New research shows that despite the fact that UK entrepreneurs generate £950bn in annual revenue, entrepreneurs in the most innovative regions are struggling to access the funding they need to grow. The number of patents being granted by the UK Intellectual Property Office across the UK reflects the quantity of new and innovative products and […]
The British economy has been held back by a flight of workers from the jobs market and staff electing to work fewer hours after the pandemic, tied to overly generous Covid government spending, a report has claimed. Participation in the labour market is still below its pre-pandemic level, which the Bank for International Settlements, the […]
Microsoft will invest £2.5 billion in Britain over the next three years to double its data centre capacity and provide computing power to help to drive the expansion of artificial intelligence. The investment has been hailed by Rishi Sunak as “a turning point for the future of AI infrastructure and development in the UK”. The […]
Baroness Harding of Winscombe, the former chief executive of TalkTalk, is poised to saddle up as the first woman to become senior steward of the Jockey Club in its 273-year history. Harding, whose role would be equivalent to chairwoman, was chairwoman of NHS Improvement until October 2021, overseeing the initial phases of the Test and […]
Train drivers have voted to continue taking strike action for the next six months as part of a long-running dispute over pay. The vote comes as train drivers begin nine days of industrial action between 1 and 9 December. Strikes will affect train companies on a rolling basis, and the Aslef union has also imposed […]
The European Commission has hatched a confidential Plan B proposal to “cushion” the impact of a looming 10% tariff on imports and exports of electric vehicles. The proposal was presented to member states on Monday in response to pressure from carmakers to amend some of the conditions imposed when the UK left the EU in […]
Rail workers have voted to accept a pay deal, ending their involvement in a long-running series of strikes. Members of the RMT union agreed to an offer from train companies which included a backdated pay rise of 5% for 2022-23 as well as job security guarantees. It means that RMT members will no longer be […]
Metro Bank is axing 20 per cent of its workforce in a bid to cut costs, days after its investors backed a £925million rescue package. The embattled lender is also ‘reviewing’ seven day opening and extended hours across its branch network, it told investors on Thursday. Metro said it had identified potential cost savings of […]
Falling inflation and speculation that interest rates have peaked have boosted business confidence back to levels not seen since before the onset of the energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, according to new research. An index compiled monthly by Lloyds bank, tracking optimism among British companies, climbed by three points to a net […]
Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese and former Manchester United footballer, is facing a lawsuit seeking “a sum exceeding” $1 billion over his promotion of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. A filing in a US district court in Florida claimed that Ronaldo “promoted, assisted in, and/or actively participated in the offer and sale of unregistered securities […]