FICO UK Credit Card Market Report: January 2026 March 23, 2026 Persistent financial pressures evident as customers reduce spend and focus on paying credit card bills, but missed payments remain high
Pagefield owner PPHC ramps up political consultancy with WPI acquisition March 23, 2026 AIM-listed consultancy firm PPHC has ramped up its politics offering after acquiring government relations business WPI Strategy. Founded in 2014, WPI turns over around £2.5m per year and counts the likes of London City Airport, Microsoft, Pension Insurance Corporation, and Vodafone Three among its clients. The company, which counts a number of former Labour advisers [...]
Ministers are sacrificing growth for votes, say top business bosses March 23, 2026 Government ministers have undermined the UK’s long-term economic interests by becoming “trapped” into making poor short-term policy decisions to appease voters, Britain’s top business bosses have warned. The group of corporate leaders, which include Natwest chair Rick Haythornthwaite, Heathrow chair Philip Jansen and Barratt Redrow chair Caroline Silver, said successive governments have failed to prioritise [...]
Lady Mayor: The City must make East End kids like me feel like they belong March 23, 2026 Plenty of young people can see the City skyline from their classroom window, yet still feel like they don't belong. I want to change that.
What is the long-term plan for the Strait of Hormuz? March 23, 2026 The disruption of the critical Strait of Hormuz by Iran has created a major global energy crisis that requires a high-risk military solution – but the West currently lacks both the determination and a coherent long-term plan. says Eliot Wilson Today is a red-letter day for Middle East navigational hazard enthusiasts: five years ago, at [...]
Sunak urges rethink on taxing jobs as AI begins to reshape hiring March 22, 2026 Rishi Sunak has called for a rethink of how work is taxed, warning that AI is beginning to shift hiring patterns as companies weigh the cost of people against automation. Writing in The Times, Sunak said employers face immediate costs when hiring through national insurance contributions (NIC), while deploying AI carries no equivalent tax burden, [...]
Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin hits back at Miliband ‘warm beer’ advice March 20, 2026 The boss of the UK’s best-known pub chain has hit back at Ed Miliband after he issued guidance which sparked concerns that pubs will have to serve warmer beer to keep energy bills down. Tim Martin, chairman of JD Wetherspoon, told City AM pubs will be swiftly overtaken by supermarkets if they opt to cut [...]
What makes Rachel Reeves think she should be picking winners? March 20, 2026 Rachel Reeves’ vision for an “active and strategic” state is just old fashioned dirigisme with a new name, says Emmanuel Igwe A few hours before her Mais lecture this week, the chancellor had told Faisal Islam in an interview that she “so believed in an active and strategic state… working with working people to shape the [...]
Wetherspoon shares tumble as profit disappoints March 20, 2026 Shares in the country’s best-known pub chain have tumbled after profit failed to meet expectations even after they were downgraded. Pre-tax profit at JD Wetherspoon fell by 32 per cent to £22m for the first half of this year, and operating profit fell 18 per cent to £53m, below analyst expectations of an eight per [...]
Lloyd’s profits surge as Tiernan charts course for ‘efficiency’ era March 19, 2026 Lloyd’s of London has reported a pre-tax profit of £10.6bn, over a 10 per cent increase from the previous year, as its chief executive launches its new five-year strategy. Its gross written premiums climb to £57.9bn, up over 4 per cent. This was driven by volume growth as new syndicates joined the market; however, for [...]