Experience the Roman Empire in Bulgaria for history to rival Italy – just without the crowds July 13, 2025 What have the Romans ever done for us?” quipped my partner, Ed, as we stood on the main street of Nicopolis ad Istrum, formerly a Roman town in Bulgaria that is now a glorious assemblage of ruins. “All right, but apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a fresh water [...]
Britain can’t afford to pay the doctors’ Danegeld July 10, 2025 Continued strike action is unsustainable and unfair to taxpayers and patients, given the UK’s financial constraints, ballooning pension liabilities, and already generous public investment in their training and benefits, says Maxwell Marlow To borrow from the great Dane, Hamlet, something is very rotten in the state of England. As I set about thinking up policies [...]
Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons: Behind the culinary icon July 2, 2025 During my first visit to Le Manoir I could neither speak nor talk. This is not hyperbole about dumbfounded luxury – I was just a baby. But my parents still tell the story of how Raymond Blanc, in full chef’s whites, came to ask them if I had enjoyed the fresh pasta and butter the [...]
Jonathan Yeo on King Charles and collages made from porn June 26, 2025 Jonathan Yeo has painted them all, from super models to Presidents and our very own King. When he unveiled his vast portrait of Charles III last year, the monarch appeared, for a second, to recoil at the sight of the bright red canvas. The moment became a meme and the portrait was fervently discussed and [...]
Trump’s renewed Fed attacks help pound climb to three-year high June 26, 2025 The pound has stormed to its highest level against the dollar in over three years after President Donald Trump launched a new tirade of attacks on the Federal Reserve. Sterling rose over 0.6 per cent to near $1.3725 as Trump indicated he was lining up successors for the Fed’s chair Jerome Powell, despite Powell’s term [...]
How effective procurement technology can improve employee retention June 25, 2025 With many organisations facing a battle to attract and retain talented staff, it’s important that they are not frustrated in their ability to do their jobs by cumbersome procurement technology. Unemployment in the UK remains low, standing at 4.4 per cent in the three months to February 2025, according to government data. But this only [...]
James Reed: UK jobs market is among worst I’ve ever seen June 25, 2025 After 35 consecutive months of decline, the UK jobs market is unlike anything in the past few decades, writes James Reed.
Dollar weakens as ‘confidence in US assets continues to erode’ June 17, 2025 The US dollar’s traditional safe-haven status has continued to take a bruising, as investors shun the currency amid rising global tensions. The dollar index (DXY) – which tracks the dollar’s value against a basket of currencies – has tumbled to around 98, compared to nearly 110 at the beginning of the year, as the currency [...]
FTSE 100 shrugs off Israel-Iran strikes June 16, 2025 The FTSE 100 was unmoved by simmering tensions in Israel and Iran, despite reports that the UK was scrambling to send fighter jets, and conflict in the Middle East was on the brink of a significant escalation with US involvement. The UK’s leading index was up 0.2 per cent after the first hour of trading, [...]
Why rebuilding Britain starts on the Bakerloo Line June 13, 2025 By cleaning up graffiti on the Tube, a few friends are proving that by taking action, however small, Londoners can reverse the cycle of degradation and rebuild our great city – together, says Joe Reeve Sunday morning, 9 AM. A handful of friends and I step onto the Bakerloo Line platform wearing bright yellow hi-vis [...]