China targets UK ‘prolifically and aggressively’, Westminster’s spy agency watchdog warns July 13, 2023 China targets the UK “prolifically and aggressively” in a way that poses a “challenge” for British intelligence agencies, Parliament’s spy agency watchdog has said. A new and wide-ranging report by the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) is critical of the UK Government’s response to the threat posed by China, questioning the trade-off between economic interest [...]
Shares tumble for struggling FTSE housebuilders: ‘The scale of challenge cannot be swept under carpet’ July 13, 2023 The share price of London FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 house builders all took a tumble this morning, as fresh reports highlighting the state of the property market dampened investor confidence. Barratt was the hardest to fall this morning, with its shares sliding 4.67 per cent, as the group reported a 49 per cent decline [...]
The Boris by-election: Is Uxbridge about to turn red, or will the ULEZ expansion keep it blue? July 13, 2023 Tucked just inside the M25, the west London town of Uxbridge was, until last month, the parliamentary home of a former prime minister. Boris Johnson held Uxbridge and South Ruislip for the past eight years before dramatically quitting the Commons. Formed in 2010 by blending the former seats of Uxbridge and Ruislip-Northwood, the constituency has [...]
Let’s be honest, nationalising the water companies would mean even higher bills July 13, 2023 Even if we want to punish water firm bosses for letting sewage and faeces end up in our oceans, nationalisation will only give us higher bills, writes Matthew Lesh
US inflation slumps to lowest level in more than two years and is now well below UK July 12, 2023 Inflation in the US has slumped to its lowest level in more than two years and is now far below the UK’s rate, official figures out today reveal. American inflation fell to three per cent in June on an annual basis, down from four per cent in the previous month, according to the US Labour [...]
Tech titans? Musk and Zuckerberg’s feud is an ultra-public toddler tantrum July 12, 2023 From threats for a real life fight to launching rival to Twitter, the bizarre blood feud between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk shows how far our entrepreneurs have fallen, writes Josh Williams.
The FTSE 100 has done us all dirty… again July 11, 2023 The FTSE 100 has done us all dirty yet – again. Over and over it marches us up a hill only to send us back down again. Former Bank of England governor Mark Carney is often referred to as the “unreliable boyfriend” of monetary policy making for his comments signalling he and the MPC would [...]
Biden hails US-UK relationship as he meets Sunak at No10 July 10, 2023 US President Joe Biden hailed the “rock-solid” relationship between the US and the UK as he met Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Downing Street. The US President praised the closeness of ties between the two countries as he and the Prime Minister held talks in the garden of No10. Biden, whose short layover in London [...]
Explainer: A ‘rock solid’ US-UK relationship July 10, 2023 Few things hold such enduring fascination in British politics as the so-called “special relationship” with the US. It was blamed for Iraq, held up as a bastion of what could be achieved post-Brexit, and then dragged through the doldrums during a distancing between Boris Johnson and Joe Biden. Today, Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak insisted [...]
Barratt Developments share price in focus following Bank of England rate rise July 10, 2023 The market will turn its focus to Barratt Developments’ trading update next Thursday to see how soaring mortgage rates and a tumultuous period for the property sector is impacting UK house building companies. The housebuilder’s shares have fallen by around a tenth over the past 12 months and more than half from their pre-pandemic levels, [...]