ECB hails ‘exciting new phase’ after six Hundred deals completed July 30, 2025 England and Wales Cricket Board chair Richard Thompson has welcomed “an exciting new phase” for cricket after confirming completion of the sale of six stakes in The Hundred franchises. The six deals formally finalised ahead of next week’s fifth season include London Spirit, Birmingham Phoenix, Manchester Originals, Northern Superchargers, Southern Brave and Welsh Fire. Despite [...]
Euro weakens as markets rally following EU-US trade deal July 28, 2025 The euro fell against the dollar in early morning trading, as currency markets focused on the risks to the European economy from the EU-US trade deal despite a positive reaction from global stock markets. The currency was down 0.5 per cent against the dollar at $1.169, wiping away gains made last week after Trump’s “big [...]
Rumours of the dollar’s demise have been greatly exaggerated June 19, 2025 We are in the thick of global summitry, rolling from the G7 in Canada towards the NATO meeting in The Hague next week. President Trump is conducting foreign policy via social media, the prime ministers of the UK and Canada are having a pint in the pub and the French President is making stopovers in [...]
Gold tops euro to become central banks’ second favourite reserve asset June 11, 2025 Central banks now hold more gold than euros in the face of global trade tensions and volatile markets, according to a report produced by the European Central Bank (ECB), making it the world’s second largest reserve asset after the US dollar. Purchases of gold were twice as high in 2024 as the average seen over [...]
ECB cuts interest rates as UK ‘hesitation’ risks dealmaking strength June 5, 2025 Interest rates in the eurozone have been cut, taking the deposit facility rate to two per cent as fresh data suggested inflation came in just under the European Central Bank (ECB)’s two per cent target rate in May. The cut means the ECB’s rate now stands at two per cent, a halving of rates set two [...]
English Cricket bans transgender women from women’s game May 2, 2025 Transgender women will no longer be able to play in women’s and girls’ cricket matches, the sport’s governing body the ECB has announced. It comes after a recent Supreme Court ruling said only those whose biological sex is female can be called female. “Our regulations for recreational cricket have always aimed at ensuring that cricket [...]
Hundred sponsor KP Snacks signs deal with England cricket April 23, 2025 The England and Wales Cricket Board has today confirmed an expansion of its deal with KP Snacks, signing on with the main sponsor of The Hundred as an official partner of the senior international sides. The deal will see the Butterkist, McCoys and Pom-Bears maker, which began its association with The Hundred in 2021, appear [...]
Don’t be dazzled by the hype around The Hundred April 17, 2025 Ed Warner looks at the start of the County Championship season and whether an upcoming ECB review could see new influence from Hundred investors. The ice cream van was doing a steady trade, even at £4 for a Magnum. Made the twenty quid ticket feel especially good value. Around 2,500 people basked in the April [...]
Exclusive: India players from IPL close to Hundred cricket inclusion April 7, 2025 Senior figures in English cricket are confident that India will release current men’s internationals to play in the Hundred as soon as next year. India’s governing body the BCCI has not permitted their male stars to play in overseas T20 competitions, maintaining their exclusivity to the Indian Premier League. But with four of the eight [...]
Why are we all saving so much? March 30, 2025 It’s a question that has been puzzling economists for months. The worst of the cost-of-living crisis is, for most households, moving further into their rear-view mirror. The Bank of England’s rate setters have successfully – if belatedly – reined in the worst of the inflation that caused so many households to tighten their belts after [...]