Surging gold prices send shockwaves through the chocolate market September 26, 2025 Chocolate prices are hitting record highs amid a cocoa shortfall across West Africa. In Ghana – the world’s second-largest cocoa producer after Côte d’Ivoire – output fell by over 20 per cent last year due to adverse weather conditions and pest outbreaks. Illegal gold mining – also known as galamsey – is aggravating the problem [...]
Losses widen at owner of scandal-hit The Groucho Club September 26, 2025 Losses have widened at the owner of The Groucho Club in London despite its turnover rising during its latest financial year. The Groucho Club is one of London’s most famous private members’ clubs and has been going since 1985. The Soho venue was founded a a more relaxed alternative to traditional gentlemen’s clubs and has [...]
Checkout.com valuation slides to $12bn as it unveils employee share buyback September 26, 2025 Checkout.com said its valuation has hit $12bn (£9bn) as the London fintech reported a surge in growth and unveiled an employee share buyback. The valuation is a boost on the reported $9.4bn it had been valued at in 2023 but remains well down on the $40bn figure it attracted in a funding round in 2022. [...]
Trump slaps 100 per cent tariff on imported drugs September 26, 2025 US President Donald Trump announced a new round of tariffs on Thursday evening, with the pharmaceutical industry expected to be the hardest hit. Trump revealed that the US will impose a 100 per cent tariff on imported branded drugs, a 25 per cent tariff on all heavy-duty truck imports, a 50 per cent tariff on [...]
Women’s Rugby World Cup has shown ROI potential of women’s sport September 26, 2025 On Saturday afternoon 82,000 fans will pack into Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium for the Women’s Rugby World Cup final. A fully professional England Red Roses team will win their first title in a decade if they’re able to overcome a Canada side who were forced to crowdfund more than £500,000 just to get to the World [...]
HSBC UK beefs up wealth arm with ‘generational’ bet September 26, 2025 HSBC UK is making a “generational” play to beef up its wealth arm as the banking juggernaut eyes global dominance in the field. The FTSE 100 titan will launch a new Wealth Academy this autumn, the bank’s managing director of wealth Christopher Dean told City AM, in partnership with the London Business School. The bank’s [...]
On this day: Profumo proves the cover up is always worse than the crime September 26, 2025 62 years ago today, Lord Denning published his verdict on the Profumo affair – a minor sex scandal made far worse by subsequent lies. What lessons does the ensuing collapse of Harold Macmillan’s government have for politicians today? Asks Eliot Wilson Today in 1963, the Master of the Rolls, Lord Denning, published his 70,000-word report [...]
Merge London Stock Exchange and Nasdaq to save City market, says fintech boss September 26, 2025 The boss of a UK-born fintech unicorn has called for the London Stock Exchange (LSE) to merge with New York’s Nasdaq in a bid to save the City market’s future prospects. “It’s completely broken,” Barney Hussey-Yeo, founder of AI fintech Cleo, told City AM when asked about the recent string of delistings. Hussey-Yeo, a data [...]
Require ‘default’ UK weighting in pensions or risk stock market doom loop, report says September 25, 2025 Pension funds should be required to have a “default” UK weighting to prevent the London stock market getting caught in a “doom loop”, a new report has argued. A UK weighted default fund with an allocation of between 20-25 per cent, if made a requirement for defined contribution (DC) pensions with an opt-out for individuals, [...]
One in seven women endure unwanted sexual behaviour at work, survey finds September 25, 2025 New data reveals that more than a quarter of women have faced harassment at work, and one in seven have been subjected to unwanted sexual behaviour, highlighting a persistent problem across UK workplaces. WalkSafe, a safety platform founded after the tragic murder of Sarah Everard, has released statistics highlighting a worrying trend of threatening behaviour [...]