Controversial £2bn packaging tax could be scrapped as food inflation looms May 5, 2026 The government is reviewing a controversial £2bn sustainable packaging tax as it faces increasing pressure from retailers to prevent food prices from soaring. The Treasury is reportedly looking at potential changes to the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) tax, which requires large businesses to pay towards the cost of disposing of their packaging. Retailers have been [...]
Rachel Reeves battled Scott Bessent over Iran war May 5, 2026 Chancellor Rachel Reeves sparred with Donald Trump’s Treasury secretary Scott Bessent over the US’s attacks on Iran, it has been reported. During her stay in Washington DC for meetings at the International Monetary Fund last month, Reeves hit out at the Trump official for “how he had spoken to her.” The two sparred over the [...]
Channel 4 puts HQ up for sale as London footprint shrinks May 5, 2026 Channel 4 has formally placed its long-standing Horseferry Road headquarters on the market, as the broadcaster presses ahead with a major overhaul of its London footprint under new chief executive Priya Dogra. The move marks the broadcast giant’s latest step in a long-term transformation strategy designed to modernise the organisation, cut costs and reflect changing [...]
Local growth is not a zero-sum game May 5, 2026 Hubs like Oxford and Cambridge don't operate in isolation. Nurturing their growth will benefit Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield too.
Intertek shares rocket as Swedish private equity firm hikes bid for the company May 5, 2026 Shares in laboratory testing company Intertek rocketed in morning trading on Tuesday after Swedish private equity firm EQT launched a fresh £8.9bn bid for the company. The stock jumped 7.4 per cent to £51.61p, with shares up 13.3 per cent since the start of the year, after the Swedish firm proposed its third offer to [...]
London Marathon ballots entries double in two years to record 1.34m May 5, 2026 The London Marathon has broken its own world record for applications after demand more than doubled in just two years. A total of 1,338,544 people entered the ballot for next year’s London Marathon, which opened just before this year’s race nine days ago. That number represented an 18 per cent year-on-year increase and more than [...]
Quarter of Brits planning trip to watch US sport matches stateside May 5, 2026 Nearly a quarter of British sports fans have said they plan to head to the United States to watch live sport as the home of NFL and NBA continues to drive fandom around the world. Nearly 40 per cent of UK sports fans have attended a live match in one of the NFL, NBA, MLB, [...]
‘Critically low levels’: UK braces for jet fuel shortage as rationing looms May 5, 2026 The UK is particularly vulnerable to the jet fuel shortages caused by the Iran war, as the risk of rationing looms as supplies fall to “critically low levels” while the summer holidays creep closer. The ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz has led to an “extreme tightness” in the supply of jet fuel in [...]
Elon Musk settles lawsuit over Twitter takeover for $1.5m May 5, 2026 Tech tycoon Elon Musk has finally put one of his longest-running legal battles to rest after reaching a $1.5m (£1.2m) settlement with the US regulator. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a civil lawsuit against the billionaire, alleging violations of securities laws in the run-up to his 2022 purchase of Twitter. Musk, who [...]
Palantir revenue rockets past forecasts May 5, 2026 Revenue at Palantir rocketed past analyst forecasts as the AI-powered firm ramped up commercial and government deals. The US tech firm posted revenue of $1.6bn (£1.2bn) in the first three months of the year, above investor expectations of $1.5bn and 85 per cent ahead of last year. The firm upped its revenue guidance to $7.6bn [...]