Retail’s Christmas results don’t match up to the gloom in the market January 17, 2025 If you were to judge the health of the retail market solely from the last two weeks of festive trading results, you would think the market is in rude health. But that would be a significant departure from the actual sentiment in the market, which has taken on a sense of almost unrelenting gloom in [...]
No need for City minister to recuse herself over past lobbying, No10 says January 16, 2025 There is no need for new City minister Emma Reynolds to recuse herself from any duties because of her lobbying past, Downing Street has said. The Wycombe MP has taken over the Treasury minister role from Tulip Siddiq, who stepped down over allegations linked to her aunt’s political movement in Bangladesh. Questions had been raised [...]
Sadiq Khan to hike his share of London council tax bills January 16, 2025 Sir Sadiq Khan is set to hike Londoners’ average council tax bills by almost £19 a year – with City Hall’s share of the yearly total reaching almost £500. The London mayor is planning to increase his average ‘precept’ – or the amount he adds onto residents’ bills from their local councils – by four [...]
Eat, drink, sleep, repeat: The best places to avoid Dry January January 16, 2025 Every January, I hang my head in shame. As a business leader who has spent almost three decades championing the finest beverages and hospitality, I must admit I am in no small part responsible for the abomination which is Seedlip, the crown jewel of the no alcohol movement, forced down your throat each “Dry January”. [...]
Reeves ramps up pressure on regulators in bid for growth January 16, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves and business secretary Jonathan Reynolds are set to meet with a group of watchdogs today as they kickstart plans to cut red tape from the economy and drive growth through regulation. The chiefs of various regulatory agencies, including Competition and Markets Authority, Ofcom and Ofwat, have been summoned to Downing Street. Officials [...]
A Complete Unknown: Bob Dylan biopic gets the mercurial genius January 16, 2025 A Complete Unknown | ★★★★☆ One of Hollywood’s favourite sons takes on the lofty role of an American icon in A Complete Unknown. Timothee Chalamet plays Bob Dylan in the period that made him a megastar. Starting in 1961 where he was an anonymous folk singer looking to make his name in New York’s Greenwich [...]
Longer licensing hours? We can all drink to that January 16, 2025 Sam Bidwell says three cheers for new laws to make it easier to extend licensing hours so pubs and hospitality venues can stay open for longer Slowly but surely, Westminster seems to be waking up to the idea that we can’t avoid the big questions forever. After years of collective head-burying, there is now a [...]
Mark Kleinman: Regulators’ D-Day is crucial for Starmer agenda January 16, 2025 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and is the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his weekly City AM column. This week, he looks at D-Day for regulators, Ebury’s IPO knife-edge and Badenoch’s Reform nightmare Regulators’ D-Day is crucial for Starmer agenda It’s D-Day for Britain’s regulators. Barely three weeks after a dozen economic watchdogs were [...]
Malaysian firm YTL to invest £4bn in UK and former Concorde development January 15, 2025 The Malaysian firm YTL has announced plans to invest £4bn in its UK businesses and a brownfield housing development in Bristol at the site of the former Concorde hangars. The firm will spend £2bn on redeveloping the former Filton airfield in South Gloucestershire into an arena and housing development north of Bristol, the UK government [...]
No 10 won’t confirm new City Minister’s role in China policy January 15, 2025 Downing Street has declined to confirm whether new City minister Emma Reynolds will be able to make decisions about the UK’s relationship with China. She was appointed to the post of economic secretary to the Treasury yesterday, after Tulip Siddiq resigned over allegations of corruption linked to the former government in Bangladesh. Bloomberg reported that [...]