The US has begun to feel a bit of chill in the air and that means fall is upon us, when bright green leaves change into hues of orange, yellow and brown. 

If you’re wondering when your city is going to be covered in beautiful fall foliage, then this interactive map predicting peaking viewing dates should help out. 

The new season has already begun arriving in New England and in some parts of Washington, North Dakota and Montana. 

By September 25, all of the northern states and some parts of the west coast will be covered in fall colors.   

States in the Midwest such as Iowa, Kansas and Ohio will be completely enveloped in fall colors by October 9 but those in the south will have to wait until October 30 to see the first signs of the season.

Although by November 13, only southern states which include Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, and Florida will have foliage, while the rest of the country will be past its peak season. 

The map, which can be viewed at SmokyMountains.com, was created by David Angotti. 

The predictive map uses a complex algorithm that computes over 37,000 pieces of information in order to accurately forecast when fall peak will occur at the county-level.

And although it is not 100 percent accurate, it is a tool used by avid leaf peepers to plan their annual trips to see the spectacular colors around the nation. 

Leaves can change their color from as early as mid-September all the way through early November. Usually, the second and third week of October are marked as the peak times but with it can vary depending on location and local weather conditions. 

When fall leaves drop to the ground, they gradually break down and create a nutrient-rich layer on the forest floor. This layer acts like a sponge, soaking up water and providing food for trees and plants. It helps them grow healthy in the spring.

So, while leaves falling in the fall protect trees during winter, they also help trees survive and thrive in the spring and summer. This natural cycle keeps trees healthy and sustainable year after year. 

The green in the map highlights trees that have not yet changed color and brown is past peak viewing, but the two shades of red indicate ‘near peak’ and ‘peak.’

Compared to last year, fall foliage is set to arrive sooner in 2023. Most of the country was experiencing the season by October 17 in 2022 but by October 9 this year, a majority of states will be covered in fall colors. 

Data has shown that climate change is the reason why fall has arrived early in the US and other parts of the world. 

The reason why climate change is bad for fall foliage has a bit to do with plant biology. 

When days get shorter and and temperatures drop, the chlorophyll in leaves breaks down which causes it to lose its green color. The green gives way to the yellows, reds and oranges that make for dramatic autumn displays. 

As the planet gets warmer, dry regions are expected to get drier and wet regions will receive more precipitation. This extreme weather caused trees stress in areas that receive bare minimum rainfall. 

This stress can cause leaves to miss the fall color turn completely and simply die and fall off instead of following its natural process. 

These trends impact the aesthetics of fall foliage, in addition to raising concerns about agriculture and water supplies and are expected to become more drastic in the future. 

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By Caitlin Tilley, Health Reporter For Dailymail.Com

Published: 00:05 EDT, 13 September 2023 | Updated: 00:05 EDT, 13 September 2023

The UK is told to prepare for scorching temperatures with the hottest day of the year forecast for this weekend as September’s heatwave reaches it’s peak at 33C. 

Despite this morning’s patchy fog in the east, the Met Office said temperatures across the UK will rise under largely sunny skies as the day continues.

Tomorrow remains hot and humid with plenty of sunshine, though some isolated thundery showers are possible in the west.

Temperatures reached 32C in Kew Gardens, London yesterday, making it the hottest September day since 2016 – just 0.2C short of the hottest day of the year.

The ‘unseasonably’ high temperatures come as a welcome change to the miserable weather which plagued July and August.

Met Office chief meteorologist Paul Gundersen said: ‘High pressure is situated to the southeast of the UK, which is bringing more settled conditions and temperatures well above average for the time of year.

‘While the highest temperatures are expected in the south, heatwave conditions are likely across much of England and Wales especially, with parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland also likely to see some unseasonably high temperatures.’

September’s heatwave is likely to peak on Saturday with temperatures rising as high as 33C in London, although further north will be cooler. 

This would make it the hottest day of the year, beating 32.2C in June.

The UK Health Security Agency has issued an amber health alert that will remain in place until Sunday evening at 9pm. 

The health alert means there’s an increased risk to people above the age of 65 and those with pre-existing health conditions.     

Although temperatures have risen this high before in September, it is unusual for the heat to last so long with the Met Office predicting five to six days above 30C for some areas. 

There is also a chance of tropical nights in the south, defined as having temperatures over 20C. 

This is expected to be ‘the last dose of summer’ with more showers forecast and temperatures expected to slowly decrease into the new week. 

September’s heatwave is being driven by tropical storms pushing a high pressure system over the UK, with the jet stream having moved to the north and bending into what is known as an omega blocking pattern. 

Named after the Greek letter omega because of its shape, this system occurs when an area of high pressure gets stuck between two areas of low-pressure to the west and east and also slightly south. 

This has brought torrential rain and flooding for Spain and Greece but hot, dry and clear conditions for the UK and central Europe. 

Met Office chief meteorologist Neil Armstrong said: ‘An active tropical cyclone season in the North Atlantic has helped to amplify the pattern across the North Atlantic, pushing the jet stream well to the north of the UK, allowing some very warm air to be drawn north.

‘It’s a marked contrast to the much of meteorological summer, when the UK was on the northern side of the jet stream with cooler air and more unsettled weather.’ 

The Met Office defines a heatwave as three consecutive days of a particular region exceeding a given threshold, which varies around the UK. 

For Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Cornwall and northern England, the threshold is 25C; for Somerset, Hampshire and the Welsh Borders, 26C; the south coast, East Anglia and the East Midlands, 27C; and for London and the home counties the threshold is 28C. 

Buy now, pay later giant Klarna ready for float as it posts first monthly profit in three years

By Leah Montebello

Updated: 16:52 EDT, 31 August 2023

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Pep Guardiola says he is refreshed and ready to go again at Man City and could extend his stay at the club

• Pep Guardiola has hinted that he may extend his contract with Manchester City
• Guardiola’s current deal with the treble winners run to the end of next season 
•  The Spanish boss is wary of extra game and new time stoppages this season 

By Ian Whittell For The Mail On Sunday

Updated: 20:13 EDT, 5 August 2023

The small matter of saving the world from potential annihilation appeared to be taking its toll on Wednesday as Tom Cruise promoted his latest blockbuster in South Korea. 

The Hollywood legend is currently working his way through a promotional tour on behalf of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One – the seventh instalment in the long-running film franchise. 

But he looked ready to hang up the bullet proof vest and retire to bed during a press conference in Seoul, where he was joined by co-stars Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby and Pom Klementieff. 

The cast were accompanied by director James McQuarrie as they fielded questions about the forthcoming film, shot on location across England and mainland Europe at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.  

Cruise has used his considerable platform to urge people to head to the cinema this summer to catch films like Barbie, Oppenheimer and his latest Mission: Impossible offering. 

The actor took to Instagram to encourage people to see movies on the big screen despite the glorious weather, amid a challenging time for cinemas.

As well as paying tribute to Indiana Jones legend Harrison Ford as the fifth film hit screens, Cruise said he’s looking forward to Greta Gerwig’s Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling-starring live-action Barbie film and Christopher Nolan’s biographical thriller.

He wrote: This summer is full of amazing movies to see in theaters. These are just a few that we can’t wait to see on the big screen.

‘Congratulations, Harrison Ford, on 40 years of Indiana Jones and creating one of the most iconic characters in cinema history. You have given us countless hours of joy.

‘I love a double feature, and it doesn’t get more explosive (or more pink) than one with Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and Greta Gerwig’s Barbie.’ 

The Hollywood star was seen in one picture in the post holding his Cineworld cinema ticket.

The cinema chain was hit particularly hard amid the COVID-19 pandemic and was facing closure, but it has been saved from bankruptcy.

Meanwhile, Cruise recently hailed Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is the perfect entry point into the franchise for newcomers.

The actor starred in the first ‘Mission: Impossible’ movie in 1996, and Tom believes the new film could help to attract new, younger viewers to the franchise.

He told Collider: ‘They could start with this film to see and understand that this is all real, all the action is real, it’s practical. This movie is an epic adventure. It’s so lush, filled with practical action and amazing locations.”

Cruise believes the new film has a “very engrossing story”.

The veteran actor also hailed the movie’s star-studded cast, which includes Hayley Atwell, Rebecca Ferguson and Simon Pegg.

He said: ‘[The movie has] submarines, it has the desert, it has Rome, beautiful locations in Abu Dhabi, Norway, a train that we built, action on the train, and a very engrossing story with a really beautiful cast, an amazing, very charismatic cast.

‘I think when you look at this movie, it really defines what I think about cinema and why because you look at this kind of cast, you look at a brilliant ensemble cast, and the kind of story is very engrossing.’ 

By Kieran Lynch For Mailonline

Published: 04:11 EDT, 8 June 2023 | Updated: 14:36 EDT, 8 June 2023

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‘The ready meals just never end.’

So say American tourists Cara Atwell and Jeremy Davis as they film their first-ever trip to an M&S Foodhall, which they describe on their YouTube video of the expedition as ‘unlike anything we’ve ever experienced before’.

The couple are startled by the sheer number of ‘heat and eat’ meals on offer as they browse the aisles in the Chester store.

‘How would you choose dinner?’ asks Cara. ‘Because there are just so many things that sound wonderful.’

They find the descriptions on them delightful.

Your browser does not support iframes.

Cara notes the ‘hearty and generous’ shepherd’s pie, and the ‘tender and comforting’ cottage pie.

She told MailOnline Travel separately: ‘I think the biggest surprise we had at M&S was the vast number of ready meals they have.

‘The meal descriptions are part of the experience. I don’t think you’ll find a lot of food in the U.S that say things like “comforting gravy”.’

Other offerings the couple are enticed by include beef-filled Yorkshire pudding (‘yes, please!’), salmon fillets (‘they look decadent’), Percy Pig ice cream (‘woah!’), the pre-packaged fruits (‘so much better than what you could find in the U.S’), the Danish pastries (‘they look amazing’), and the ‘cheese and onion deli filler’.

Cara says: ‘Does that mean you can just use two slices of bread and slap some of that cheese and onion mixture in there and have a cheese and onion sandwich? That sounds like a good thing for me.’

They end up buying ‘an assortment of random things’ – including M&S Collection crisps (prosciutto and formaggio), Percy Pig sweets, Colin the Caterpillar softies, a toad-in-the-hole ready meal, and a ‘steak and old peculier ale pie’ main for one.

However, there is some confusion before they get to the till to pay.

Over the ‘tuna and sweetcorn deli filler’, for starters. Upon spying it, Cara says: ‘What is that like? We do not put corn in our tuna. And I’m very curious about it.’

Cara is also stumped by the jars of goose fat. ‘It’s a cooking medium,’ says Jeremy.

‘Have you seen that in the U.S?’ asks Cara. ‘No, but it makes sense,’ says Jeremy.

The pair are also miffed by the location of the shopping trolleys, which are ‘hidden down a weird alleyway’ in the store.

And that’s not all.

We asked them how ‘alien’ the experience felt.

They said: ‘The most alien feeling about shopping at M&S is the fact that the food hall is housed inside the department store. In the U.S, you might find a high-end department store that has a small cafe or a candy counter, but not a full grocery section.’

Which items that they’d not heard of did they find the most enticing?

They said: ‘We had had some of our viewers tell us about “toad in the hole”, but we hadn’t really investigated what it was. We have something called toad in the hole in the U.S, but it’s a piece of bread that you cut a hole in to cook an egg. After seeing it at M&S, we bought and tried it, and it turned out to be one of our favourites.’

In a post-shop taste test that they film, they also enjoy the Percy Pig sweets (‘fruity and sweet and delightful’), the Colin the Caterpillar softies (‘really nice, so good’) and the old peculier ale pie (‘that beef is so tender, it melts in your mouth’). 

They added in an email to MailOnline Travel: ‘The item that we both seemed to enjoy the most was the “steak and old peculiar ale pie”. We had tried a heat-and-eat pie from Sainsbury’s before and it was okay, but the pie from M&S was much better quality and tasted more like something you get in a restaurant or pub.’

Would they recommend M&S Food to other visiting Americans?

They said: ‘The experience was better than we expected. There was a great selection of items and the employees that we came in contact with were kind and helpful. Above all, the quality of the food there was really good. We would recommend M&S to other Americans. It is probably the most different supermarket experience from what we have in the U.S. They have so many interesting options for great quality foods. But it is more expensive.’

Cara and Jeremy post on social media as The Magic Geekdom. They can be found at www.instagram.com/themagicgeekdom; twitter.com/magicgeekdom; www.tiktok.com/@themagicgeekdom; and www.facebook.com/themagicgeekdom. The original M&S Foodhall video can be found here.

The financial regulator has taken a major step towards reviving the retail bond market for Britain’s small investors. 

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is consulting on removing barriers to participation in bonds, also known as fixed income, which could see the regulator bring an end to onerous disclosure requirements that effectively bar everyday investors from the market.

In the UK, the average investor can buy shares of all kinds but is largely shut out of investing in bond markets directly and will typically invest in a bond fund to build fixed income exposure instead. 

The London Stock Exchange launched the Orb market (Order book for Retail Bonds) in an attempt to open up direct bond investing for Britain’s small investors. 

A series of high profile launches included a Tesco Bank retail bond in 2012, paying 5 per cent annual interest until 2020, which was so popular it had to close its doors early. Meanwhile, a Lloyds Bank bond trading on the market pays 6.5 per cent until 2040. But after the initial fanfare, the Orb market saw new issues slow to a trickle.

Falling interest rates, an abundance of cheap central bank money and investor cash for companies looking to raise funds, and controversy over unregulated mini-bonds all dented the Orb market in investors’ eyes.

But the FCA’s plan combined with the higher interest rate environment could see more companies  

Approximately 89 per cent of securities included in the regulator’s Official List are non-equity securities. 

There have been increased regulatory requirements for bond issuers in the years since the 2008 global financial crisis, including an increase in disclosure rules for products with a denomination of less than €100,000.

For companies issuing non-equity securities, meeting the increased disclosure standards has become a more onerous task so they typically opt instead to borrow from large financial institutions. 

This is because it requires a summary, details on the issuer’s history and inclusion of cash flow statements and other financial information. 

It’s therefore often easier to completely avoid targeting retail investors that can’t meet the €100,00 threshold.

The FCA said this has led to a ‘bifurcation between wholesale and retail markets’ and while the €100,000 threshold was intended as an investor protection measure it has been ‘indiscriminate’.

‘We are therefore proposing to adopt a single standard for bond disclosure in the prospectus regime, with the existing wholesale disclosure annexes as a starting point.’

The FCA also said it was considering whether the regime should make a clearer distinction between types of non-equity securities to ‘reduce risks of investor harm’.

Investors should always tread carefully when buying company debt via bonds, because the money you make depends on the firm not going bust.

They should also know what type of bond they are buying. Retail bonds listed on the London Stock Exchange’s Orb market are regulated and must meet strict rules. 

Mini-bonds, which were a controversial investment touted at ordinary investors, were not listed on Orb and not regulated. 

The mini-bond market came under scrutiny following the collapse of London Capital and Finance, which left thousands of savers with huge losses.

The FCA banned mass marketing of mini-bonds to ordinary investors, many of whom claimed they bought them thinking they were protected savings products

But even in the retail bond market, things can go south. British investors in a £50million retail bond from Eros Media World were hit after the Indian Bollywood group failed to make an interest payment in October 2022.

In March, Eros offered investors 60p per £1 on half of the bonds, with the remaining bonds rolled into a new transaction that will not be repaid until 2026.

Stacey Parsons, head of fixed income at Winterflood Securities and chair of the working group Investor Access to Regulated Bonds, said the FCA’s new proposals were a ‘beam of light’.

‘The regulation may well turn out to be the easy part in all this, changes to process will also be required by stakeholders in the debt capital markets ecosystem to achieve better access for all investors.

‘However, capital markets can and do adapt and we welcome the FCA offering a legitimate pathway of change. What is needed now is debt capital markets to function with everyone in mind – both wholesale and retail, where it is feasible.’

The consultation period will run until September 2023.

Royal Mail set for a critical week after boss Simon Thompson resigned just days before company plans to reveal cost of series of unprecedented strikes

By Calum Muirhead, Financial Mail On Sunday

Published: 16:51 EDT, 13 May 2023 | Updated: 18:19 EDT, 13 May 2023

Some links in this article may be affiliate links. If you click on them we may earn a small commission. That helps us fund This Is Money, and keep it free to use. We do not write articles to promote products. We do not allow any commercial relationship to affect our editorial independence.

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