Banned China tech firms lobbied for London embassy November 2, 2025 Chinese tech firms banned on national security grounds in both the UK and the United States lobbied for Beijing’s new embassy in London, growing fears it could be used as an overseas “spy centre”. State-controlled company ZTE Mobile, which was deemed by GCHQ to pose a risk to British telecommunications infrastructure that “cannot be mitigated”, [...]
Why are asset managers turning away from the US? October 28, 2025 Asset managers are increasingly choosing to diversify their portfolios away from US stocks, despite Wall Street’s pronounced rally, as fears over being overexposed to secular markets grows. US markets saw a significant bounce back in recent months, shaking off the lows that followed Trump’s tariff announcement in April, with investors not yet losing their appetite [...]
Mayor of London to move ahead with plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street October 6, 2025 The mayor of London has confirmed he is ploughing ahead with “bold proposals” to pedestrianise Oxford Street after claiming a one-day traffic ban significantly boosted the local economy. Footfall in the West End area was 45 per cent higher on the day when traffic was prohibited from accessing a half-mile stretch of road from Orchard [...]
Kemi Badenoch: My approach will “pay off eventually” October 5, 2025 Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, has insisted her approach to changing the struggling party will “pay off eventually” as she battles dwindling voter support. In an interview with BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, Badenoch stressed that she would not “rush out” new policies and instead take the time needed to “get it right”. She acknowledged that the Conservative [...]
Starmer refuses to rule out VAT rise September 28, 2025 Prime Minister Keir Starmer has refused to rule out any potential rises to VAT as he reinforced his commitment to Labour’s manifesto pledges in a new interview. In an interview with BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, after being pressed on potential changes to VAT, Starmer said: “The manifesto stands. We made commitment in that manifesto and the [...]
No 10 aware of Mandelson emails before Starmer defended him September 13, 2025 Officials at No 10 and the Foreign Office were aware of the damning emails between Peter Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein before Starmer defended him at Prime Minister’s Questions. The Foreign Office was allegedly sent details of the emails between the pair on Tuesday and passed them on to Downing Street, two days before Starmer withdrew [...]
Labour using ‘sticking plasters’ and failing to attract foreign investment September 11, 2025 The Labour government is opting to use quick “sticking plasters” which fail to affect long-term change to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), according to a new report. The report from Caudwell Strong Britain, a research project of think tank Council on Geostrategy, argues that the government needs to remove the structural barriers that hinder foreign [...]
What will the Trump-Putin meeting mean for the global market? August 15, 2025 US President Donald Trump is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin this evening for their first face-to-face meeting in six years. The Ukraine war is set to top the meeting agenda, with the world watching to see if Trump can get his wish to pursue talks on a potential ceasefire and peace deal. [...]
Tesla board awards Musk $29bn in shares August 4, 2025 The board of the world’s most valuable carmaker has approved the award of shares to chief executive Elon Musk worth a staggering $29bn (£21.7bn) in efforts to prevent the billionaire from leaving the firm. The new award by Tesla, which amounts to 96 million new shares, comes as part of a new pay deal, after [...]
Swiss shares fall as the country feels the wrath of Trump’s tariffs August 4, 2025 Shares in Swiss firms dropped on Monday morning as markets digested the consequences of US president Donald Trump’s high tariffs. The Swiss Market Index dropped by 1.9 per cent to 11,835 francs upon opening this morning, before easing its losses to trade at 1.54 per cent down. It clawed its way back to 0.77 per [...]