Business rates reform must even playing field between high street and online January 6, 2026 Bricks and mortar businesses are being unfairly punished by outdated business rates in need of reform, writes Ros Morgan
Future of Bank of England’s Venezuelan gold back in spotlight after Maduro capture January 6, 2026 The foreign secretary has signalled the Bank of England will continue to withhold $4.8bn of Venezuelan gold being held in its vaults, despite the dramatic toppling of the country’s autocratic ruler potentially paving the way to the reserves being returned. Addressing lawmakers late on Monday, Yvette Cooper suggested the government would continue its refusal to [...]
Venezuela proves farce of political forecasting January 6, 2026 If history teaches us anything, it's that political forecasters almost always get it wrong. Just look at Venezuela, writes Paul Ormerod.
Starmer promised to ‘rewire the state’ so why is the civil service bigger? January 6, 2026 Civil service headcount has reached a 20-year high, bigger than it was during Brexit or Covid. Yet more proof that this Prime Minister’s only belief is in bigger government, says Eliot Wilson When Sir Keir Starmer appointed a new cabinet secretary and head of the civil service at the end of 2024, he made a [...]
Soaring food costs send shop price inflation higher January 6, 2026 Soaring food costs pushed shop price inflation higher in December, fresh data has revealed, as Brits faced the crunch during the Christmas season. Food inflation reached 3.3 per cent in the final month of 2025, up from three per cent in November, with fresh produce rising to 3.8 per cent from 3.6 per cent previously. [...]
Westlake Strengthens Global Compounds Portfolio With Acquisition of ACI Compounding Solutions Business January 5, 2026 Westlake Corporation (NYSE: WLK) (“Westlake”) announced today that it has completed the acquisition of the global compounding solutions businesses of the ACI/Perplastic Group (collectively, “ACI”). Headquartered in Portugal, ACI is a global manufacturer of specialty materials, primarily serving the wire and cable sectors. “The integration of ACI with Westlake’s compounding operations represents a strong strategic [...]
WP Engine Appoints Google Veteran Thierry Muller as Vice President of AI Products January 5, 2026 Accomplished leader brings extensive technical acumen, artificial intelligence experience and a strong track record of driving innovation
HELUS Pharma Propels Therapeutic Innovation in Mental Health and Commences Trading on Nasdaq January 5, 2026 Helus Pharma builds on the strong foundation originally created as Cybin Inc., reflecting the Company’s ongoing transformation to a commercial stage pharmaceutical company Helus Pharma commences trading on Nasdaq Global Market (“Nasdaq”) and on Cboe Canada under ticker symbol: HELP Helus Pharma continues to progress its portfolio of novel serotonergic agonists (“NSAs”), with the goal of developing treatments designed to redefine mental health care, including HLP004 for the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder, with Phase 2 topline data readout expected in Q1 2026 Preparations in progress for the commercialization of HLP003, Helus Pharma’s NSA in Phase 3 clinical development, which has been granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation by the FDA for the adjunctive treatment of major depressive disorder This news release constitutes a “designated news release” for the purpose of the Company’s prospectus supplement dated December 30, 2025, to it short form base shelf prospectus dated September 17, 2025, as amended on December 19, 2025.
London’s future will be determined by choices, not rhetoric January 5, 2026 2026 will be the year the City moves from post-Brexit design to delivery, says Chris Hayward As the new year begins, London’s position as a leading global financial centre is often framed in binary terms: rise or decline. That is no bad thing. Competition sharpens performance, and financial centres that assume their leading position rarely [...]
Euan Blair edtech Multiverse laid off dozens more staff after losses widened January 5, 2026 An edtech firm founded by Tony Blair’s son Euan laid off dozens more staff after reporting widening losses, its latest accounts show. Multiverse, which was launched in 2016 and hit a valuation of £1.2bn in a 2022 funding round, said it made 55 payments for loss of office in the year to the end of [...]