Here are the stories making the business headlines around the UK today.
Peloton recalls 2m bikes after seats falls off
Peloton is recalling 2.2m exercise bikes after some users injured themselves when the seats broke off.
The internet-connected exercise bike maker said it had uncovered 35 incidents of “seat posts breaking out” on its products sold in the US between January 2018 and May 2023.
The Telegraph reports that the part that attaches the saddle to the frame can break in certain circumstances on its $995 bikes, the company said.
Several users have injured themselves because of the defect, including one case of a broken wrist. Peloton said bikes in Britain are not affected by the recall.
Getting people back to work can fund 2p tax cut
The 650,000 people who left work during the pandemic could boost the economy by enough to pay for a 2p cut in the basic rate of income tax if they returned to employment, a cabinet minister has said.
Mel Stride, the work and pensions secretary, said that getting people into jobs would be “one of the most important elements of success” in winning back voters who deserted the Tories in last week’s local elections.
His back-to-work drive would aim to give Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, “the greatest possible flexibility when it comes to setting out his stall this autumn and in the spring”.
Be careful with 100% mortgages, borrowers told
Buyers and banks need to be "very careful" with 100% mortgages that have no deposit requirement, the Bank of England has warned.
Andrew Bailey, its governor, said "quite a few problems" could arise from such deals which some see as riskier.
This week Skipton Building Society became the latest lender to offer a deposit-free mortgage aimed at first-time buyers currently renting.
Mr Bailey's warning via the BBC came after the Bank raised interest rates again.
FirstGroup hit by TransPennine setback
Rail services run by TransPennine Express (TPE) will be nationalised after months of “continuous cancellations”, the transport secretary said.
Ministers have decided not to renew TPE’s contract from May 28, bringing it under the Department for Transport’s (DfT) “operator of last resort” mechanism, which involves the government seizing control of operations.
The Times said the FirstGroup-owned operator, which covers an area across northern England and into Scotland, had its services wiped out after drivers who are members of the Aslef union stopped volunteering for overtime shifts.
Putin threatens response as UK sends missiles to Ukraine
Britain has become the first country to send long-range missiles to Ukraine, prompting President Putin’s spokesman to threaten a military response.
Storm Shadow cruise missiles have a typical range of about 155 miles, enabling Ukraine to strike deep behind the front lines and disrupt Russian supply lines before a spring counteroffensive.
Rishi Sunak promised the missiles during a visit by President Zelensky to the UK in February.
AI heart attack diagnosis could reduce NHS pressure
Artificial intelligence could have a “transformational” impact in overcrowded A&Es by improving the diagnosis of heart attacks, researchers hope.
Experts told The Times that an algorithm developed using AI had enormous potential to improve patient care after a trial found it was more effective than current testing in ruling out heart attacks.
The algorithm also performed better on correctly identifying heart attack victims, according to results published in the journal Nature Medicine.
Heart attacks are diagnosed based on the levels of troponin, a type of protein, in the blood. The new approach combines a patient’s troponin test results with other information and was able to rule out a heart attack in more than double the number of patients compared with the current approach, with 99.6% accuracy.