What happened when Latin America’s most free economy elected a socialist? February 20, 2025 Chile was the most capitalist country in Latin America and had prospered as a result. But since the election of socialist Gabriel Boric in 2021, all that has changed, says Rainer Zitelmann My trip around the world took me to Chile twice, in May 2022 and November 2023. After you’ve been to countries like Colombia, [...]
Reeves told to improve investment incentives by industry bosses February 19, 2025 Rachel Reeves has been told by top global financial firms she needs to ease investment taxes, sources told Reuters. In a meeting with executives from JPMorgan, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citi, Fidelity, Schroders and abrdn on Wednesday, Reeves was told to improve tax incentives for UK consumers. The latest summit in Reeves’ bid for [...]
Kenrex, Southwark Playhouse, review: Jack Holden’s astonishing scope February 19, 2025 Kenrex, Southwark Playhouse, review and star rating: ★★★★ Here’s the thing: there are plenty of people who technically do what Jack Holden does, but scarce few who actually do what Jack Holden does. In Cruise, Holden’s homage to the people who were hit by the AIDS crisis, and new show Kenrex, he creates the scope [...]
How will inflation impact Bank of England interest rate decisions February 19, 2025 The first inflation figures of the year confirmed what many had already known: Inflation will rise significantly in 2025.
Vitality: Health and life insurer slips into the red despite £100m sales boost February 19, 2025 Health and life insurer Vitality slipped into the red despite its revenue surging by almost £100m during its latest financial year, it has been revealed. The London-headquartered group has posted a loss before income tax of £168,000 for the 12 months to 30 June, 2024, after having achieved a profit of £37.9m in the prior [...]
Conduit Holdings shrugs off catastrophe losses February 19, 2025 Despite rising catastrophe claims, Conduit Holdings, the Bermuda-based reinsurance business, has reported a jump in gross premiums written for the 2024 financial year. Gross premiums written reached $1.16bn (£917m), a 24.8 per cent increase on the prior year, while the firm delivered a return on equity of 12.7 per cent, down from 22 per cent [...]
Jet2 warns of £45m hit from tax hikes and green levies February 19, 2025 Jet2 has reported a boost in profit before tax but warned margins may come under pressure in the near future due to a raft of cost pressures. The group operates Jet2.com, the UK’s third largest airline by number of passengers flown and Jet2holidays, the UK’s leading provider of ATOL protected package holidays. Jet2 expects to [...]
‘Alarm bells’ for Bank of England as inflation accelerates to three per cent February 19, 2025 Inflation picked up faster than expected at the start of the year, official data shows, as concerns grow about the persistence of price pressures in the economy. The headline rate of inflation picked up to 3.0 per cent in January, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This was up from [...]
In Starmer’s Downing St, some unions are more welcome than others February 19, 2025 Some unions are just more welcome in Downing Street than others. A couple of weeks ago, leaders of the 11 trade unions formally affiliated with the Labour party were invited to talks in No 10 with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his deputy, Angela Rayner. The meeting was called to discuss the Employment Rights Bill [...]
Everything you need to know about tariffs February 19, 2025 The threat of tariffs mean businesses must check their exposure and figure out what’s going on in their supply chains, says Tim Sarson I’ve decided to write an article on tariffs. I don’t do this lightly. Not only is it political, it is dominating the news agenda. So I’ll steer clear of the politics or [...]