Prime Minister Keir Starmer has outlined a sweeping vision for the UK to become the world leader in artificial intelligence, pledging a distinctively British approach to regulation while unleashing AI’s potential to revive the country’s sluggish economy. Unveiling the government’s “AI Opportunities Action Plan”, Starmer vowed to break from both the US and EU regulatory […]
Concerns are escalating over the future of Northern Ireland’s largest private employer, with 2,700 jobs at risk at Spirit Aerosystems’ Belfast factory. The site’s predicament stems from complications in a takeover deal involving Boeing, which agreed to acquire Spirit, and Airbus, which has said it will only purchase the portion of the plant manufacturing A220 […]
Agreements worth £600 million, potentially adding £1 billion in value to the UK economy, have been secured following Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ trip to Beijing. Winnie Cao, Head of Blick Rothenberg’s China Desk and China Business Group, described the productive discussions between Reeves and Vice Premier He Lifeng as a positive sign for both Chinese and […]
Britons and overseas visitors may soon find themselves paying a “hotel tax” on every overnight stay, under Treasury proposals designed to shore up the public purse as borrowing costs continue to climb. The potential levy, part of “modelling exercises” carried out by officials, mirrors the tourist taxes in countries such as France, where the nightly […]
Britain has “no choice at all” but to engage with China, Rachel Reeves has argued, as she seeks to shore up economic growth against a backdrop of soaring borrowing costs and uneasy financial markets. The chancellor arrived in Beijing to finalise new trade and investment commitments worth £600 million over five years, the first trip […]
Sara Davies, the Dragons’ Den entrepreneur, is set to regain control of Crafter’s Companion, the craft supply business she founded, through a fast-tracked pre-pack insolvency deal. The company, which gained international acclaim for its paper craft, art, and sewing products, filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators at the High Court following a fall […]
Britain’s benchmark borrowing costs have soared to their highest level since the financial crisis, as investors offload government debt amid persistent inflation fears. The yield on the UK’s 10-year gilt — closely watched as a barometer of future interest payments on public borrowing — reached 4.82 per cent on Wednesday, surpassing the peaks seen in […]
Emma Watson’s premium gin venture Renais has raised nearly £5 million to speed up its global expansion, building on its reputation for sustainable production and strong international demand. Co-founded by the Harry Potter star and her brother, Alex Watson, the Dorset-distilled gin uses grapes sourced from the Burgundy region, including a small proportion from the […]
Food price inflation is expected to climb above 4 per cent this year, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned, in a sharp reversal of the recent trend of slowing shop prices. According to the lobby group’s forecasts, prices at the supermarket tills will surge by an average of 4.2 per cent in the second […]
Sterling endured its sharpest three-day decline in almost two years this morning, as investors continued to offload UK government debt and flock to the US dollar. By early trading, the pound had slipped 0.9 per cent against the dollar to $1.226, briefly touching its lowest level since November 2023. The currency has weakened by 2 […]