Stingy bosses and spare change: How much should you give to the office whip-round?

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Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Office collections for colleagues are a tradition but can raise awkward questions By Alex Taylor BBC News reporter , Reporting from London Published 8 hours ago Love them, hate them or barely know them, it's a colleague's birthday, wedding or leaving do and there's a collection to mark the occasion. So how much should you give? And if you're the person organising the collection, how do you chase without feeling like a loan shark or exposing unspoken team dynamics? 'It depends if I like you' The politics of the office whip-round are so sensitive that everyone the BBC spoke to asked us not to use their real name. For those on a tight budget, the rule is simple: only give to colleagues you've worked with directly. Lucy, a senior therapist in healthcare, says: "If we haven't worked together, my purse is staying shut." There's a blunter unspoken truth beneath the surface. "It also depends on if I l...
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Dutch central bank moves gold bars out of U.S. and Canada, citing ‘crisis preparedness’

The Dutch central bank (DNB) has transferred approximately 86 tons of gold out of the U.S. and Canada to the U.K., seeking to shore up its contingency planning in view of "increasing geopolitical unrest." Just over one-quarter of the central bank's gold reserves held in New York and Ottawa had been shifted to London between March and August, DNB said Wednesday. The transferred gold is now stored with the Bank of England because gold stored there must meet international trade standards and is recognized as "the world's most easily tradable gold," DNB said, adding that the move strengthens its "crisis preparedness." By contrast, DNB said the gold bars held in the U.S. and Canada could not be utilized as quickly and directly in a crisis situation. "With this relocation, we have improved the tradability of our gold reserves. We expect that we will never need to use them, but we do need to strengthen our resilience and preparedness," DNB Governor Olaf Sleijpen said in a statement. The move comes amid a blockbuster rally in gold prices and continued U.S.-Iran geopolitical tensions over the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, with a comprehensive settlement agreement far from certain. The price of gold, which is typically considered a safe-haven asset at times of financial uncertainty, has jumped nearly 25% over the past 12 months. The yellow metal is currently trading at $4,429.61 per ounce, up nearly 1% for the session. The move from the Dutch central bank comes after the French central bank replaced 129 tons of gold held at the New York Federal Reserve between July 2025 and January 2026. Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said at the time that the move was not politically motivated. In light of the latest transfer, DNB said the geographical spread of its gold reserves was "more balanced," with London now holding 32.1%, the central bank's cash center in Zeist in the Netherlands holding 30.8% and New York and Ottawa holding 18.5%, respectively.

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