Deloitte’s big Christmas quiz 2025 Big Four The 2025 Deloitte Christmas Economics Quiz by chief economist, Ian Stewart and team The Christmas quiz offers a test of your knowledge of the festive season, economics and politics, in 12 questions. The answers and a brief explanation of the factors at work are provided at the end. 1) Which British politician (past and present) [...]
Christmas adverts 2025 reviewed… Part 2 Life&Style To see part one of our Christmas adverts review click here Are you starting to feel Christmassy yet? It tried it’s damndest to snow last week didn’t it? And what with the lights getting switched on all over town ‘the season’ is increasingly hard to avoid. To be honest I gave in this week, and had [...]
Asda raises almost £600m from supermarket sell-off Retail Asda has raised close to £600m from three deals for its supermarkets ahead of a looming debt repayment to previous owner Walmart. The grocery giant struck sale-and-leaseback deals for its supermarkets totalling £568m, according to the FT. It raised £467m in two deals with New York-based asset manager Blue Owl and London-listed Supermarket Income REIT [...]
Who is ‘Drastic Dave’, the man sent to save Diageo? November 11, 2025 Diageo shareholders breathed a sigh of relief this morning after the FTSE 100 drinks giant unveiled the appointment of its new chief executive, Sir Dave Lewis. Shares rose 7.5 per cent in morning trading to 1,856 pence following the selection of the retail and consumer goods veteran, rebounding from their sharp drop last Thursday following [...]
Guinness owner Diageo shares rocket after appointment of ‘Drastic Dave’ November 10, 2025 Shares in FTSE 100 drinks giant Diageo have rocketed after the appointment of a new chief executive with an impressive turnaround record. News of the appointment of retail and consumer goods veteran Sir Dave Lewis saw shares in the struggling giant rise 6.8 per cent in early morning trading to 1,845p, rebounding from their sharp [...]
Investors pile into Sainsbury’s, but will it last? November 6, 2025 Sainsbury’s has proved a good bet for investors this year as the grocer goes from strength to strength, but will it last into 2026? The UK’s second-largest supermarket has seen a 50 per cent uplift in share price since April, with another five per cent jump following better-than-expected results on Thursday. It’s a marked departure [...]
Supermarkets call on Chancellor to ‘bring inflation to heel’ October 27, 2025 Britain’s largest supermarkets have called on Rachel Reeves to exclude all shops from upcoming changes to to business rates, warning that any hikes to their input costs would further stoke food inflation that is already at over double the Bank of England’s target. In an open letter to the Chancellor, bosses from the UK’s nine [...]
Meat and coffee prices drive grocery price inflation October 14, 2025 Grocery price inflation in the UK passed five per cent in September to its highest level since July after the cost of fresh meat and coffee jumped. Like-for-like grocery price inflation rose to 5.2 per cent over the four weeks to 5 October versus the same period last year, according to the latest figures from Worldpanel [...]
End backward, outdated Sunday trading laws! October 3, 2025 Restrictions on large stores trading hours on Sundays are a relic of a bygone era which strangle high streets and hold back growth, says Mark Allatt In an era where the rhythm of daily life has accelerated beyond recognition, the UK’s archaic Sunday trading laws stand as a stubborn relic, stifling economic vitality and curtailing [...]
From law to tech: Who’s championing equal parental leave in the UK? September 16, 2025 New research has revealed the inaugural list of 165 UK employers that offer equal parental leave, including more than 20 professional services firms. The full findings, which will be formally launched at the UK’s first Working Dads’ Summit, revealed that 72 of the 165 companies offer dads up to six months of fully paid paternity [...]