Abrdn’s chief defends rebrand: ‘The name is the name’ January 21, 2025 Abrdn’s new chief executive defended the company’s rebrand from Aberdeen Standard Life and insisted its name will not change today despite a barrage of criticism over the ‘disemvowelment’ of the asset manager. “The name is the name and we will be continuing with it,” said Jason Windsor this morning, when asked whether he would consider [...]
Mr Kipling mince pies deliver biggest-ever quarter for Premier Foods January 21, 2025 Mr Kipling remains the star seller for owner Premier Foods in both the UK and Australia, with mince pies and Brownie Bites more than doubling sales over Christmas. Premier Foods subsequently said it expected profit to be at the upper end of expectations – £180.1m to £186.4m – this year. Its share price rose by [...]
UK economy: Headache for Bank of England as wage growth accelerates January 21, 2025 Wage growth picked up towards the end of last year, new figures show, revealing the continued persistence of price pressures in the UK economy. According to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), annual regular pay growth averaged 5.6 per cent in the three months to November, up from 5.2 per cent previously. [...]
Belfast Harbour to welcome world’s largest cruise ships with £313m project January 21, 2025 Belfast Harbour has unveiled a £313m, five-year plan to help it welcome some of the world’s largest cruise ships. The strategy, which is entitled Advance Regional Prosperity 2025-2029, has also been designed to position the hub as a key player in the development of offshore wind energy port capacity in the UK and Ireland. A total of [...]
UK economy: Does Labour’s economic hotchpotchism matter? January 21, 2025 Although gilt jitters have eased, the embattled Chancellor now faces a new and far more serious criticism.
Rents in this part of London rose faster than anywhere else in the capital last year January 21, 2025 Shoreditch has claimed the crown as the most in-demand spot in the capital for renting, although the rate of increase still remains below 2022 levels. Rents in the trendy area, known for everything from tech start-ups to vintage clothes shops, climbed by 6.6 per cent per month in 2024. Across London as a whole, the [...]
‘America first’: Donald Trump sworn in as 47th President January 20, 2025 Donald Trump has been sworn into office as the 47th president of the United States, with a claim that “America’s decline is over.” The Republican politician took the oath of office in the rotunda of the US Capitol building in Washington D.C. on Monday after below freezing temperatures saw the ceremony moved indoors. President Trump [...]
X and Meta: Who’s benefiting from Tiktok’s brief hiatus? January 20, 2025 As Tiktok temporarily went down on Sunday afternoon, rival social media platforms such as X and Meta scrambled to fill the void left by the app’s absence. Several competitors moved quickly to capitalise on its downfall, hoping to attract its 170m US user base by picking up its various features. Before the ban took effect [...]
Firstgroup and Virgin push back against state clampdown on open-access rail firms January 20, 2025 Firstgroup and Virgin are combining to push back against a government clampdown on some of the last private train firms operating the UK’s railway tracks. So-called open access is a lesser-used model in which firms shoulder commercial risk but take the entire share of any profit. It is viewed as a success story by many [...]
Can Elon Musk really sway UK politics? January 20, 2025 Elon Musk has been loud and proud about his intentions to influence UK politics. But will it actually work, asks Bill Sedat Frater.