Iceland in the red as Rachel Reeves’ tax raid forces prices higher August 8, 2025 Iceland has warned it is being forced to increases prices because of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ tax raids as the supermarket chain fell into the red. The Flintshire-headquartered said that while it is “doing our utmost” to offset increasing costs arising from last year’s Autumn Budget, it will “inevitably have to pass some of these on [...]
HMRC must disclose AI involvement in tax decisions August 8, 2025 A court has ruled that HMRC must disclose if it uses artificial intelligence (AI) in key decisions relating to granting research and development tax credits. Tom Elsbury, a tax expert who founded the specialist tax relief software platform Novel, lodged a Freedom of Information (FOI) request back in December 2023. But according to Judge Alexandra [...]
Australia put on British and Irish Lions tour of a lifetime August 8, 2025 Before leaving a rainy Sydney to return to (a sunny!) Blighty, I sat down with fellow rugby fans in a Darling Harbour bistro to dissect a British and Irish Lions tour which, by all accounts, blew everyone away. It is fair to say that I was within the group of those who had questions as [...]
Wilderness festival review: silliness and beauty combine to offer five-star escapism August 7, 2025 Around a quarter of the people who attended Wilderness festival this year glamped, swerving the surely horrifying idea of pitching their own tent, and they quaffed champagne at banquet feasts and from lakeside hot tubs. There is no getting around it: Wilderness attracts what the festival likes to call a “bouji” crowd (bosses don’t like [...]
Bank of England: Future of interest rate cuts now ‘more uncertain’ August 7, 2025 The future of interest rate cuts is now “more uncertain” as the Bank of England suggested it was more worried about inflation ticking up higher than expected. In its decision on Thursday, the Bank voted 5-4 for interest rates to be cut by 25 basis points to four per cent. But the Bank now believes [...]
AIM directors ruffle shareholder feathers with exec pay shenanigans August 7, 2025 It’s not just Tesla awarding eye-watering pay to execs. Even the bosses of the smallest of small caps are finding novel ways to boost their remuneration. That appears to be the case for the directors of AIM-listed property company DCI Advisors. In October 2023, DCI proposed an incentive plan which, by the calculations of the [...]
Tom Hayes on life as a free man: ‘I was in a very dark place’ August 7, 2025 Tom Hayes became one of the most infamous names in the Square Mile after he was convicted to 14 years in prison for rigging the Libor interest rate in 2015. It took a decade for him to clear his name. Ali Lyon meets the former banker to hear about life in prison, and what comes [...]
Swiss officials call for Fifa chief Infantino to soften Trump tariff blow August 7, 2025 Fifa president Gianni Infantino has been called upon by political figures in Switzerland to help persuade Donald Trump to lower tariffs on the landlocked nation. The US President has announced that Switzerland is in line to be slapped with 39 per cent tariffs as part of his sweeping economic policies that have seen countries rush [...]
Super League Basketball season gets green light after visa breakthrough August 7, 2025 Super League Basketball clubs plan to begin their new season next month after overcoming a block on obtaining visas for overseas players that had stymied their recuitment. The hold up came when the British Basketball Federation terminated SLB’s licence and refused to sign off on governing body endorsements (GBEs) required for the visas. After weeks [...]
Bank of England cuts interest rates in historic vote August 7, 2025 The Bank of England has cut interest rates to four per cent in an unprecedented double vote as Monetary Policy Committee members clashed on the impacts of a crumbling jobs market and higher food prices. Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) members were told to vote a second time after four members voting for a 25 basis [...]