Rachel Reeves mulls hiring ‘outsider’ for banking watchdog role October 4, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is looking to hire a City heavyweight to succeed Sam Woods as the chief executive of the main banking watchdog once his term ends in the middle of next year, it has been reported. Sam Woods’ term as chief executive of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), the watchdog which is part of [...]
Red Bull sales spike ahead of England ban October 3, 2025 Sales of Red Bull have spiked ahead of a planned new law in England to ban energy drinks being sold to under 16s. The giant has reported a UK revenue of £668.3m for 2024, up from the £594.1m it achieved in 2023. New accounts filed with Companies House also show that its pre-tax profit rose [...]
Why is the government making vapes harder to buy than cigarettes? October 3, 2025 Vaping remains the most effective tool to help smokers quit, so why is Labour trying to restrict access to vape shops, asks Andrej Kuttruf.
Frasers Group chairman urges Unite to avoid ‘reckless’ strike October 3, 2025 The chairman of retail giant Frasers Group has urged Unite the Union to avoid “reckless and irresponsible” strike action as retail firms across the UK feel the crunch of rising cost pressures. Sir Jonathan Thompson, who took the role of Chair in September, has asked the Union’s General Secretary Sharon Graham to reconsider plans to [...]
‘Subdued’ services sector suffers steep drop as tax hikes bite October 3, 2025 Business activity expansion fell to a five-month low after a “subdued” services sector experienced a dull end to the third quarter. S&P’s UK Services Purchasing Managers Index Business Activity tumbled to 50.8 in September, falling steeply from the 16-month high of 54.2 secured in August. “This summer’s acceleration in output growth is now looking like [...]
OBR hands Rachel Reeves first damning pre-Budget report on UK economy October 3, 2025 The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has handed Chancellor Rachel Reeves its first evaluation of the state of the UK economy and crippled public finances, setting policy discussions about likely £30bn tax rises and possible savings in motion. The OBR’s Budget Responsibility Committee, which consists of the economists Richard Hughes, David Miles and Tom Josephs, [...]
Bosses’ inflation expectations highest in two years amid employment freeze October 2, 2025 Fears that inflation will remain well above the Bank of England’s two per cent target intensified on Thursday, after a closely watched survey of businesses revealed bosses plan to raise prices at their fastest rate since the height of the cost-of-living crisis. British businesses also have the weakest hiring intentions since 2020 with firms expecting [...]
Gold to glitter past $4,000 after year of political jitters October 2, 2025 In a year defined by geopolitical turmoil, gold has not stopped glittering. The yellow metal started the year near $2669 and has since soared to $3900 – a rise of over 45 per cent. The asset now looks set to cross the $4,000 landmark for the first time with the latest rally triggered by the [...]
Explainer: Why are energy prices so high? October 2, 2025 Energy prices for consumers across the UK rose again this month. Ofgem, the energy regulator, set the maximum annual rate for an average household for gas and electricity at £1,755 until the end of the year. The cap is now over £600 higher than when it was first introduced in 2019. Under the cap, [...]
Has the wind shifted on Net Zero? October 2, 2025 Once upon a time the promise of Net Zero enjoyed such universal support that a Tory government signed the UK’s Net Zero pledge into law. Today, the Tories say they’d scrap it – while alarm bells are ringing as the costs of the policy become clearer. In June 2019, Prime Minister Theresa May passed a [...]