The Tony Blair Institute has called on ministers to pull an “emergency handbrake” on Britain’s runaway sickness benefits bill, urging Whitehall to strip cash entitlements from claimants with mild depression, ADHD and other conditions the think tank argues are compatible with work.

In an intervention that will land squarely on the desks of finance directors and HR chiefs across the country, the institute founded by Sir Tony Blair has proposed a new statutory category of “non-work limiting conditions” covering anxiety, stress-related disorders, lower back pain, common musculoskeletal complaints and certain neurodevelopmental conditions. Claimants would receive treatment and employment support in place of benefits, in a shift the TBI insists could be introduced without primary legislation.

The proposals arrive at a critical moment for British employers. The Office for Budget Responsibility forecast in March that spending on health and sickness benefits for working-age adults will hit £78.1bn by 2029-30, a 15 per cent jump on this year’s outlay. With around 1,000 people a day becoming newly eligible for health and disability payments, business groups have grown increasingly vocal about the squeeze on the labour market and the corresponding drag on productivity.

The TBI’s report lands in awkward political territory for the Labour government, which last year tabled plans to tighten disability benefit eligibility only to gut its own proposals after a backbench revolt. Whitehall now points to a review led by Social Security Minister Sir Stephen Timms, expected to report later this year, as the vehicle for any further reform.

Dr Charlotte Refsu, a former GP and the institute’s director of health policy, said the welfare system was “drawing too many people into long-term dependency for conditions that are often treatable and compatible with work, and not doing enough to support recovery”. She added: “A system that leaves people on benefits without timely treatment or a route back to work is not compassionate. It is bad for the country and bad for people’s health.”

Under the TBI blueprint, every claimant would require a formal diagnosis before applying for benefits, and those already on the books would face more frequent and rigorous reassessment. The think tank stopped short of estimating either fiscal savings or the number of claimants who would lose entitlement, but argued any windfall should be ploughed back into employment support and NHS treatment for mental health and musculoskeletal conditions, the two clusters that have driven much of the post-pandemic surge in claims.

YouGov polling of more than 4,000 British adults, commissioned by the institute, found that 54 per cent of voters believe the welfare system is too easy to access and fails to prevent misuse, a finding likely to embolden ministers minded to revisit reform.

For SME owners contending with stubborn vacancies and rising employment costs, the report sharpens a debate that has been simmering in boardrooms since the pandemic. Smaller employers have repeatedly flagged the difficulty of recruiting from the economically inactive cohort, particularly the more than 2.8 million working-age people currently signed off long-term sick. The TBI argues that supporting claimants into “appropriate work” would not only ease the fiscal pressure but also reduce social isolation and improve mobility and independence, a framing that aligns with the back-to-work rhetoric increasingly heard from both Labour ministers and the Conservative and Reform UK opposition.

The proposals have, however, drawn fierce criticism from the disability sector. Jon Holmes, chief executive of the learning disability charity Scope, branded the report “deeply unhelpful and ill-informed”, arguing it ignored “the lived reality of people with a learning disability and plays to a populist trope about welfare”. He warned: “Slapping labels on people and denying them benefits will not tackle the root cause. It will push people into deeper anxiety, misery and poverty. That’s not reform, it’s a recipe for making things worse.”

The Department for Work and Pensions said it had already “rebalanced” Universal Credit to deliver £1bn of savings, with the health-related element for new claimants cut by up to 50 per cent earlier this month. A spokesperson said the department had “increased face-to-face assessments and improved use of NHS evidence, all while ensuring those who genuinely can’t work are always protected”, adding that ministers would “consider the TBI’s report”.

For Britain’s small and medium-sized employers, the question is no longer whether reform comes, but how quickly, and whether it will deliver the workforce uplift that has eluded successive administrations.

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Jonas Gustafsson
Chief Executive Officer

Good morning, everyone, and a warm welcome to this 2026 Q1 release call for Hemnet Group. My name is Jonas Gustafsson, and I’m the Group CEO of Hemnet.

With me here on my side today at our headquarters in Stockholm, I have our Chief Financial Officer, Anders Ornulf; and our Head of Investor Relations, Ludvig Segelmark.

As usual, we will go through the presentation that was published on our website earlier this morning during today’s session. I will kick it off with a summary of the main highlights during the first quarter. Thereafter, Anders Ornulf will cover the financial details before I come back in the end to wrap up today’s session.

As always, there will be opportunities to ask questions at the end of the presentation. Today’s session will be moderated by our operator, so please follow the operator’s instructions to ask questions through the provided dial-in details.

So with that, let’s get started, and let’s move on to the next slide, please. Net sales declined by 24.7% in Q1, driven by weak listing volumes throughout the first quarter. Sales were also negatively impacted by a timing shift in revenue recognition related to the rollout in the new commercial proposition and payment model — Sell First, Pay Later — in which we recognize revenues first when properties are sold.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries is making its boldest bet yet. The acquisition of Organon will nearly double Sun Pharma’s size — from a $6 billion to a $12 billion revenue company — creating one of the largest pharmaceutical players globally. In an exclusive interview with ET Now, Sun Pharma’s MD Kirti Ganorkar and CFO Jayashree Satagopan outlined why the timing is right, how integration will work, and where the growth will come from.

Why now, despite geopolitical uncertainty

Critics have questioned the timing of the deal given global geopolitical headwinds. Ganorkar was direct in his response. There is never a perfect moment for a transformational acquisition, he argued, and the strategic logic of the deal outweighs the short-term noise. The combined entity will gain the ability to commercialise a significantly larger product portfolio across global markets — an opportunity that cannot be indefinitely deferred.

Three growth engines at Organon

Organon’s business is structured across three segments, each with a distinct growth opportunity for the combined company.

The first is women’s health, an innovative, largely branded portfolio operating in a global market estimated at $30–35 billion, growing at 5–7% annually. Ganorkar noted that over 100 pipeline products are currently under development in this space, giving Sun Pharma ample room to in-license and commercialise new assets.

The second is biosimilars, currently growing at 13% and set to accelerate further. Ganorkar pointed to a landmark opportunity: biologics worth approximately $320 billion are set to go off-patent by 2035. Even if just 20% of that converts to biosimilars, it translates to a $60–70 billion market. Organon’s existing global platform — ranked seventh worldwide in biosimilars — gives Sun Pharma an immediate commercial foothold it would have taken years to build independently.

The third is established brands, which make up around 50% of Organon’s business and are currently flat. Sun Pharma plans to inject growth here through line extensions, new formulations, and combination products — a strategy the company has successfully executed before.

Innovative portfolio gets a boost

The combined company’s share of innovative drug revenues will rise from Sun Pharma’s current 20% to 27%. Key focus areas include dermatology, where Organon’s Vtama adds to Sun’s existing Ilumya franchise, as well as ophthalmology and women’s health in-licensing. Several Organon pipeline products are also expected to launch within two to three years of the deal closing.

Integration: Sun has done this before

The integration of a company that doubles your size is a legitimate concern. Satagopan acknowledged this plainly but pointed to Sun Pharma’s track record with Taro and Ranbaxy — two complex acquisitions that were successfully absorbed. The company plans to establish a dedicated integration office immediately, with a timeline running up to the deal’s expected closing in approximately nine months. Key focus areas will include talent assessment, market-by-market opportunity mapping, and cross-cultural alignment.

Debt is manageable, with a clear repayment plan

Organon carries significant debt, which Sun Pharma will refinance. The combined entity’s net debt-to-EBITDA ratio at the time of closing is expected to be around 2.3x — within normal range for a transaction of this scale, according to Satagopan. The two companies together generate roughly $2.5 billion in annual operating cash flow, which will fund both debt servicing and business investment. Satagopan was clear that Sun’s long-standing financial discipline remains intact, and the goal is to return to a net cash-positive position over time.

Margin profile: No deterioration expected

A key investor concern is margin dilution. Satagopan addressed this directly, noting that Organon’s adjusted EBITDA margins are actually slightly higher than Sun Pharma’s current 30%-plus levels. With cost synergies and operational efficiencies being built into the integration plan, the combined entity’s margins are expected to remain healthy.

Shares of PepsiCo bottler Varun Beverages (VBL) extended gains for the third straight session on Tuesday, rising 2% to an intraday high of Rs 529. The stock has climbed 9% over the last three trading sessions and is up 35% in the past month.

The recent rally follows the company’s Q1 CY2026 earnings announced on Monday. Varun Beverages reported a 20.1% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 878.71 crore for the quarter, compared with Rs 731 crore in the same period last year.

For the quarter under review, the company’s revenue from operations rose 18.1% to Rs 6,574 crore, compared to Rs 5,567 crore in the same period last year.

EBITDA rose 21% to Rs 1,528.93 crore in Q1 CY2026 from Rs 1,263.96 crore in Q1 CY2025. EBITDA margin improved by 55 basis points to 23.3% during the quarter. In India, EBITDA margin expanded by 112 basis points, supported by operational efficiencies from strong volume growth and better gross margins.

Consolidated sales volume grew 16.3% to 363.4 million cases in Q1 CY2026 from 312.4 million cases in Q1 CY2025, driven by strong volume growth of 14.4% in India and 21.4% in international markets.

Jefferies on Varun Beverages

With a Buy rating and target price of Rs 615, the global brokerage said Varun Beverages delivered a strong quarter, with volume growth of more than 14% in India and stable margins, a positive outcome amid concerns over rising competition from Campa. The international business also posted a broad-based and healthy performance.
The brokerage added that the summer season has begun on a strong note and will be a key driver for growth going forward, while a favourable base is also supporting momentum. Management remains unfazed by increasing competition, particularly from Campa.
Lower discounts and efficiency gains, including benefits from new plants, are expected to support margins ahead. On international margins, Varun Beverages holds raw material inventory for six months, providing good visibility. In India, the company has sufficient inventory for the second quarter and is partly covered for the third quarter. Any additional cost impact is likely to be offset through lower discounts and cost-control measures.

Motilal Oswal on Varun Beverages stock

The domestic brokerage has maintained its Buy rating on Varun Beverages with a target price of Rs 600, implying a potential upside of 16%. Analysts expect the company to see stronger earnings momentum, supported by an extreme heatwave this year due to El Niño, which could boost peak summer demand.

It also sees growth driven by a scale-up in international operations, led by South Africa and a recovery in the Zimbabwe market. In India, improving on-ground execution is expected to further support performance.

Motilal Oswal also highlighted the scale-up of the snacking business, backed by the operationalisation of the Morocco and Zimbabwe markets in the second half of CY2025. In addition, the company’s expanding product portfolio, including the recent launch of the energy drink ‘Adrenaline Rush’, is expected to aid future growth.

JM Financial on Varun Beverages shares

With a target of Rs 600, JM forecasts 16% upside. Management is optimistic about India’s volume trajectory and margin resilience. VBL management remained upbeat about the outlook for the coming quarters, too. It expects India’s volume momentum to sustain, given the favourable summer season this time (a healthy consumption trend visible in April).

In terms of raw materials, the company is well covered for the upcoming season. As a result, it does not expect any material impact on overall margins and can offset likely pressure on India margins through lower discounts and cost efficiencies. Hence, margin resilience is likely to continue, which is quite commendable, it added.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

SYDNEY — Australians seeking personal loans in 2026 have more competitive options than ever, with leading lenders offering rates as low as 5.67% p.a. as the Reserve Bank of Australia’s easing cycle and strong competition drive down borrowing costs amid ongoing cost-of-living pressures.

As of late April 2026, comparison websites show unsecured personal loan rates starting from 5.76% p.a., while secured and green loans dip even lower. Borrowers can access funds for debt consolidation, home renovations, vehicles, weddings or travel, with many lenders offering fast online approvals and flexible terms of one to seven years.

Here are the 10 best personal loan options currently available in Australia, ranked primarily by starting comparison rates for excellent credit profiles (rates are indicative and subject to individual assessment):

1. Liberty Financial Secured Personal Loan — Starting from 5.67% p.a. (comparison rate around 6.10% p.a.). This secured option offers competitive rates for borrowers using assets as collateral, with loan amounts up to significant limits and terms suited for larger purchases.
2. Harmoney Unsecured Personal Loan — From 5.76% p.a. (comparison rate 5.76% p.a. for excellent credit). A fully online lender with personalised rates, no ongoing fees for many customers and quick funding. Popular for its transparency and borrower-friendly features.
3. OurMoneyMarket (OMM) Low Rate Personal Loan — From 5.95% p.a. (comparison rate 5.95% p.a.). Strong option for exceptional credit, with flexible terms up to seven years and no application or monthly fees in many cases. Good for home improvements or vehicle loans.
4. NOW Finance No Fee Personal Loan — From 5.95% p.a. (comparison rate 5.95% p.a.). Zero fees on many secured and unsecured products, making it attractive for cost-conscious borrowers seeking simplicity.
5. Plenti Personal Loan — From 6.17% p.a. Competitive rates with a focus on responsible lending and green finance options. Strong customer service ratings.
6. ING Fixed Rate Personal Loan — From around 6.19% p.a. A well-regarded bank option with fixed rates for payment certainty and solid digital application process.
7. G&C Mutual Bank or Unity Bank Green Upgrades Loan — From as low as 4.59%–5.55% p.a. for eligible energy-efficient projects when secured against a home loan. Excellent for sustainability-focused borrowers.
8. Latitude Personal Loan — Variable and fixed options with competitive mid-tier rates. Good for those seeking additional features like repayment flexibility.
9. Westpac or CommBank Personal Loans — Starting from around 5.99%–7.25% p.a. for strong credit customers. Big-bank security with branch support, though often higher comparison rates due to fees.
10. NAB or ANZ Personal Loans — Competitive tiered rates from major banks, suitable for existing customers who can access discounts and integrated banking benefits.

Key Considerations for Borrowers in 2026Comparison rates are crucial as they include fees and give a truer picture of total cost. Always check your personalised rate, as offers vary significantly based on credit score, income and loan purpose. Unsecured loans generally carry higher rates than secured ones but require no collateral.

Application processes have become faster, with many lenders offering same-day or next-day funding via fully digital platforms. However, approval depends on responsible lending assessments, including income verification and debt-to-income ratios. Borrowers with excellent credit (typically 700+ scores) secure the lowest advertised rates.

Current economic conditions favour borrowers. With the cash rate stabilised or easing, lenders compete aggressively for market share. Green loans and EV-related financing often qualify for discounts, aligning with Australia’s sustainability push. Debt consolidation remains a popular use case as households manage higher living costs.

Expert Advice Financial comparison sites such as Canstar, Finder, InfoChoice and Money.com.au recommend shopping around and using pre-approval tools that perform soft credit checks. Consider total loan cost over the full term rather than just the headline rate. Early repayment without penalties is a valuable feature offered by most non-bank lenders.

Experts also stress budgeting: calculate repayments carefully using online calculators and avoid borrowing more than necessary. Government resources and financial counsellors can help if debt is already an issue. Always read the product disclosure statement and understand exit fees, redraw options and insurance add-ons.

Risks and Responsible Lending While low rates are attractive, personal loans add to household debt. The average unsecured personal loan rate sits around 10.3% p.a., so advertised low rates are reserved for top-tier borrowers. Missed payments can damage credit scores and lead to higher future borrowing costs.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission and lenders follow strict responsible lending rules. Borrow only what you can comfortably repay. Tools like the National Consumer Credit Protection Act safeguards help protect consumers.

Looking Ahead Personal loan rates in Australia are expected to remain competitive through 2026 if inflation stays controlled. New digital lenders and fintech innovations may further drive down costs and improve customer experience. Green and purpose-specific loans are likely to expand as environmental priorities grow.

For many Australians, a well-chosen personal loan offers a smarter alternative to credit cards with their higher interest rates. By comparing options thoroughly and matching the product to individual needs, borrowers can secure favourable terms in today’s market. Always consult a licensed financial adviser for personalised guidance.

With rates starting in the low 5% range for strong applicants, 2026 presents solid opportunities for those needing flexible financing. Research, compare and apply responsibly to make the most of current conditions.

The lurid purple shopfronts that ushered a generation of British teenagers into their first ear piercing have, quite literally, gone dark.

Claire’s Accessories has confirmed the closure of all 154 of its standalone stores in the UK and Ireland, with more than 1,300 staff handed redundancy notices in one of the most emphatic high-street collapses of the year so far.

Administrators at Kroll said trading ceased across the estate on 27 April after the chain tumbled into administration for the second time in barely twelve months. The 350 concession counters that Claire’s operates inside other retailers will continue to trade for now, but the standalone model, for decades a fixture of British shopping centres from Bluewater to Buchanan Galleries, is finished.

For the SME-heavy ecosystem of suppliers, landlords and shopping-centre operators that depend on anchor tenants of this kind, the implications are sobering. Claire’s was not a marginal player: it was, until recently, one of the most reliably trafficked footfall generators on any mid-tier high street, hoovering up pocket money from a demographic that few competitors knew how to reach.

That demographic, it turns out, has moved on. The chain has been outflanked on price by the Chinese-owned ultra-fast-fashion platforms Shein and Temu, whose algorithmically curated trinkets land on teenagers’ doorsteps for a fraction of Claire’s shelf prices. It has been squeezed on the high street itself by Primark and Superdrug, both of which have aggressively expanded their value accessories ranges. And, perhaps most damaging of all, it has been culturally outmanoeuvred.

“We’ve moved away from novelty, colourful jewellery for the most part, which is what Claire’s are best known for,” Priya Raj, a fashion analyst, told the BBC. Today’s teenagers, she noted, take their cues from TikTok and Instagram rather than from a Saturday-afternoon trawl of the local Arndale, and their tastes have shifted to “minimal jewellery, sometimes chunky, sometimes with a more curated look, basically not the cutesy, juvenile look that Claire’s is known for.”

The retail analyst Catherine Shuttleworth was blunter still. Gen Alpha, she argued, has more competing claims on its disposable income than any cohort before it — matcha lattes, bubble tea, gourmet desserts, in-app purchases, and a shop “just selling ‘stuff’ simply doesn’t cut it” any longer.

The collapse will reignite the increasingly fractious debate over the Government’s tax treatment of bricks-and-mortar retail. When Claire’s owner, the private-equity backed Modella Capital, first put the chain into administration in January, it pointed to “alarming” Christmas trading and singled out the rise in employers’ National Insurance Contributions as a material drag on viability. Trade bodies including the British Retail Consortium and the Federation of Small Businesses have warned for months that the cumulative weight of higher NICs, business rates and the National Living Wage uplift is pushing marginal store-by-store economics into the red — a warning that Claire’s now embodies in unusually stark form.

The structural picture is no kinder. Town centre footfall has yet to return convincingly to pre-pandemic levels, the Treasury’s long-promised business rates overhaul has under-delivered, and landlords are still struggling to re-let space vacated by the likes of Wilko, The Body Shop and Ted Baker. A 154-unit hole in the property market is not one that will be filled overnight.

Across the Atlantic, the picture is little better. The American arm of the business filed for Chapter 11 in 2025, its second bankruptcy in seven years, after an earlier failure in 2018 — underlining that Claire’s troubles are global rather than peculiarly British.

What was once a rite of passage has become a case study in how quickly retail brands can be rendered obsolete when consumer culture, cost inflation and online disruption converge on the same balance sheet. The bright purple frontages will be gone within weeks. The questions they leave behind for Britain’s high streets will not.