As FTSE 100 pharma firms wait for a tariffs decision, what would drugs levies mean for consumers? April 22, 2025 For FTSE 100 businesses navigating the shifting sands of Trump’s trade war, the uncertainty surrounding the tariffs has been almost as painful as the stock market shocks. The pharmaceutical industry has been left in a particularly agonising limbo: free, for now, from the 10 per cent baseline import tax, but the US President keeps making [...]
Billionaire Gymshark boss Ben Francis quits firm he co-owns April 22, 2025 Ben Francis, the billionaire founder of Gymshark, has quit the sports talent agency he helped to establish. The Members Agency was set up in 2018, is based in Wolverhampton and also works on sports sponsorship deals. According to a new filing with Companies House, Francis has stepped down as a director and is no longer [...]
Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund sues new City skyscraper over right to light April 22, 2025 The owner of new London skyscraper 50 Fenchurch Street has been sued by Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund over claims the tower will obstruct light. Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund, which owns the freehold to the Willis building on Lime Street, has brought the case through the High Court via its real investment vehicle, St Martins Property. [...]
Businesses on the brink: Company closures surge amid fears over UK economy April 22, 2025 Businesses across Britain are being shut down at a rate not seen since the financial crash, City AM has found, in a major warning sign for the health of the UK economy. More than 1,100 companies have faced winding-up orders in the first fifteen weeks of 2025, according to an analysis of published insolvency notices [...]
Small firms splash out £25bn on tax compliance as HMRC accused of ‘poor service’ April 22, 2025 Small firms are set to stump up a combined £25bn on tax compliance this year, a leading industry body has said, as it accused HMRC of failing to answer phone calls or letters. Calls for a vast reform of the UK’s tax system have come from leading think tanks and policymakers for several years. But [...]
Scrap the GLA and abolish the Mayor of London April 22, 2025 25 years after Tony Blair created them, it’s time to admit that the Mayor and the GLA have fundamentally failed to deliver better transport, better policing and a credible growth agenda for London, says Tony Lodge Londoners have spent the last month nervously opening their council tax bills. Readers will know it is a relatively [...]
Tariff talks to dominate IMF-World Bank meetings April 21, 2025 Finance ministers are poised to use this week’s International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank’s gathering to strike up trade deals with bilateral partners as uncertainty continues to swirl around Donald Trump’s tariff plan. Senior politicians and economic heavyweights are flocking to Washington for the biannual gathering put on by the two global agencies, with [...]
FTSE 100 down after US stocks slump April 21, 2025 The FTSE 100 opened seven points down on Tuesday morning, following a major US market slump on Bank Holiday Monday. US stock markets took another hit on Monday, with the S&P 500 closing down 2.38 per cent – at 5,158 – while the Nasdaq fell 2.5 per cent and and Dow Jones slumped 2.48 per [...]
Aston Villa’s non-dom owner quit UK due to ‘Tory incompetence’ April 21, 2025 The non-dom co-owner of Aston Villa football club has blamed the Conservative party’s mismanagement of the economy for his decision to leave the UK earlier this year. Nassef Sawiris, a chemicals magnate who is Egypt’s richest man, became one of the most high profile ultra high net worth individuals to avoid the government’s crackdown on [...]
DHL suspends large US deliveries as tariffs bite April 21, 2025 Parcel delivery firm DHL has temporarily suspended large shipments to the United States as it grapples with new regulations for trade. From April 21, all shipments worth more than $800 (£603) will be temporarily halted. US Customs and Border Protection introduced stricter controls on goods worth more than $800 on April 5, with more stringent [...]