The US economy is creating fewer jobs than expected with the employment market performing weaker during the summer than previously thought, official figures show.

There was a surprise shedding of 23,000 jobs last month, with declines driven by cuts in local government education and retail roles, despite analysts predicting growth.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics also revised down the number of jobs added in May and June by 103,000, signalling a slow summer of job creation.

The latest figures reduce pressure on the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, to raise interest rates next month, despite high inflation.

Analysts had expected an uptick in the number of jobs being added to the economy last month of 80,000, as opposed to a loss of 23,000.

As well as falls in local government education the were also declines in retail roles, including in wholesale stores, hypermarkets, gas stations and general mechanise shops.

Despite fewer jobs being created, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said the unemployment rate actually dipped to 4.1% from 4.2%, as the number of people in work or looking for work declined slightly.

Average hourly earnings rose by 3.2% in the year to July, compared with the 3.5% economists expected, with average hourly earnings for all employees on private non-farm payrolls at $37.62.

Payrolls do have a tendency to be softer in July, but chief investment officer of Premier Miton Neil Birrell said the US jobs market was weaker “by some distance”.

“Labour force participation is back at levels not seen since the days of Covid, meaning jobs just aren’t being created,” he said.

“This does leave the Fed with the problem of a weak jobs market providing a read across to growth, all at a time when inflation is a problem, but this data will ease the pressure to hike rates. It’s a big call in September.”

As well as keeping inflation stable, the Fed has a mandate to maintain a high level of employment, meaning the jobs figures are also watched closely when deciding interest rates.

US stock markets opened higher on Friday following the release of the latest jobs figures on the prospect that the weaker data might prevent any rate hikes.

Kevin Warsh, the newly-appointed chair of the Federal Reserve, has offered little forward guidance on future path of interest rates, in a policy shift from the US central bank.

Rates were left unchanged, as broadly expected, between 3.5% and 3.75% last month. However, consumer prices remain elevated, with inflation running at an annual rate of 3.5%.

Interest rate hikes are a tool used by central banks aiming to slow the pace at which prices are rising in the shops. By pushing up the cost of borrowing for things such as mortgages, loans and credit cards, central bankers hope consumers will spend less and the rate of price increases will slow.

Warsh has repeatedly said he wants to bring inflation down, but prices have been rising in the wake of the Middle East conflict impacting global oil prices.

Gasoline prices have gone back above $4 on average following recent escalations, according to the AAA. Diesel is almost $5.40 a gallon.

The Golden State Warriors’ odds to win the 2027 NBA championship have collapsed to roughly 1% on prediction market platform Kalshi, a dramatic reversal from the double-digit odds the franchise briefly commanded earlier this summer, after superstar LeBron James chose to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers rather than join forces with Stephen Curry in the Bay Area.

The swing illustrates just how directly prediction markets like Kalshi respond to breaking free agency news, with the Warriors’ championship contract price rising and then sharply falling within the span of just a few weeks as reports about James’ free agency destination shifted.

A Brief Surge on LeBron Speculation

Golden State’s title odds began climbing in mid-July after reports surfaced that the team had cleared salary cap space in pursuit of both James and Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis, a combination that would have paired the future Hall of Famer with Curry and, presumably, longtime forward Draymond Green in what analysts described as a potential superteam reminiscent of Golden State’s 2016-to-2019 run alongside Kevin Durant. According to Kalshi pricing at the time, the Warriors’ odds opened the 2027 futures market at roughly 1.5%, implied by opening odds of +6600, before climbing as high as 3.3%, implied by odds of +3000, by mid-July as the LeBron speculation intensified. A separate Kalshi market specifically tracking the NBA Finals price briefly lifted the Warriors from 2% up to 6%, tying them for fifth on that particular board at the peak of the speculation.

The Collapse After LeBron’s Decision

That optimism evaporated on July 24, when James officially signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers rather than Golden State, joining a Sixers roster that already included Joel Embiid and newly acquired forward Jaylen Brown. The news sent Golden State’s championship odds tumbling immediately, falling from the roughly +3000 level they had reached back down to approximately +6000, an implied probability in the neighborhood of 1% to 1.6%, consistent with the figure cited by users tracking the Kalshi market this week.

Meanwhile, the 76ers’ own championship odds moved dramatically in the opposite direction. Philadelphia’s price on Kalshi jumped from +1567, or roughly 6% implied probability, to +733, or about 12%, within hours of the LeBron news breaking, more than doubling the team’s championship chances in the eyes of traders and briefly making the Sixers the market’s third-favorite team behind only the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs. Philadelphia’s price has continued to firm up in the days since, with some tracking services placing the team as low as +900 by early August.

Golden State’s Roster Reality Without a Marquee Addition

With the LeBron pursuit having fallen through, Golden State enters the 2026-27 season largely reliant on its existing core, headlined by Curry and Green, without the kind of transformative free agent addition that had briefly fueled speculation of another championship-caliber roster. The Warriors have not made the NBA Finals since their 2022 title run, and the team’s recent seasons have included a first-round playoff exit in 2023-24, a conference semifinals loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2024-25 that saw Curry sidelined by injury, and elimination from play-in contention entirely in 2025-26, when Golden State was beaten by the Phoenix Suns in the second round of the play-in tournament.

A Market Still Topped by the Same Familiar Contenders

Even with Philadelphia’s post-LeBron surge, the top of Kalshi’s 2027 championship market has remained largely unchanged at its peak. The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder continue to sit atop the board as co-favorites, with pricing in early August showing the Thunder at roughly 27 cents and the Spurs close behind at around 26 cents on the dollar, figures that translate to implied probabilities in the mid-to-upper-20% range for each team. Both franchises’ odds moved only modestly, ticking up slightly even after the LeBron news, reflecting the market’s view that the Sixers’ improved outlook does not fundamentally threaten the two front-runners’ positioning.

Beyond the top tier, teams including the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics have remained in the next group of contenders, alongside recent title winners such as the Denver Nuggets and Toronto Raptors, along with the Los Angeles Lakers, now led by Luka Doncic following the departure of James. Analysts covering the market have noted that of the group considered most likely to win the title, several, including the Thunder, Knicks and Celtics, would actually be graded against a broader “field” contract on Kalshi that pools together dozens of longer-shot teams, underscoring how concentrated the market’s real expectations remain around just a handful of franchises.

A Reminder of How Quickly Markets Move

The Warriors’ round trip from roughly 1.5% to as high as 6% and back down to around 1% within the span of a few weeks illustrates a broader pattern that has become increasingly common on real-money prediction markets like Kalshi, where prices can swing dramatically in response to single pieces of breaking news, sometimes even before an official announcement is made. In one related instance during the same free agency period, a member of the Miami Heat’s own social media team briefly and apparently accidentally posted a link to a “LeBron James Introductory Press Conference” video with a specific date attached, an error that sent Miami’s own championship odds soaring on Kalshi before the mistake was clarified.

With free agency’s biggest domino now settled and James officially in Philadelphia, Golden State’s path back into serious championship contention on prediction markets will likely depend on the team’s performance once the 2026-27 season begins in October, along with any further roster moves the Warriors front office might pursue before then. For now, with James having chosen the Sixers over the Bay Area, Kalshi traders have made clear through pricing that they view Golden State’s realistic championship chances this season as minimal, a sharp comedown from the brief window of optimism the team enjoyed while its pursuit of the league’s biggest available free agent remained an open question.

GameStop shares traded largely flat Friday morning, changing hands at $19.07, down 0.83%, as the video game retailer’s stock continued to stabilize near recent lows following last week’s announcement of a $1.4 billion debt-for-equity exchange that has kept investors focused on the potential for significant shareholder dilution in the weeks ahead.

The relatively quiet session comes after a volatile stretch for GameStop shares, which fell into negative territory for the year for the first time in 2026 earlier this week, part of a broader decline that saw the stock post several consecutive double-digit percentage drops following the company’s Aug. 4 announcement of its planned convertible note exchange.

A Debt Swap Still Working Through the Market

GameStop’s stock remains anchored to the mechanics of that debt exchange, under which the company will swap $1.4 billion in outstanding convertible notes for shares of common stock, reducing its long-term debt load while raising the prospect of a meaningfully larger share count once the transaction is completed. Following the exchange, GameStop will retain approximately $1.1 billion in notes due in 2030 and $1.7 billion in notes due in 2032, down from the $4.17 billion in total long-term debt the company held as of May 2.

The precise number of new shares to be issued in the exchange remains tied to a 35-consecutive-trading-day reference period that began Aug. 3 and runs into early September, during which the average volume-weighted price of GameStop’s stock will directly determine the scale of dilution shareholders ultimately face, subject to a contractual per-share price floor built into the agreement. That structure means every trading session between now and the reference period’s conclusion carries some bearing on how many new shares will ultimately be created, adding a layer of built-in uncertainty that has weighed on the stock throughout the week.

GameStop has also disclosed that noteholders participating in the exchange may buy or sell shares of common stock, or enter into derivative transactions, to hedge or unwind their positions during this window, a disclosure the company itself acknowledged could materially affect the market price of its stock in the interim.

A Week That Wiped Out 2026 Gains

The scale of the reaction to the debt exchange announcement has been significant. GameStop shares plunged more than 12% in a single session earlier this week, at one point touching a fresh 52-week low, as the debt swap news compounded existing investor unease about the company’s broader capital structure. That decline was enough to erase all of the stock’s gains for 2026, a notable reversal for a stock that had shown periods of strength earlier in the year tied to speculation surrounding the company’s pursuit of eBay.

Trading volume around the announcement remained elevated relative to the stock’s typical daily average of roughly 8.26 million shares, reflecting the intensity of investor repositioning as the market worked to price in the potential dilution impact.

The eBay Bid Remains in the Background

GameStop’s broader strategic ambitions continue to loom over the stock’s near-term trading, even as the debt exchange has dominated headlines this week. Chief Executive Ryan Cohen has continued pushing forward with the company’s pursuit of a takeover of eBay, an effort that led Cohen to forfeit a substantial personal pay package tied to his role at GameStop, even as it remains unclear whether the company will ultimately be able to complete the acquisition. GameStop shareholders previously voted at the company’s annual meeting to approve an increase in authorized shares specifically designed to give the company greater flexibility for stock-based transactions tied to potential deals such as the eBay pursuit, underscoring how directly the current debt exchange and dilution concerns connect to the company’s broader acquisition strategy.

A Financial Cushion Amid the Uncertainty

Despite the dilution concerns weighing on sentiment, some analysts have pointed to GameStop’s substantial cash position as a mitigating factor limiting the stock’s downside risk. Recent commentary has highlighted the company’s roughly $6 billion combined cash and cryptocurrency holdings as a meaningful cushion, even as the stock continues to trade well below its 52-week high of $28.10 reached earlier in the year.

Bitcoin Exposure Adds a Separate Layer of Volatility

Beyond the debt exchange and eBay speculation, GameStop’s stock has also remained sensitive to swings in the broader cryptocurrency market given the company’s corporate treasury holdings in bitcoin, a strategy that has tied its share price more closely to digital asset price movements than a traditional retailer might typically experience. That dynamic has added yet another layer of volatility to a stock already navigating significant company-specific catalysts this month.

Looking Ahead to Earnings

GameStop’s next major scheduled catalyst remains its second-quarter earnings report, expected on or around Sept. 8, an event that will land just weeks after the current 35-trading-day reference period concludes and the debt exchange is set to formally close on or around Sept. 23. Investors are likely to scrutinize that earnings report closely not only for updates on the company’s underlying retail and collectibles business, but also for any further management commentary on the status of the eBay pursuit and how the company plans to navigate the dilution dynamics tied to its recently announced debt restructuring.

A Stock Increasingly Defined by Financial Engineering

Friday’s relatively muted trading session, following a week of sharp swings tied to the debt exchange announcement, illustrates how significantly GameStop’s near-term stock performance continues to be shaped by corporate financial maneuvering rather than by developments in its core video game and collectibles retail operations. With the reference period governing the scale of the debt-swap dilution still weeks from concluding, and the company’s pursuit of eBay remaining an open and consequential question, GameStop’s stock is likely to remain a closely watched name among both retail and institutional investors through the remainder of the summer and into its early September earnings report.

This article was written by

Follow

TOKYO — Nintendo shares surged Friday, closing 4.8% higher at 8,011 yen after climbing as high as 8,043 yen earlier in the session, following a first-quarter earnings report that showed profit soaring even as hardware sales for the company’s flagship Switch 2 console declined from the same period a year earlier.

The gain comfortably outpaced the broader Tokyo market, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 index falling 0.8% on the same day, underscoring how strongly investors reacted to Nintendo’s results, which were released after markets closed Thursday.

Profit Beats Expectations

Nintendo reported net profit attributable to the company of 145.4 billion yen for the quarter ended June 30, up sharply from 80.9 billion yen in the same period a year earlier and comfortably ahead of the 119.8 billion yen analysts had expected, according to consensus estimates compiled by S&P Global Visible Alpha. Operating profit for the quarter climbed to 142.5 billion yen, an increase of roughly 150% from the prior-year period, while ordinary profit rose 115.1% to 206.1 billion yen.

The scale of the profit surge stood in contrast to Nintendo’s hardware performance during the quarter, illustrating how strongly software sales and other revenue streams contributed to the company’s bottom line even as console shipments themselves slowed.

Switch 2 Hardware Sales Slow From a Year Ago

Nintendo sold 3.82 million Switch 2 units during the April-to-June quarter, down 34.4% from the same period a year earlier, when the console had just launched in June 2025 and was riding an initial wave of pent-up consumer demand. Sales of the original Switch hardware, now well into its later life cycle, fell even further, dropping 31.8% to just 0.66 million units for the quarter.

Since its launch, the Switch 2 has now sold a cumulative 23.68 million hardware units worldwide, with cumulative software sales for the platform reaching 58.17 million units. The original Switch, meanwhile, has now sold a cumulative 156.59 million hardware units and 1.56 billion software units over its lifetime, figures that continue to underscore the console’s status as one of the best-selling gaming platforms in industry history.

Software Drives the Results

Rather than hardware, it was software sales that helped carry Nintendo’s quarterly results. “Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream” led the way, moving 7.94 million units during the quarter, while “Pokémon Pokopia” added a further 1.27 million units sold. Nintendo also pointed to strength in its mobile and intellectual property licensing business, which the company said generated 16.7 billion yen in income during the quarter, up 107.4% from a year earlier.

Nintendo has continued expanding its Switch 2 software lineup to sustain the platform’s momentum. The game “Splatoon Raiders” was added to the library in July, with additional major titles scheduled for release later this year, including “Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave” in September, “Nintendo Switch Sports Resort” in October, and a remake of “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” also planned for release before the end of 2026. For the original Switch platform, the new title “Rhythm Heaven Groove” was also released during the period.

In a statement accompanying the results, Nintendo said it aims to maintain momentum for the Switch 2 by continuing to widen its installed hardware base while working to expand sales of existing software titles alongside a steady cadence of new releases, adding that other third-party software publishers also plan to bring a range of additional titles to the platform in the months ahead.

A Cautious Full-Year Outlook

Despite the strong quarterly beat, Nintendo maintained a relatively conservative full-year outlook for fiscal 2026. The company reaffirmed guidance calling for earnings of 43 cents per share and total sales of approximately $13.071 billion for the fiscal year, according to data from Benzinga Pro. That earnings guidance sits below the analyst consensus estimate of 51 cents per share, while Nintendo’s revenue forecast similarly trails the broader analyst consensus estimate of $14.810 billion, suggesting the company itself remains cautious about the pace of growth for the remainder of the fiscal year even after a standout opening quarter.

Nintendo has separately flagged rising costs tied to memory chip components used in its hardware, warning that inflation in artificial intelligence-driven memory prices could add close to $700 million in additional costs, a factor the company appears to be weighing carefully as it calibrates its full-year guidance despite the strong first-quarter results.

Emphasizing Regular Releases as Key to Growth

Nintendo has continued to stress that a steady stream of new game releases remains essential to expanding the Switch 2’s installed user base over time, rather than relying primarily on hardware sales momentum alone. That strategy mirrors the approach Nintendo took with the original Switch console, which sustained strong sales for years after its 2017 launch through a consistent cadence of first-party titles alongside continued third-party software support.

A Strong Quarter Relative to Rivals

Nintendo’s results this week arrived within roughly two weeks of comparable quarterly reports from rival console makers Sony and Microsoft, both of which also reported sales declines for their respective hardware platforms during the same April-to-June period. Sony’s PlayStation-focused Game & Network Services segment reported operating income of 202.0 billion yen, up 37% year over year, even as PS5 hardware sales fell to roughly 1.5 million to 1.6 million units, down about a third from the prior year, with the company’s growth instead driven by its PlayStation Network services business, which reported a record 125 million monthly active users during the quarter.

With a slate of major first-party titles set to arrive over the coming months, including the highly anticipated Zelda remake, Nintendo’s ability to sustain Friday’s rally will likely hinge on whether those upcoming releases can reaccelerate hardware demand following the notable year-over-year decline reported this quarter. Investors are also likely to continue watching closely for any further updates on memory chip cost pressures, given the company’s own warning about the potential financial impact heading into the remainder of the fiscal year.

Tina McKenzie has been confirmed as interim national chair of the Federation of Small Businesses, as Martin McTague steps down from the role to become a member of the House of Lords, the organisation has announced.

McTague’s peerage was announced last month, when he was named as one of 26 new members of the House of Lords in the political peerages list published by Downing Street on 16 July. The FSB said he is expected to be formally introduced into the Lords following the summer recess.

McKenzie has been a member of the FSB’s board of directors since 2021 and has spent the last four years as national vice chair for policy and advocacy.

In that role, the FSB said, she has led engagement with senior figures in the UK government and opposition parties on issues including the cost of doing business, changes to employment rights, international trade and late payments by big businesses to their smaller suppliers. She will continue to lead that engagement as interim national chair.

“Small businesses and the self-employed are at the heart of the economy and communities in every part of the UK,” McKenzie said. “Small firms are facing a lot of headwinds and cost pressures at the moment, and it’s absolutely vital that FSB is there as their leading champion at the highest levels.”

She added: “On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank Martin for the huge contribution that he has made over his many years as an FSB volunteer, including the last four years as National Chair.”

McTague has been an FSB volunteer for more than 20 years at local and national level. He became national chair in 2022, having previously held the national vice chair role for policy and advocacy that McKenzie went on to occupy.

“I’m incredibly proud to have had the privilege to represent FSB members and the wider small business community, and to have met so many amazing, innovative and inspiring small business owners along the way,” McTague said.

His ten years in the FSB’s two board leadership roles, he said, had covered “some of the most difficult and challenging times for small businesses”, “from the protracted Brexit process to the COVID pandemic, as well as significant economic challenges, political chaos and rising costs”.

“Leaving my role as FSB National Chair to take up my new position in the House of Lords doesn’t mean I’m abandoning my passion for championing the UK’s small businesses,” he said.

The FSB said its board of directors, chaired by McKenzie, will continue to provide non-executive strategic direction, while the organisation’s operations will continue to be carried out by staff teams across the UK, led by chief executive Julie Lilley, executive director Craig Beaumont and a wider senior management team.

Lilley said: “I’d like to thank Martin for volunteering his time, expertise and determination to FSB over the last 20 years, including the last four years as National Chair. I warmly congratulate him on his peerage, and I know he will continue to be a great champion of small businesses.”

She said she was “delighted” McKenzie had agreed to take the interim role, “bringing to the role the same dynamic zeal she has shown as Policy and Advocacy Chair, and before that as Chair of the Policy Unit for FSB Northern Ireland”.

A reporting platform that lets retailers send CCTV footage and witness statements directly to police has quadrupled the proportion of London shoplifting cases ending in a caution, charge or other criminal disposal, the Metropolitan Police said on 4 August, as the force extended the scheme to eight more boroughs.

Where shoplifting was reported through the platform in the six boroughs piloting it, 29.4 per cent of cases resulted in a criminal disposal, according to figures released by the Met. The force’s average before the technology was introduced was 7.3 per cent.

The platform allows retailers to submit CCTV footage, witness statements and other evidence to officers moments after a crime is committed. At present, the Met said, officers can wait 28 days or longer for that material.

The force ran the six-month pilot with major retailers including Tesco, Boots, Greggs and M&S in Bexley, Greenwich, Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, Lewisham, and Westminster.

It has now been extended to subscribing retailers in Bromley, Croydon, Ealing, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Lambeth, Southwark and Sutton, with more boroughs to follow in the coming months, the Met said.

Cdr Andy Featherstone said the key to solving shoplifting was evidence that showed the identity of the offender, together with a statement from the company and a record of the items stolen.

“Something that may have taken months and months in the past, and sometimes evidence lost along that process, is now able to move in a matter of hours to bring in offenders to justice,” he said.

The Met said reported shoplifting offences across London fell by 3.7 per cent in the last financial year, around 3,500 fewer offences, while arrests for retail crime rose by almost 50 per cent and the number of positive outcomes more than doubled, from 2,682 to 5,996.

The force has previously recorded more shoplifting offences than any other in the UK, logging over 215,000 between 2019 and 2024, according to police data reported when shoplifting offences reached a record high across England and Wales.

The platform is the Met’s latest use of technology against retail crime. In 2023 the force began using facial recognition to match CCTV stills of prolific shoplifting suspects against custody images, while retailers themselves have introduced measures including body-worn cameras for shop staff.

The British Independent Retail Association welcomed the technology but said smaller shops, which also experience shoplifting, needed help too.

Andrew Goodacre, the association’s chief executive, said the technology was “largely good news”.

“There’s that bit of challenge for independent retailers who don’t have the technology and the resources to maybe deal with this crime in a way that a large Tesco might do,” he said.

Jamie Young

Jamie Young is Senior Reporter at Business Matters, covering SME finance, employment law and Westminster policy since 2016. He has reported on every Budget and Autumn Statement since 2018, helped make sense of the ‘covid era’ and the bounce-back loan scheme from launch through the fraud investigations, and broke the magazine’s coverage of the 2024 late-payment reforms. He joined Business Matters straight from completing his BA in Administration from Exeter University and is NCTJ-qualified. Reach him at jyoung@cbmeg.co.uk

This role of railway stations is set out in a recent report by Development Economics

We usually think of railways and railway stations as places to catch trains. And so they are. They provide us in parts of Wales with an alternative to the motor car particularly for longer journeys; and within the UK where air travel options are few.

Train travel has of course to be accessible, convenient and at an acceptable price to play a more socioeconomic role. It can support inward investment in jobs, our tourism industry (vitally important to Wales) and support housing in relation to work and leisure.

This role of railway stations is set out in a recent report by Development Economics: Growing Places – Railway Stations: Engines of Economic Growth. It illustrates the impact of Great Western main line stations including Carmarthen, a medium size station in terms of passenger numbers handling nearly half-a-million entries and exits annually.

Carmarthen is a historic town with a wide catchment area with a growing rail passenger market (21.5% up on pre-Covid levels).

Also relevant to the south Wales context and considered in the report are Moreton-in-Marsh and Okehampton railway stations which are not dissimilar to Llandrindod or Llandovery on the Heart of Wales Line (HoWL). Bristol Parkway, parallels proposals for a new station at Felindre on the Swansea District Line (SDL) north of Swansea at M4 junction 46.

The six new stations on the main line between Cardiff and Newport proposed in the Burns Report for south Wales commuter services also fall into the type of stations suggested in the Development Economics report.

This report highlights the expected future developments, in housing or offices, near stations particularly where land is available, as at Felindre. High frequency reliable train services at Bristol Parkway have attracted over 4,000 houses to date and a further 12,000 expected over the next 10 years. Employment generated at the 12 stations analysed in the report has reached 3,600 over the past five years and estimates of 20,000 by 2040.

Moreton-in-Marsh in the Cotswolds has features not dissimilar to those of Carmarthen and Llandrindod with historic origins and mid-nineteenth century railway stations.

They all have tourism and agriculture as their economic core.

Good train services and modernised comfortable railway stations will make stations on the HoWL and those west of Swansea more attractive to longer distance visitors from Manchester, London and south-east Wales.

The development of 4,000 houses at Newquay is being significantly enhanced by the Mid-Cornwall Metro (based on heavy rail) and an upgraded Newquay station. “Strengthening rail connections will open up new opportunities for residents and businesses, attract investment and re-enforce Cornwall’s position as a well-connected and vibrant place to live and work.

Developments such as the Newquay suburban site will support local business, encourage sustainable travel and create a thriving local economy” is the view of the Duchy of Cornwall who are behind the scheme.

This column has often identified the contribution of good transport connections to inward investment. If enhanced rail services are seen as essential in providing greener, more reliable travel choices and stronger links to jobs, education and leisure across south west England then surely this also applies to Wales.

While the scale at Felindre and the six stations in south-east Wales may not quite match the 2.25 million passengers at Bristol Parkway, the principles are the same. There are therefore parallels to be drawn with railway station developments in south Wales.

Railway stations can provide faster home/business to business movements in particular to city centres. Bristol Parkway provides a parallel to the proposed (SDL) West Wales/Swansea North Parkway station at Felindre as an access point from Swansea and west Wales into the Cardiff jobs market avoiding the congested M4 to the capital.

Adjacent government-owned land on the old Felindre tinplate works site can provide for housing (and a source of commuters) with local economic benefits though household expenditure and employment.

Felindre Parkway and the enhanced SDL route as the Swansea Metro (using heavy rail) will provide a more efficient means of reaching tourism centres in Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire saving up to 22 minutes in rail journey times.

The arguments made in the Development Economics report show the importance of railways services and stations in economic development and consequently increased jobs and wealth.

These arguments have been put forward in my Wales in Motion column many times particularly in relation to rural, less densely inhabited parts of Wales and the electrification of the north Wales and south Wales main lines.

• Professor Stuart Cole CBE is Emeritus Professor of Transport (Economics and Policy), University of South Wales.

North West, the 13-year-old daughter of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, released the music video for her single “Aishite” on Aug. 7, a horror-inspired visual filmed entirely in Japan that arrives days after she abruptly canceled her first headlining concert tour.

The track is part of North’s debut EP, “N0rth4evr,” which she released in May under her stage name North. Directed by Ty Akimoto, the video opens inside an abandoned school building, where North is shown walking through dimly lit corridors with neon blue pigtails, later moving through what appears to be a deserted arcade as blood-effect imagery drips across the screen throughout the visual, evoking the aesthetic of Japanese horror anime.

A Song About Isolation and Betrayal

“Aishite,” which translates from Japanese as “love me,” samples the 2013 Vocaloid track “Aishite Aishite Aishite” by producer Kikuo, performed using the Hatsune Miku voice synthesizer software. The chorus repeats the phrase “just love me,” with lyrics that explore themes of isolation, feeling pursued, and struggling to trust the people around her. Lines from the song describe not being able to escape those chasing her and feeling unable to let others in, themes North has said throughout her debut project reflect her experience growing up as the child of two globally famous parents.

A Tour Canceled Without Explanation

The video’s release comes just over a week after North announced that her planned 14-date “Kimokawaii Tour,” a co-headlining run with 21-year-old rapper Molly Santana, would not move forward. The tour had been scheduled to kick off Aug. 5 in Dallas and wrap up Aug. 27 in Los Angeles, with stops planned in cities including Houston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Toronto, Chicago, Phoenix and San Francisco.

North announced the cancellation on her Instagram Story on July 30, writing, “I was really excited to go on tour w Molly Santana. Sadly it isn’t happening anymore.” She did not offer a specific explanation for the decision but added, “I have something special for u guys see ya soon,” a message widely interpreted by outlets covering the news as a tease for the “Aishite” video that followed. All 14 tour listings were subsequently removed from ticketing platforms Ticketmaster and AXS, and the tour’s official website has since returned a “not found” error.

Santana also addressed the cancellation on her own Instagram Story the same day, writing, “To everyone who bought tickets to the tour i sincerely apologize. i know a lot of you have taken time out of your busy schedules and spent your hard earned money planning to be there. nothing makes me more happy than the opportunity to share more amazing memories with you all and i hope to see you soon.”

Building a Music Career

North signed with independent label Gamma, run by former Apple Music executive Larry Jackson, earlier this year. Her self-produced debut EP, “N0rth4evr,” released in May, includes tracks such as “H0w Sh0uld ! f33l” alongside the title track, which she also accompanied with a separate music video at the time of the project’s release.

Prior to launching her own solo material, North had already appeared on other artists’ projects. She was featured on FKA twigs’ 2025 album “EUSEXUA,” rapping a verse in Japanese on the track “Childlike Things.” Speaking about that collaboration in a previous interview, FKA twigs said she wanted someone with a “childlike energy” and a strong point of view for the track, and recalled being struck by North’s confidence after watching an interview with her, saying it made her wish she had a friend like North growing up who could speak up for herself.

A Family Legacy on Stage

North is no stranger to live performance, having appeared on stage multiple times alongside her father, the rapper and producer known as Ye. The two performed a surprise duet together in Mexico City in January and North joined him during a string of comeback concerts in Los Angeles in April. The father-daughter pair also released a collaborative track titled “Piercing On My Hand,” a song that appeared to directly address public criticism North had received over her facial piercings, a recurring feature of her public style that she references again in “Aishite.”

A Rising Profile Amid Public Scrutiny

As the eldest of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s four children, alongside younger siblings Saint, 10, Chicago, 8, and Psalm, 7, North has grown up almost entirely in the public eye, drawing both a large following and ongoing scrutiny over her evolving public persona as she has moved from childhood social media appearances into an independent music career. Several members of the extended Kardashian-Jenner family have promoted North’s music on their own social media platforms since the release of “N0rth4evr” in May, contributing to the project’s visibility ahead of the now-canceled tour.

With the “Aishite” video now released and framed by outlets covering the story as the “something special” North had teased following her tour’s cancellation, attention turns to whether she will announce a rescheduled version of the Kimokawaii Tour or pursue additional new music and visuals in the coming months. Neither North nor representatives for Molly Santana have provided further public explanation for the tour’s cancellation, and no rescheduled dates had been announced as of the video’s release.