Pubs push on with demand to loosen licensing laws after World Cup sales boost August 22, 2023 Pubs are continuing with their demands to amend the country’s licensing laws to permit them to sell alcohol earlier in the day on special occasions. Calls to change the law were ignited in the run up to the Women’s World Cup final. Typically, trading laws only prohibit pubs from pouring drinks from 11:00am, so many [...]
England World Cup final defeat smashes UK TV audience records for women’s football August 21, 2023 England’s World Cup final with Spain on Sunday smashed UK TV audience records for a women’s football match, despite an early kick-off and the Lionesses missing out on the trophy. The nail-biting 1-0 defeat attracted an average audience of 13.3m watching on live television, with both BBC One and ITV broadcasting the match from Australia. [...]
After the economy grew again, will Bank of England’s rate hikes tip the UK into recession? August 11, 2023 The UK economy grew faster than expected in June, expanded 0.5 per cent, helping to bring growth in the second quarter to 0.2 per cent – but analysts are divided about what the figures say for the coming months. Growth in June was given a boost by a strong performance from the production sector, which [...]
Taylor Swift helps Brits shake it off with entertainment spree but it’s a cruel summer for retailers August 8, 2023 Taylor Swift tickets, which went on sale in July, have powered a double-digit increase in entertainment spending so far this summer
Friday’s GDP data ‘could be as good as it gets for a while’ August 7, 2023 Analysts expect UK GDP to have eked upwards in June, with official confirmation coming on Friday of this week. Resilience in consumer spending and better-than-expected PMI figures suggest the Office for National Statistics will declare the economy grew in June when it releases its monthly data later this week. Oxford Economics expects the ONS to [...]
London Calling! Over two million tourists will visit this year in £674m boost to the capital August 1, 2023 London will welcome more than two million international tourists this year compared to last, bringing an additional £674m to the capital. As travel fully recovers post-pandemic, data from the London mayor’s office, shows that London was the top city in Europe for bed nights in 2022 with an increase of 131.5 per cent in 2021. [...]
Small business confidence slumps amid rising rates and stubborn inflation July 26, 2023 Confidence among small businesses slumped in the second quarter as the impact of rising rates and a stalling economy hit SMEs. The Federation of Small Business’s (FSB) Small Business Index fell to minus 14.2 points in the second quarter, down 11.4 points in the first quarter of the year. The fall in confidence reflects the [...]
Carlos Alcaraz’s Wimbledon win pulls in nearly as many viewers as coronation July 17, 2023 Carlos Alcaraz’s thrilling Wimbledon triumph attracted a peak audience of 11.2m viewers on BBC One – just short of the number who tuned in for the coronation of King Charles. Alcaraz, 20, came from a set down to beat 23-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic and win his first men’s singles title at the All [...]
FTSE 100 live: London markets rise after UK GDP contracts by less than expected July 13, 2023 London markets rose this morning, despite housebuilders slumping, after official figures showed that the UK economy contracted by less than expected. The FTSE 100 was trading 0.18 per cent higher at 7,429.68 while the midcap FTSE 250, which is more aligned with the health of the domestic economy, climbed 0.13 per cent to 18,604.03. Sentiment [...]
King’s coronation steers UK economy back into red as GDP shrinks 0.1 per cent in May July 13, 2023 Lost work owing to the additional bank holiday to celebrate the King’s coronation has sent UK economic growth into reverse, official figures out today reveal. UK gross domestic product (GDP) contracted 0.1 per cent in May, a much smaller drop than the City expected and down from a 0.2 per cent expansion in April, according [...]