Libby’s Naked Diary: The joy of a Burns Night Highland fling January 22, 2025 IT IS Burns Night this Saturday, the annual celebration of the life, poetry and birthday of Scottish superstar Robert Burns, when even the most tenuous links to Scottish ancestry are upheld with haggis, bagpipes and whisky. I can claim a grandfather from the Highlands and am therefore preparing to party with all three. What, however, [...]
More good news for pubs as December splurge delivers crucial growth January 22, 2025 A rush of pubgoers in the last two weeks of December brought much-needed growth across the industry in a “big relief” for businesses. Pub sales were up 4.7 per cent ahead of December 2023, while bars bounced back from soft trading throughout most of 2024 to post growth of 1.3 per cent, according to the [...]
The future is free market populism January 22, 2025 Javier Milei, Pierre Poilievre and, of course, Donald Trump are at the vanguard of a new movement for free-market populism gaining support across the world, says Fred de Fossard The inauguration of President Trump for his second term is the latest development in the trend of a new type of free-market populism gathering momentum across [...]
Pub chain Marston’s toasts record festive sales boost January 21, 2025 Pub chain Marston’s has reported a “solid” festive quarter and record sales on Christmas day in another good sign for the hospitality sector. Total retail sales in the 16 weeks to January 18 were up three per cent, driven by growth in both food and drink sales, Marston’s said. Like-for-like sales during the same period [...]
Where to go for Low and No January 21, 2025 JANUARY can be a dark time for hospitality, but just because you are watching your alcohol intake does not mean you should ignore London’s outrageously interesting dining scene. Here are some of my favourite places to dine when dry. SUNESince opening, East London’s Sune has been beloved by anyone that takes flavour seriously. Reminiscent of [...]
London investors urged to shift assets as huge capital gains tax burden revealed January 21, 2025 Investors from London and the Home Counties will be the hardest hit by April’s hike to capital gains tax and should consider moving their assets into tax efficient vehicles, a leading accountancy firm has warned. Taxpayers in the capital are set to pay a combined £430m of additional capital gains tax (CGT) this year, accountants [...]
Biden’s failure is a warning to Labour January 21, 2025 Rachel Reeves has said her economic proposals are inspired by Bidenomics, but even though America’s economy is prospering regular voters hated how Biden got them there – and that should worry Labour, says Will Cooling Yesterday brought to an end Joe Biden’s long goodbye from public life. A man who once convened private meetings with [...]
‘Unsustainable’ sickness benefits cost UK more than defence, Lords warn January 20, 2025 The UK is spending more on “financially unsustainable” sickness benefits than defence, and “urgent” reform to the welfare system is needed to rein in costs, a group of Lords has said. In a letter to the work and pensions secretary, Liz Kendall, the cross-party Lords Economic Affairs committee said the current benefits system penalises people [...]
UK consulting sector to grow for next two years as AI’s impact expands January 20, 2025 The British consulting sector is expected to grow by single-digit growth in the next 12 months, with a near 9 per cent increase predicted for 2026 with eyes on AI
Supreme Court upholds Tiktok ban despite Trump’s efforts January 17, 2025 On Friday, the Supreme Court confirmed the federal law banning Tiktok in the US from 19 Sunday, unless the app is sold. This unanimous decision to ban-or-sell the video app was made due to national security claims. “There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, Tiktok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet [...]