Iran rejects direct negotiations with US after Donald Trump letter March 30, 2025 Tehran has rejected direct negotiations with the US in response to a letter from Donald Trump over its rapidly advancing nuclear programme, the president of Iran has said. The remarks from Masoud Pezeshkian represented the first official acknowledgement of how Iran responded to Trump’s letter. It also suggests that tensions may further rise between Tehran [...]
Monzo, Starling, Zilch: The fintech IPOs that could boost London March 30, 2025 London markets have suffered a torrid couple of years, but could fintech help turn the tide? Swedish fintech Klarna marked the latest snub to the City after it announced it was pursuing a US-listing despite hopes the firm would float in London. This followed 88 companies leaving the London Stock Exchange (LSE) last year, including [...]
The ‘innovation economy’ and why AI won’t steal your job March 30, 2025 Historically, economic progress has been driven by seismic shifts in how we value things. From the agrarian economies that once sustained early civilisations, to the industrial revolutions that mechanised production – each era reshaped society’s priorities. In the late twentieth century, the rise of the ‘knowledge economy’, placed information and cognitive thinking at the heart [...]
Are Brits getting richer? It depends how you measure growth March 30, 2025 Wobbly growth is the opposite of what Rachel Reeves would have hoped for in her first six months as Chancellor. While the headline figure on Friday morning said the UK economy had only expanded by 0.1 per cent in the last quarter of 2024, economists suggested that there was a more pressing matter at hand. [...]
Why are we all saving so much? March 30, 2025 It’s a question that has been puzzling economists for months. The worst of the cost-of-living crisis is, for most households, moving further into their rear-view mirror. The Bank of England’s rate setters have successfully – if belatedly – reined in the worst of the inflation that caused so many households to tighten their belts after [...]
Noble intentions are not enough. Reeves must fess up to mistakes March 30, 2025 Reeves's good intentions mean nothing against rising inflation, meagre growth and falling employment, writes shadow secretary Helen Whately.
What links Elon Musk, Manchester City and a Chinese crypto tycoon? March 29, 2025 What links Elon Musk with Manchester City and one of China’s biggest crypto tycoons? The answer is an English fitness tech company which counts British tennis star Cameron Norrie among its shareholders and, over the next few days, will be boldly going where no man or woman has gone before. Surrey-based Hytro is the company, [...]
Union highlights claims of staff shortages at railway ticket offices March 29, 2025 A rail union is to hold a series of protests highlighting claims of staff shortages at ticket offices. The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT ) said there was understaffing at a number of stations on the West Coast mainline served by Avanti. The RMT said plans to close ticket offices across the country were [...]
No10 communications chief to quit after nine months March 28, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer’s director of communications, Matthew Doyle, is set to quit No10 Downing Street after nine months in the job. Doyle, who served as the Prime Minister’s communications chief in opposition, is understood to be stepping down immediately after feeling he had stabilised the government’s communications strategy after a rocky first few months in [...]
Thames Water’s finance chief quits as firm continues trying to find a buyer March 28, 2025 Thames Water’s finance boss has quit midway through a key restructuring of the heavily indebted utility giant. Chief financial officer Alastair Cochran told the firm that he was stepping down on Friday morning. His sudden departure comes as Thames Water continues to try to find a buyer for the company to help steady its finances. Thames Water is England’s biggest water firm, with about [...]