The bottom line

£400m

The cost to the taxpayer of covering stays at quarantine hotels for travellers arriving in Britain from high-risk “red list” countries during the pandemic, including £100m in unpaid room bills and fraud, according to the National Audit Office. The government expected occupants to pay the bill, but the taxpayer was left on the hook for more than half of the £757m total bill.

$125,000

The price for a six-hour round trip to the edge of the stratosphere in the world’s first “space lounge”, called Spaceship Neptune. Take off should be from Florida in 2024. Guests will be able to sip cocktails within a capsule attached to a giant balloon.

£6.7bn

The value of book sales last year in Britain, an annual rise of 5%, which the Publishers Association attributed to the “BookTok trend”, where readers discussed their favourite books on social-media platform TikTok.

$1bn

The value of the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund, to be launched by the online retail giant as a venture investment programme in companies developing technologies to help with warehouse logistics and deliveries.

£36,178

How

much economics students can expect to be paid in their first year after graduating, making their degrees the most valuable, according to jobs website Adzuna. Graduates with fashion degrees can expect just £23,832 – £1,168 less than non-graduates.

£10m

How much tennis star Serena Williams (pictured) and Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton were reported to be contributing each to a consortium, led by former Liverpool Football Club chairman Martin Broughton, to buy Premier League side Chelsea, says Sky News. The west London club is expected to sell for around £2.5bn.