The FTSE 100 bank’s pre-tax profit for the second quarter of 2026 was $10.1bn (£7.5bn), up 60 per cent from the $6.3bn secured in the same period last year

HSBC has restarted its share buyback programme after profits exceeded expectations in the second quarter of 2026.

The FTSE 100 lender – whose market capitalisation of £274bn makes it the London Stock Exchange’s most valuable company – reported $10.1bn (£7.5bn) in pre-tax profit for the three-month period, comfortably beating an internal projection of £9.5bn. This represented a 60 per cent increase from the $6.3bn achieved in the corresponding period last year.

The profit boost came as revenues rose 11 per cent to $37.7bn.

Net interest income increased eight per cent to $18.2bn, as the bank reinvested lower-yielding hedges at current higher market interest rates, a tactic known as structural hedging. The group’s net interest margin – a crucial measure of a bank’s lending profitability – rose four basis points to 1.61 per cent.

Fee income, which is prized by banks as a dependable revenue stream due to its independence from interest rates, grew nearly 10 per cent to $7.3bn, as reported by City AM.

This was powered by a strong performance across wealth – a central area of emphasis for chief executive Georges Elhedery – which expanded 20 per cent to $5.5bn.

HSBC announced it would restart share buybacks with a programme of up to $1bn, scheduled to be completed before the firm publishes its third quarter results. The group had previously pressed pause on buybacks following its move to privatise Hang Seng Bank in October 2025.

The blue-chip giant offered to pay HK$155 per share for a 36 per cent stake not already owned by the bank, valuing the holding at HK$106.1bn (£10.7bn).

In the second quarter update, Elhedery raised the bank’s cost-cutting target for the end of 2026 to $2bn, up from the original $1.5bn, which the group said was reached at the start of this year.

It expects to deliver this within the original restructuring budget of $1.8bn.

Elhedery took the reins at the bank just over two years ago and swiftly set about overhauling the group’s operations.

A central pillar of chief executive Georges Elhedery’s restructure has involved dividing the business into “eastern” and “western” markets, encompassing the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East and the Americas and Europe, respectively.

Total headcount across the group has fallen to 206,161, a reduction of 2,559 since the year-end of 2025. City AM revealed last February that the bank was poised to cut a number of investment bankers on the very same day earmarked for bonus payouts.

Subsequent reports confirmed that investment bankers at vice-president level and above received no bonus upon termination.

The Powerball jackpot climbed to an estimated $748 million ahead of Monday night’s drawing, putting the prize among the largest in the game’s history and prompting financial advisors to urge would-be winners to think carefully before claiming a ticket.

The jackpot, which carried a cash option of $325.1 million, ranked among the top 10 largest in Powerball’s history heading into Monday’s drawing, the largest since a $1.817 billion prize was won in Arkansas on Christmas Eve.

Monday’s winning numbers

The winning numbers drawn Monday night were 8, 30, 41, 48 and 54, with a Powerball number of 4. The Power Play multiplier was 2. No ticket matched all six numbers, meaning the jackpot will roll over to Wednesday’s drawing, when the prize is expected to grow even larger.

Powerball drawings are held every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET, broadcast live from the Florida Lottery’s draw studio in Tallahassee and streamed on Powerball.com. The jackpot was last won in May, when two tickets, one sold in Florida and one in Texas, split a $20 million prize.

The odds, and the advice, for anyone hoping to win

Odds of matching all five white balls and the red Powerball number stand at 1 in 292.2 million, considerably longer than the odds of being struck by lightning. Still, with hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, financial experts say anyone holding a winning ticket should have a plan ready well before they ever consider stepping forward to claim it.

The first piece of advice from experts is simple: stay quiet. “Don’t shout your win from the rooftop,” said Rob Burnette, a financial and investment advisor at Outlook Financial Center in Troy, Ohio, who has previously spoken with USA TODAY about lottery windfalls. Burnette said winners should get organized, make a plan and consider remaining anonymous if their state allows it.

Securing the ticket comes first

Before any spending decisions are made, experts stress that protecting the physical ticket is the single most important step. Andrew Stoltmann, an attorney who has represented lottery winners who lost their prizes due to scams or mismanagement, said the win isn’t legally secure until it’s formally claimed. “The winner is not a true legal winner until the ticket is presented to lottery officials,” Stoltmann said, warning that a lost or destroyed ticket leaves a winner with no legal recourse.

Once a ticket is secured, typically in a safe or similarly protected location, experts recommend assembling a team of professionals before visiting state lottery headquarters to claim the prize. Steve Azoury, owner of Azoury Financial in Troy, Michigan, said winners should bring on a tax attorney, a tax accountant and a financial advisor to help map out next steps. Those professionals, Azoury said, “will work hand in hand to figure out (a) plan.”

Weighing lump sum versus annuity

One of the biggest early decisions facing any jackpot winner is how to collect the money. Powerball offers two options: an annuity, consisting of an immediate payment followed by 29 annual installments that each grow 5% larger than the last, or a lump sum, a single payment equal to the total cash value of the jackpot.

Which option makes more sense depends heavily on a winner’s individual circumstances, including age, financial goals and how lottery rules handle payments to beneficiaries if the winner dies before the annuity is fully paid out. Mark Steber, chief tax officer at Jackson Hewitt, said the size of the jackpot along with a winner’s current and projected earnings should factor into that decision.

Guarding against requests for money

Experts also warn that sudden wealth tends to attract requests for loans and financial help from friends, family members and strangers alike. Azoury recommends winners designate what he calls a “fall guy,” someone whose job is to field and decline those requests on the winner’s behalf so the winner isn’t placed in the position of saying no directly. That person, Azoury said, “keeps you from giving loans to anybody,” directing people instead toward the explanation that funds are tied up in investments.

Because a jackpot of this size far exceeds the coverage limits of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation protection, Stoltmann recommends winners deposit their winnings with a major brokerage firm, such as Merrill Lynch or Goldman Sachs, and initially park the funds in short-term U.S. Treasuries until a more detailed investment strategy is worked out.

Taxes can get complicated fast

Jackpot winners are almost certain to land in the highest federal tax bracket, and where a ticket is purchased, along with where the winner lives, can significantly affect their final tax bill. A California resident who buys and wins with a ticket in California, for example, would pay the 37% federal tax rate but owe no state tax, since California doesn’t tax lottery winnings. New York, by contrast, has the highest state tax rate on lottery winnings in the country.

Multi-state situations can complicate matters further. A California resident who buys a winning ticket while visiting another state would need to report the winnings on both federal and California tax returns, plus file a nonresident return in the state where the ticket was purchased, though a tax credit typically prevents the winner from being taxed twice on the same income. Steber said navigating those rules is best left to a professional, noting simply, “State taxes can be very tricky.”

How to play, and what’s next

Powerball tickets cost $2 and require players to select five white numbers between 1 and 69, along with one red Powerball number between 1 and 26. Players can also add the optional Power Play feature for an additional $1, which multiplies most non-jackpot prizes by two, three, four, five or 10 times. Players unsure of their picks can opt for a computer-generated Quick Pick ticket instead.

With no winner Monday night, the jackpot rolls over to Wednesday’s drawing, when the estimated prize is expected to climb even higher, giving players another shot at what remains one of the largest jackpots in Powerball history.

Richard Holland has been appointed St Andrews Link Trust chief executive

Former Cardiff Rugby chief executive Richard Holland has landed a new job with St Andrews Link Trust.

Mr Holland will become the chief executive for the trust, which operates the famous Old Course in Scotland, from the start of September – having left Welsh rugby after the Arms Park side were taken over by the Welsh Rugby Union last year.

He will succeed Neil Coulson following his departure earlier this year.

His role will include oversight of an organisation with more than 450 staff and the responsibility for managing eight courses at the Home of Golf, including the historic Old Course where golf has been played for more than 600 years.

Mr Holland spent 14 years at the Arms Park, with Cardiff being temporarily placed into administration by their directors in April 2025 before being acquired by the WRU. The governing body still continues to own the capital club.

Prior to working at Cardiff, Holland has held a number of leadership roles – including executive director of Chepstow and Hereford racecourses, and vice-president of corporate relations and sales at the Celtic Manor in Wales.

Mr Holland said: “I’m honoured to be appointed to lead the Home of Golf into its next chapter. St Andrews Links has an extraordinary history, and I’m excited to play a part in ensuring we continue to respect what has gone before, while shaping an exciting future as golf grows in popularity and inspires people around the world, and right here in St Andrews.

“My first few weeks will be spent meeting and listening to people in the town and beyond as my family and I settle into our new home.

“I’m looking forward to getting to know the team at the Trust, our partners and the local community as we continue to celebrate everything that makes the Home of Golf unique, create accessible pathways into the sport and deliver world-class experiences ensuring that we continue to work constructively to support golf locally, around Fife and further afield.”

The Old Course is set to host the 155th Open next year, marking a record 31st time the famous course will host the tournament.

“We are delighted to have appointed Richard Holland,” said Sandra Tuddenham, chair of trustees at St Andrews Links Trust. “He is a highly experienced chief executive with a long track record of leading heritage-rich, publicly scrutinised sporting and hospitality organisations.

“His appointment comes at an exciting time for St Andrews Links as preparations to host The 155th Open next year gather pace, and we are confident that he will build on the Trust’s proud legacy while shaping a sustainable future for the Home of Golf.”

NEW YORK — Elon Musk faces investors Tuesday for the first time since taking SpaceX public, a closely watched call coming after the rocket company’s shares have lost roughly half their value since peaking in June, raising questions about whether Musk oversold the company’s near-term prospects.

SpaceX is scheduled to release its second-quarter 2026 financial results after markets close Tuesday, followed by a live audio-only webcast at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time, marking the company’s first earnings report and shareholder call since going public. The event comes just two days ahead of a major insider lock-up expiration that could add further pressure to the stock.

A dramatic reversal since the IPO

SpaceX priced its initial public offering at $135 per share on June 11, raising $85.7 billion in what became the largest IPO in history. Shares began trading on the Nasdaq the following day and climbed as high as $225.64 by June 16, before beginning a steady decline that has continued for much of the summer. The stock has since fallen more than 45% from that peak, with some measures putting the drop closer to 50%, leaving shares trading in the range of $113 to $123 in recent sessions.

The decline has erased hundreds of billions of dollars in market value and fueled concerns among analysts that investors, caught up in the excitement surrounding one of the most anticipated public offerings in Wall Street history, may have pushed the stock’s valuation well beyond what SpaceX’s underlying financial performance could support.

Mounting losses

Much of the scrutiny facing Musk on Tuesday centers on SpaceX’s financials, which have shown a pattern of widening losses even as the company’s revenue continues to grow. SpaceX posted a net loss of roughly $4.9 billion for all of 2025. That figure was nearly matched in just the first quarter of 2026 alone, when the company reported a net loss of $4.28 billion on revenue of $4.69 billion. Combined first-half losses for 2026 are expected to exceed the company’s entire loss total from the prior year.

Wall Street analysts surveyed by FactSet are projecting a second-quarter net loss of approximately $1.9 billion, or 23 cents per share. While some analysts believe SpaceX’s financial results could improve later in the year, the company currently trades at roughly 49 times its expected revenue, a valuation multiple that leaves little room for disappointment and places enormous weight on Tuesday’s numbers.

What investors want to hear

Analysts expect management to address three core business segments during the call: Space, which includes SpaceX’s launch operations and the long-delayed Starship rocket program; Connectivity, centered on the company’s Starlink satellite internet service; and a newer artificial intelligence infrastructure push that includes a proposed orbital data center project.

Starlink remains one of the few bright spots in SpaceX’s business. As of March 31, the service had grown to 10.3 million subscribers across 164 countries, more than double the 5.0 million subscribers it had a year earlier. The service generated $11.4 billion in revenue in 2025, and investors will be watching for updated subscriber figures as one of the clearest indicators of the company’s underlying growth trajectory.

Investors are also expected to press Musk on the progress of Starship, the massive rocket system central to NASA’s plans to return astronauts to the moon, following a series of recent setbacks, including an aborted test and an imperfect booster recovery during the vehicle’s most recent flight. Questions about a possible future business tie-up between SpaceX and Tesla, as well as SpaceX’s expanding role in artificial intelligence infrastructure through partnerships with hyperscale computing providers, are also likely to come up, though Musk has historically avoided detailed comments on such topics during earnings calls, citing securities regulations.

A lock-up expiration adds urgency

Compounding the pressure on SpaceX shares is an insider lock-up expiration set for Thursday, Aug. 6, just two days after the earnings call. The expiration will allow a significant portion of insider-held shares, an unconditional tranche representing roughly 20% of total shares, or more than 900 million shares, to become eligible for trading for the first time since the IPO.

A separate, larger tranche tied to the stock trading above $175.50 for five of 10 consecutive sessions has not been triggered, since shares have remained well below that threshold since mid-June. Musk’s own controlling stake, along with shares held by key executives, remains restricted under a separate one-year lock-up that runs until June 2027.

Analysts widely view Tuesday’s earnings report as the company’s best opportunity to stabilize investor sentiment before the lock-up expiration potentially floods the market with new sellers. A strong report could help offset some of the anticipated selling pressure; a disappointing one could accelerate it.

A test of the Musk premium

Unlike other trillion-dollar technology companies, SpaceX’s roughly $1.4 trillion market capitalization is not currently supported by traditional financial metrics such as profitability or free cash flow. Much of the investment case for the company rests instead on confidence in Musk’s track record and his stated ambitions, including plans to build data centers in space and eventually establish a human presence on Mars.

That dynamic has drawn comparisons to Tesla, where Musk faced a similarly rocky earnings call two weeks earlier that sent shares of the electric automaker falling further amid concerns over rising costs and negative free cash flow. With both of Musk’s flagship companies under pressure simultaneously, Tuesday’s SpaceX report is being closely watched as a broader referendum on investor confidence in Musk’s ability to deliver on ambitious, capital-intensive projects across multiple companies at once.

Whether SpaceX’s first earnings report as a public company can reverse the stock’s slide, or simply confirm investors’ concerns about an overheated valuation, is likely to become clear within hours of Tuesday’s release. With the lock-up expiration looming just two days later, analysts say the company has a narrow window to reassure shareholders before a new wave of insider selling tests the stock’s ability to find a floor.

A wave of state laws allowing Uber and Lyft drivers to unionize is spreading across the country, marking one of the most significant shifts in labor rights for gig workers since ride-hailing apps first launched more than a decade ago.

Massachusetts became the first state to open the door to rideshare unionization in 2024, when voters approved a ballot measure creating a framework that lets drivers organize and bargain collectively while remaining classified as independent contractors rather than employees. California followed in January, giving an estimated 800,000 rideshare drivers in the state the right to form a union. Illinois became the third state to pass such legislation on June 1, extending similar rights to the state’s roughly 100,000 Uber and Lyft drivers.

A historic certification in Massachusetts

The movement reached a major milestone this spring when Massachusetts drivers organized what labor advocates are calling one of the most significant labor wins for independent workers in decades. The certification, made possible under the state’s 2024 framework, could ultimately represent nearly 70,000 drivers statewide through the newly formed App Drivers Union.

For drivers who backed the effort, the moment carried deep personal significance. Jean Fredo, who has driven for Uber for more than seven years, said he hopes the union will bring better pay, stronger protections against sudden deactivations and greater overall stability for drivers. “With the union, it will not feel like we’re working for nothing,” Fredo said, speaking through a translator.

Fellow driver Alfred Potter, who took part in organizing efforts, described the years-long push toward unionization as “still no more than a dream” for much of the process, reflecting how long the effort took to reach certification after the 2024 ballot measure passed.

California drivers see a similar path

In California, the nation’s second state to grant rideshare drivers union rights, organizing is still in its early stages, with the earliest possible vote on unionization set for May. Sangar Khan, who drives for Uber and Lyft out of the Bay Area, said he believes unionization could benefit drivers financially. “I think the union is good for drivers, and maybe they pay more,” Khan said, describing frustration with what he sees as a large gap between what riders pay for trips and what drivers ultimately take home.

Uber and Lyft did not agree to interviews on the California law, though Uber has previously said its support for expanding union rights in the state was tied to separate legislation that reduced the company’s insurance costs by lowering requirements for underinsured drivers.

A pattern with deep roots

The current wave of state-level unionization laws traces back to Seattle, which in 2015 became the first city in the country to pass an ordinance allowing rideshare drivers to organize, a move city officials framed at the time as an effort to protect workers and balance bargaining power between drivers and ride-hailing companies. Uber and Lyft challenged that ordinance in court, arguing that federal labor law prohibited cities from regulating collective bargaining and that allowing drivers to collectively negotiate rates could violate federal antitrust law.

More than a decade later, the legal and political landscape has shifted considerably, with state legislatures and voters, rather than individual cities, now driving the expansion of union rights for gig workers, sidestepping some of the legal challenges that stalled earlier municipal efforts.

Critics warn of rising costs

Not everyone views the trend favorably. Critics, including some free-market policy researchers, argue that sector-wide labor rules risk increasing costs for both drivers and riders alike, warning that expanded bargaining rights could push ride-hailing companies to raise fares to offset higher labor costs, similar to price increases seen following minimum wage mandates in the food delivery industry.

Opponents of mandatory unionization have also raised concerns about drivers who prefer to remain fully independent, arguing that collective bargaining agreements could bind drivers to terms they did not personally support and potentially reduce the flexibility that has long been a defining feature of gig work. Some critics have specifically warned that the expansion of gig worker unionization moves the industry incrementally closer to traditional employment classification, even as most current laws are structured to preserve independent contractor status.

Automation adds urgency

The push toward unionization is also unfolding against the backdrop of rapid advances in autonomous vehicle technology, which some labor organizers view as an additional reason to secure stronger protections for drivers now, before self-driving technology potentially reshapes the ride-hailing industry. Advocates argue that unionized drivers will be better positioned to negotiate protections, or transition support, if autonomous vehicles begin displacing significant numbers of human drivers in the coming years.

With Massachusetts, California and Illinois now serving as models for rideshare unionization, labor organizers say they expect additional states to consider similar legislation in the coming years, particularly as ride-hailing companies continue to expand their footprint across the country. Whether the trend ultimately benefits drivers through improved pay and job security, or raises costs for riders and limits flexibility for the independent contractors who make up the rideshare workforce, remains a central point of disagreement between labor advocates and industry-aligned critics.

For now, the expansion of union rights for gig workers marks one of the most closely watched labor developments in the ride-hailing industry since it first emerged more than a decade ago, with millions of drivers across the country now positioned to weigh in on whether collective bargaining becomes a permanent fixture of gig work.