The incident at Binance could be the biggest theft of any kind in history. We answer some key questions

• North Korean group blamed for $6.3bn crypto heist

• Tell us: have you been affected?

The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange has been hit by a $6.3bn heist that, according to experts, is likely to be the work of North Korea.

This is not the first time a crypto market has been targeted by hackers, and the rogue state has a track record of this type of theft. Here we answer some key questions about what’s happened:

Binance exchange says it will cover customer losses as it scrambles to freeze affected assets, with about $3bn located so far

• Q&A: How big a deal is the $6.3bn crypto heist?

• Tell us: have you been affected by the Binance hack?

The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange has been hit by a record $6.3bn (£4.7bn) hack described as the biggest heist in history, with experts identifying North Korea as the likely culprit.

Binance said it would cover all customer losses as it froze $3bn of the affected assets.

‘Compliance managers’ to have discussions with authority’s wealthiest customers in attempt to raise tax revenues

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The UK’s tax authority is assigning dedicated “customer compliance managers” to more than 200 billionaires as part of a crackdown meant to raise £500m for the public purse.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said it had for the first time compiled a list of billionaires who are required to pay tax in the UK, regardless of whether they formally live in the country, to tackle a “wealthy tax gap” caused by those who do not pay what they ought.

Application made for group claim seeking compensation for companies for alleged overcharging on customer card payments

Visa and Mastercard are being threatened with a potential £5bn lawsuit for allegedly stifling competition and charging UK businesses excessive fees.

The law firms Harcus Parker and Hausfeld have lodged an application at the Competition Appeal Tribunal in hopes of pursuing a group claim that would compensate companies who, they claim, have been overcharged on customer card payments since October 2020.

Exclusive: Bosses tell staff cuts part of effort to ‘simplify’ operations and ‘remove duplication’ across wider workforce

Nationwide building society is slashing another 275 jobs in the latest round of cuts since bank bosses pushed through a £2.9bn takeover of Virgin Money.

Bosses made the announcement to staff on Wednesday, saying it was part of efforts to simplify the bank’s operations and “remove duplication” after absorbing thousands of staff in to the group’s wider workforce.

Regulators say removing ‘unnecessary burdens’ will save businesses about £2bn over 10 years

The UK is watering down rules introduced in the aftermath of the financial crisis that were designed to hold City bosses accountable for wrongdoing.

The plans, put forward by the financial industry’s two top regulators, the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), include a reduction in reporting for “lower-level misconduct” and would also free 140,000 managers from extra checks.

Services restored for most users, but power fault stalled hearings and left Revolut, Lloyds and HSBC customers unable to pay or move money

An outage at Google’s cloud services in the UK has caused widespread disruption, hitting courts and leaving millions of customers unable to access or send cash at banks including Lloyds, HSBC and Revolut.

Google blamed a “power event” for the failure at its London-based Cloud computing operations on Tuesday, which affected its “europe-west2-b zone”.

Exclusive: Chancellor to target sector in his first budget, to help offset Iran war’s damage to public finances

John Healey is poised to tax Britain’s banks in his 28 October budget, to help offset the damage inflicted on the public finances by war in the Middle East, the Guardian understands.

The chancellor is in Bangkok, where the International Monetary Fund has praised the UK’s progress towards balancing the books, urging him to “stay the course”.

Move comes as Senator Elizabeth Warren condemns Barclays response to questions over ex-boss’s ties to sex offender

US lawmakers have unveiled a new bill to hold Wall Street’s “Epstein-connected” bosses to account for helping finance the late sex offender’s crimes.

It came as top Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren condemned the UK bank Barclays for “dodging responsibility” over its failure to vet former boss Jes Staley and his ties to the once well-connected billionaire.

Chip makers and tech investors such as Samsung and SoftBank plunge as potential interest rate hikes spook markets

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• Larry Elliott: the global economy is muddling through. But a storm is coming

An accelerating sell-off of AI-linked shares has hit global markets, as fears over rising inflation and future interest rate hikes spooked traders already wary of the heavily indebted sector.

South Korea’s benchmark Kospi 200 index, which is heavily skewed towards the companies that make memory chips, fell more than 8% overnight to a six-month closing low, triggering circuit breakers that brought trading to a halt at various points.

Eye-watering sum, to be split between 20 bankers, is one of the biggest payouts in the bank’s history

Top bosses at Goldman Sachs are in line to share a bonus pot worth up to $500m (£378m) this year, marking one of the biggest payouts in the Wall Street bank’s history.

The eye-watering sum will be shared between 20 bankers, with its chief executive, David Solomon, due to take about $100m (£75.6m) of the reward, which is made up of Goldman Sachs stock.

British banker Simon Andriesz helped to expose alleged ties between late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick

A top UK regulator has launched an investigation into how it handled a whistleblower – who highlighted alleged ties between the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the US commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick – after he took his own life.

The British banker Simon Andriesz died late last month aged 57, the campaign group Transparency Task Force, of which he was a member, confirmed over the weekend.

Union says staff left with no choice but industrial action after breakdown in pay talks with Texas oil firm Apache

A looming strike by oil workers in the North Sea could “severely disrupt” UK fuel supplies, the Unite union has said, adding that staff were left with no choice after a breakdown in pay talks with the Texas oil company Apache.

The union said Apache workers had “emphatically” backed strike action after being given what it said was an unacceptable pay offer that amounted to a real-terms pay cut for many employees, at a time when the company was “raking in eye-watering profits”.

Revelation comes amid mounting concern over online prediction market’s effects on integrity of financial system

UK authorities are being urged to intervene after it emerged that the online prediction market Polymarket has been taking thousands of dollars worth of bets over whether HSBC and Lloyds will fail.

Polymarket – the US-owned company which holds bets on anything from football matches, to the existence of aliens, to when a bomb drops on a city – has allowed users to take $77,507 (£58,530) worth of positions on whether the world’s biggest banks will go under by the end of this year.

Report finds complaints of room intrusions at nearly one in 10 hotels, after woman attacked by man given a copy of her key

An independent review into Travelodge after a serious sexual assault has found that guests are still at risk, with room intrusions reported at nearly one in 10 of its hotels this summer.

The damning findings were published in a 70-page report on Thursday, which was commissioned earlier this year after a man was convicted of a serious sexual assault against a Travelodge guest in Maidenhead in 2022.

Creating a new policy to address violence against women and girls.

Improving safety policies for staff working alone.

Introducing body cameras for all reception staff.

Installing consistent CCTV systems across all its hotels.

Introducing mystery shoppers to test its key security policy.

‘Radical’ report likely to influence party’s platform also proposes abolishing inheritance and capital gains taxes

A thinktank linked to Reform UK has called for the abolition of the state pension and £75bn worth of sweeping tax cuts in a “radical” report likely to influence the party’s platform for the next election.

The Centre for a Better Britain’s (CFABB) report – which also calls for weaker rules for UK banks and Trump-style investment accounts offering £1,000 to newborns – will be formally launched at a private event with City executives on Wednesday.

While global billionaires and multinational companies have been lured to its shores, many islanders feel left behind and priced out, with food bank use increasing

On a late Friday afternoon on the Channel Island of Jersey, tourists and locals are flocking to St Helier’s waterfront where the town’s sprawling beach has emerged at low tide.

In one direction, they face the calm waters of St Aubin’s Bay, ringed by a seaside promenade and punctuated with a tidal island hosting the 16th century Elizabeth Castle.

Union calls for payouts to help cover travel costs and exemption for those living more than 40 minutes away

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Barclays is facing a growing backlash over return-to-office plans, with thousands of staff calling for payouts to help cover travel costs and an exemption for those living more than 40 minutes from work.

Unionised staff represented by Unite are pushing back against plans announced by the bank earlier this summer to get staff back into the office at least three days a week from October, with more senior employees expected to come in at least four days a week.

Ahead of a crucial budget, four countries’ experiments offer a mixed verdict on how to tax bumper profits

The countdown is on. Two months out from Andy Burnham’s inaugural autumn budget, bank executives are wringing their hands over whether the government will target their bumper profits with fresh taxes.

The chancellor, John Healey, is reportedly considering a windfall tax on both banks and oil companies in the late October Westminster setpiece.

The Canadian PM is one of the few world leaders to stand up to the US president. Former colleagues say they are not surprised

Mark Carney stood before a walnut-veneered lectern, his face drawn tight, as he announced that talks with Canada’s biggest trading partner had collapsed. “Last spring, I warned that America is trying to break us so that they can own us,” he said. “And I promised: that will never, ever happen. We are keeping that promise.”

For years, the former central bank governor had worked hard to calm markets. Now, he was asking Canadians to accept uncertainty and confrontation.