London businesses lament dismal start to 2023 after another rail strike set for January December 20, 2022 Hospitality leaders have reiterated calls for rail firms and unions to hash out an eleventh-hour resolution to swerve January strikes, after train drivers announced another walk-out. Train drivers at 15 companies in the union Aslef have agreed to strike on 5 January, as part of a long-standing pay dispute. The walkout will take place on [...]
Liz Truss, Bill Hwang and Elon Musk: The 2022 awards you don’t want to win December 18, 2022 We started the year with Boris Johnson in Downing Street and optimism for a Covid-19 rebound. It didn’t quite turn out that way – and here’s our pick of the best of the best (or worst of the worst) of 2022… THE MUM OF THE YEAR AWARD This year hasn’t been smooth sailing for e-commerce retail [...]
Bank of England sends interest rates to 14-year high but slows hike cycle to 50 points December 15, 2022 The Bank of England today sent interest rates to their highest level since October 2008, although it slowed the pace of increases to avoid unnecessarily intensifying a looming recession by squeezing households and businesses’ finances. Threadneedle Street’s monetary policy committee (MPC) voted 6-3 in favour of a 50 basis point rise to 3.5 per cent, [...]
Hunt defends new electricity generator levy in Downing Street showdown December 15, 2022 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt defended the introduction of a new tax on legacy electricity generators at a Downing Street roundtable this week.
US Federal Reserve ushers in global rate hike slow down with 50 point rise December 14, 2022 The US Federal Reserve has tamed the pace of its aggressive interest rate hike campaign tonight, but signalled borrowing costs will eventually peak much higher than previously expected. Chair Jerome Powell and the rest of the federal open market committee (FOMC) backed a 50 basis point rise in the world’s most important interest rate, climbing [...]
Solicitors’ watchdog shuts down four Metamorph owned firms December 14, 2022 The UK’s legal watchdog has forcibly closed four law firms owned by national conglomerate Metamorph following reports of directors resigning and staff being left unpaid. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) also seized cash and documents from the law firm, which was set up by British entrepreneur Simon Goldhill in 2016 with the aim of [...]
Brits face advertising blitz with Government energy saving campaign December 14, 2022 Brits face an advertising blitz over Christmas from the Government, urging them to save energy by turning down boilers and radiators.
Watches of Switzerland backs full-year guidance as luxury demand still buoyant December 14, 2022 Watches of Switzerland has said it is sticking to its full-year guidance for 2023 as there continues to be strong demand for luxury watches. In half-year results, the London-listed retailer said revenue from luxury watches made up 87 per cent of group revenue, with sales growth of 31 per cent versus the previous year. Group [...]
Solidarity? These rail strikes hit the lowest-paid the hardest December 13, 2022 In primary schools across the world, teachers spend hours pointing out to their students the wonder of the natural world – the way all the pieces fit together to make a whole. Bug-eyed kids stare avidly at the inner workings of an ant’s nest; others might be shown a video of the ways bee colonies [...]
Global markets surge after US inflation data signals early Fed hike exit December 13, 2022 Global markets received a huge boost today from another positive US inflation print. London’s premier FTSE 100 index closed 0.76 per cent higher at 7,502.89 points, while its mid-cap domestically-focused counterpart, the FTSE 250 index, climbed 1.42 per cent to 19,086.29 points. The pair had been fairly muted for most of the morning session. But, [...]