pam doesn’t know how she’s going to pay her son’s college tuition or handle her rebellious teenage daughter alone. The oldest sister, Debra, is buried under a mountain of medical bills while her husband suffers through another round of chemotherapy and her son slips away in a cloud of marijuana smoke. Harper, the middle child, struggles to make ends meet while rebounding from a relationship that ended in heartbreak.

The solution to their money problems arrives in the form of a secret investment club called the Wheel. Run for and by women who have fallen on hard times, the program is simple but sketchy. It costs $5,000 to join, but once the new members recruit five new participants, they are “gifted” five times their initial buy-in.

If this sounds too good to be true, you have more sense than the Bishop sisters. Such is their desperation they don’t quite allow themselves to see this is a fairly basic pyramid scheme that depends on fresh blood — and their bank accounts — to keep the Wheel turning.

The novel follows Harper, the outsider in the family, due to the fact that she’s never married nor had children. She’s not part of the community, either, because she’s recently returned to Grosse Pointe after time away to mend her broken heart. The first half of the novel concerns the Bishops’ dynamics and their found family in the Wheel, which operates like a combination of a cult and a recovery group for women who’ve lost everything.

At a moment of vulnerability, Harper is buttonholed by an old classmate named Sue. “It’s called the Wheel because it never stops moving,” Sue said. Twice a month, we meet. A different member hosts each time, and the meetings were just parties, really. And at these parties, they took turns giving and receiving gifts to one another. To lift one another up. As women should, as they must.”

Behind the rhetoric of sisterhood lurks avarice and greed. When Harper asks Pam if anyone ever left the group after just one turn of the Wheel, Pam — a true believer — can’t fathom backing out of the group. “Why would anyone do that?” she asks.

The answer proves to be her undoing, and the second half of “El Dorado Drive” follows Harper as she tries to solve her sister’s murder. It’s a classic whodunit story with Harper — who has plenty of secrets of her own — playing the role of the reluctant detective.

Despite the book’s suggestive title, the landscape is anything but illusory for Abbott, who grew up in Grosse Pointe and spent the first 18 years of her life there. Evoking a rich setting has never been a weakness of Abbott’s stories. Her novels have a hyperreal quality and are often populated by characters churning with desires they cannot manage.

Abbott is especially adept at rendering the hot, messy inner lives of young people and at making a book’s backstory as suspenseful as the narrative engine that drives the plot. In “El Dorado Drive,” however, the focus is on adults, and the past mostly stays in the past. The result is a novel in which the story is straightforward and the stakes are low. Nevertheless, true to her penchant for shocking violence, Abbott delivers a revolting revelation that sets up a series of twists that propels the story to its inevitable, but no less satisfying, conclusion.

But then there’s the matter of the Wheel. When we watch a video of people in a boat who are drinking, carrying on and disobeying the rules of the road, we don’t feel badly for them when they end up in the water, no matter how spectacular the crash, because they brought it on themselves.

The same logic applies to the participants in the Wheel. We can empathize with the calamities that prompted these characters to take such foolish chances, but we would never make those choices ourselves.

Or would we?

One could argue that our era will be defined not by whether the American dream lives or dies but by the questionable choices of our political leaders and, by extension, the people who elected them. We may not know where we’ll be tomorrow, but Abbott knows wagering that the wheel of grift, greed and corruption will keep on turning is always a safe bet.

Ruland is the author of the novel “Make It Stop” and the weekly Substack Message from the Underworld.

Did you know that women already control a third of the world’s private wealth— and that number is expected to soar past 50% in the next 5 years? But how can you be part of that growth?

Now You Know speaks with Cristina Jaeger, the founder of HerFinancialFreedom. Cristina’s mission is to close the gender gap in wealth and investing and help women gain financial independence. She shares tips on how women can meet their financial goals.

Barcelona sporting director Deco denies the club have financial problems and says they do not need to sell players – despite La Liga’s restrictive financial controls.

Deco, 47, has overseen a revival of Barcelona since his appointment in 2023, culminating in a domestic treble while also reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League.

The Catalans have renewed the contracts of superstar teenager Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and manager Hansi Flick, while they were cleared by Spain’s National Sports Council (CSD) to register midfielder Dani Olmo amid a dispute with La Liga.

When asked whether the world should see Barcelona as a well-run club in 2025, Deco told BBC Sport: “Barcelona is my club, I love Barcelona. I saw what happened from the outside and always thought I could help put Barca at the same high level.

“I knew it would be difficult when I joined with the financial rules – it is not a financial problem, but the financial fair play rules in Spain are more difficult than the Premier League and in other countries.

“It is a problem for a lot of clubs, you just hear about Barca because we are a big club. You need to work with it, see how you can improve the team and the combination of La Masia [academy] players and experienced players has been important.”

The former Portugal midfielder, who played for the Catalans – as well as Chelsea and Porto – stresses Barcelona are happy working with La Liga but have faith the rules will continue to improve.

Even if they do not, Barcelona are excited to have “one of the biggest contracts in history” with Nike, and the newly renovated 100,000-seater Nou Camp will be the biggest stadium in Europe and improve revenues.

He insists Barcelona will “not sell our best players”, adding the team’s recent success means they can “grow with many of the same players”. But he says they are in looking for “two, three or four signings”, without needing to enter the market “like crazy” thanks to the stability at the core of the team.

When asked if it includes the option of signing Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford, thought to be available for £40m, or Liverpool’s Luis Diaz, he added: “We have been focusing on renewing contracts, after that, we’ll discuss players to come.

“Of course, these two players, like you mentioned, they are good but have contracts in their clubs, so we won’t speak because it’s not fair. But when you decide to go to the market, for sure, we find some names. In my opinion, we don’t need to bring many players.”

He added: “When I speak with the agents of the players, everyone wants to come or stay. So this is important. The image of the club is still good. We are proud because Barcelona is still such a big club, and the way we are playing football makes players want to come.”

Deco is aware of the constant threat of Real Madrid, who will look to improve under new head coach Xabi Alonso.

They have also agreed deals for right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, who will leave Liverpool, and Bournemouth centre-back Dean Huijsen. Benfica left-back Alvaro Carreras is understood to be next on the club’s shortlist.

“Next season is not going to be easy, because I know that first Real Madrid has a lot of top players,” he said. “In my opinion they have a big team. They have a lot of fantastic players. Of course they want to improve.

“It’s very important to have a strong Madrid. It’s very important to have strong players, top players, players that the people want to see. I think Madrid has these kinds of players, like us.

“Now it’s important to keep the top players in La Liga. So for us it’s important that Madrid are strong, that Atletico is strong, and we need to be there.”

Al Jazeera takes a look at financially-troubled Manchester United’s expensive Europa League final defeat by Spurs.

Manchester United’s decline on and off the field has been laid bare for a number of years but was placed in even sharper focus with their defeat by Tottenham in the Europa League final.

It was a zero-sum game on Wednesday: Winner goes into the Champions League – plus the UEFA Super Cup game in August – and loser is out of Europe next season and gets nothing.

Tottenham won a painfully drab match 1-0.

As football finance expert Kieran Maguire noted on Thursday, the defeat came despite United having higher revenue than Tottenham and spending 64% more on wages for a more expensively acquired squad of players. Tottenham also beat United twice in the Premier League this season, and in the domestic League Cup.

“If I was teaching this at management school (I) would conclude that there is something seriously wrong with the culture of the organisation… which is set by senior management,” Maguire wrote on X.

What are the financial costs to Man Utd?

Beyond the loss of sporting opportunities and reputational prestige, the club owned by the Glazer family from the United States and British billionaire industrialist Jim Ratcliffe has short-term and long-term financial hits ahead.

No Champions League play next season is an instant loss of at least 80 million euros ($90m), and approaching 150 million euros ($169m) for a run deep into the knockout stage.

United also misses out on the 4 million euros ($4.5m) Tottenham will get from UEFA for playing the Super Cup against the Champions League titleholder – either Inter Milan or Paris Saint-Germain – on August 13 at Udinese’s stadium in Italy. The winner gets a bonus of 1 million euros ($1.1m).

Can Man Utd recoup its losses in the FIFA Club World Cup?

After failing to qualify for the 2025 Club World Cup – which has a $1bn prize fund from FIFA and should pay more than $100m to a successful European team – United is now far behind in qualifying for the 2029 edition.

European teams qualify for the FIFA event only by being in the Champions League, either winning the title or building consistent results over four seasons.

United already will miss the entire first half of the 2024-28 qualifying period, and it is hard to project the team that last won the Premier League 12 years ago both qualifying for and then winning a Champions League title within three years.

What financial options do Man Utd have?

One clear solution to growing financial issues and the ability to comply with Premier League rules is selling the club’s best players, like captain Bruno Fernandes and out-of-favour forward Marcus Rashford, or its homegrown prospects. Some already earn high wages that are problematic for potential buyers.

A talent drain risks speeding a spiral of decline on and off the field if coach Ruben Amorim is left trying to rebuild with a weaker pool of players.

How do Man Utd match up to other clubs?

While United is still one of Europe’s highest-earning clubs, UEFA’s annual research shows its advantage is in decline, even though revenue was a club record 661.8 million pounds ($887m) last year.

A UEFA chart showed that over five years from 2019-24 – pre-COVID-19 through to the post-pandemic recovery in the football industry – United’s revenue grew at a slower rate than all of its biggest English rivals except Chelsea.

Will Man Utd’s revenue be affected?

Revenue now risks dropping, and another income cut is coming from falling to 16th in the Premier League standings with one round left on Sunday.

Premier League prize money based on final position in the standings means dropping from eighth a year ago to 16th is a difference of 22 million pounds ($29.5m) less.

It all adds up to another loss-making season after a 113.2 million pounds ($152m) deficit last season. The three previous years totaled losses of 236 million pounds ($316m).

Will Man Utd’s losses cost them further?

The Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) allow clubs to lose 105 million pounds ($140.7m) over a three-year period or face sanctions, though United can cite some exemptions.

Ratcliffe, who has operational control despite being a minority shareholder, is already the public face of unpopular cuts to jobs and staff benefits, and rising ticket prices for fans.

“This is not sustainable,” the club told fans in January, “and if we do not act now we are in danger of failing to comply with PSR/FFP (financial fair play) requirements in future years and significantly impacting our ability to compete on the pitch.”