Ahead of the Game: British Horseracing Authority accused of ‘selling out sport’ December 11, 2024 Campaign group Clean Up Gambling has switched horses and is backing racing in the sport’s push to be regulated separately from online casinos and slots. Clean Up Gambling, which is funded by multimillionaire Labour donor Derek Webb and run by former party official Matt Zarb-Cousin, has called for racing to be exempt from affordability checks [...]
Fugitif can escape with December’s Gold Cup December 10, 2024 WE’RE back at the home of the Jumps this week as Cheltenham hosts its two-day Christmas Meeting. While there’s some good racing on Friday, Saturday’s card makes more appeal at this stage from an ante-post perspective and the big handicap, the December Gold Cup (1.50pm), is definitely a race to focus on. This is the [...]
Should investors ho-ho-hope for a FTSE 100 Santa rally? December 10, 2024 Investors in the FTSE 100 are holding out hope for a Santa rally in the second half of December as markets gear up for some Christmas cheer. “December often delivers investors a festive treat in the form of a Santa rally,” explained Danni Hewson, AJ Bell head of financial analysis. While the famed “Santa rally” doesn’t [...]
Harrods: Christmas strikes set for crisis-hit department store December 10, 2024 Harrods, the crisis-hit iconic London department store, is braced for another blow as hundreds of workers voted to strike over the critical Christmas period. Employees represented by the United Voices of the World (UVW) union will walk out from 8pm on Friday, 20 December, to Sunday, 22 December, and again from 12am on Boxing Day [...]
Best wine gifts: From top bottles to wine gadgets December 10, 2024 It is a mere two weeks until Christmas and you have no idea what to get for a certain person in your life. Have no fear, I am here to suggest the best wine gifts for booze lovers. EXTON PARK CUVÉE M. ISAAC Presented in a stunning teal and gold box, this excellent English Blanc [...]
Post Office predicts record-high £1bn in cash withdrawals ahead of Christmas December 10, 2024 The Post Office is predicting a record-high number of personal cash withdrawals this month, reaching upwards of £1bn. The prediction exceeds last year’s record-breaking numbers during the festive shopping season, with December 2023 seeing a total of £930m in cash withdrawals. A total of £916m in personal cash was withdrawn in November, the latest figures [...]
Airlines battle for a slice of the Arctic – who stands to gain? December 10, 2024 Demand for Arctic travel is booming, driven by attractions such as the Northern Lights. Who stands to gain?
All hail Rayner, destroyer of NIMBYs December 10, 2024 Since Christmas is a time for hope, it’s worth appreciating the good news when we see it. The business community’s frustrations with Labour are well documented and easy to understand, but even its fiercest critics tend to concede that one area stands out as a bright spot in an economic landscape marred by tax increases: [...]
The Notebook: Doom spending, girl math, and the impact of financial social media trends December 10, 2024 Many of us have heard the term ‘doom scrolling’ – where you feel like you’re mindlessly scrolling through social media, and I think we can all agree that you never feel better after it. But I hadn’t heard of the term ‘doom spending’ until recently. It’s a newer trend on social media which essentially glamorises [...]
Pubs pin hopes on Christmas trading period amid post-Budget woes December 9, 2024 The UK’s hospitality industry is gearing up for a bumper festive season, the first in four years not to be affected by pandemic restrictions or transport strikes. The preparations come ahead of what is seen as one of the busiest times of year for pub operators across the country, a number of whom hope to [...]