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 […]
Kevin O’Leary, famed for his role as “Mr Wonderful” on the American series Shark Tank, has revealed plans to join billionaire Frank McCourt’s consortium in a high-stakes effort to acquire TikTok. The move comes amid growing pressure on the Chinese-owned video platform, which could be banned in the United States if its parent company ByteDance […]
Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is preparing to lead a team of ministers and advisers to the 2025 World Economic Forum in Davos, aiming to attract international backers and calm disquiet among domestic businesses. Reeves, who attended Davos as shadow chancellor for the previous two years, is scheduled to meet sovereign wealth funds and US private […]
A company director who “repeatedly subverted the insolvency system” by facilitating debt-dumping arrangements for struggling businesses has been banned from running firms for nine years, following a government investigation. Neville Taylor, 57, served as a director of more than 400 companies and received close to £270,000 from Atherton Corporate, operators of a scheme that took […]
Hundreds of current and former McDonald’s employees – some as young as 19 – have joined a legal action against the fast-food giant over allegations of bullying, sexual abuse and harassment across more than 450 UK outlets. The complaint, filed through law firm Leigh Day, follows a fresh wave of accusations highlighted by a BBC […]
Mark Carney, the former governor of the Bank of England, has confirmed he is weighing up a bid to succeed Justin Trudeau as Canada’s prime minister. Trudeau announced on Monday that he would step down after nearly a decade in office, prompting the Liberal party to scramble for a new leader ahead of an impending […]
Britain’s retailers have suffered another blow after budget-conscious consumers reined in their Christmas spending, disappointing hopes of a bumper festive season and leaving the “golden quarter” with only muted growth. Figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC)-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor show that total sales rose by just 0.4 per cent over the three months to […]