Press Round-Up Short (Premium)
Monday newspaper round-up: Tax increases, Lloyds bankers, Virgin Group
Business leaders plan to cut costs and rein in hiring in response to government tax increases set out in the autumn budget, with employment expectations taking the sharpest tumble since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. A net two-thirds of finance directors said they did not expect to increase hiring levels this year, a four-year high, with a net 26% feeling more pessimistic about the prospects for their business than three months ago, the first time sentiment had slipped into negative territory in 18 months, according to the latest survey by the accountancy firm Deloitte.
Sunday newspaper round-up: Debt interest, Autumn Budget, RC Fornax
Rachel Reeves has been left facing a £50bn bill as a result of higher debt interest payments following a rout in the bond market. And City exports caution that the bill could keep climbing. Hence, the Chancellor may soon have to choose between either bending her own fiscal rules, enacting tax increases or cutting spending. The rout has seen the tiny £10bn buffer left by Reeves to meet her main fiscal rule, which requires that tax revenues cover day-to-day expenditures, evaporate.
Friday newspaper round-up: Energy bills, ticket touting, BlackRock
The number of people in England and Wales who sought help with energy bills jumped by 20% last year, according to Citizens Advice, which assisted 60,000 households struggling with the soaring cost of gas and electricity. That number was double the figure for 2020, the national consumer advice charity said, with problems with billing being the single most common type of issue raised with its service providers. – Guardian.
Thursday newspaper round-up: Job vacancies, civil servants, Darktrace
Vacancies for permanent jobs in the UK declined at their fastest pace for four years last month, according to a new survey that adds to the gloomy economic mood. Amid febrile markets and weak economic data, the monthly jobs report from the consultancy KPMG and the recruitment firm REC shows many firms reluctant to hire. – Guardian.
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Shein, JPMorgan Chase
The UK’s advertising watchdog has banned a campaign by an online investment company predominantly targeting Muslims that featured images of euros and US dollars and the words “The United States of America” in flames alongside a call to “join the money revolution”. Wahed Invest Ltd, an online investment platform, ran six posters on various Transport for London (TfL) services, including the London Underground and on buses, last September and October. – Guardian.
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Faculty AI, Wolford, Denise Coates
A company that has worked closely with the UK government on artificial intelligence safety, the NHS and education is also developing AI for military drones. The consultancy Faculty AI has “experience developing and deploying AI models on to UAVs”, or unmanned aerial vehicles, according to a defence industry partner company. – Guardian.
Monday newspaper round-up: FTSE 100 CEOs, Barclays, business fears
The chief executives of FTSE 100 companies will have made more money in 2025 by midday on Monday than their average worker does in a whole year, according to the latest measure of inequality between bosses and their employees. Median pay for FTSE 100 chief executives is £4. 22m, 113 times the median full-time worker’s pay of £37,430, according to the High Pay Centre, a campaign group. That means UK bosses will exceed their workers’ annual pay within 29 hours – or at about 11:30am on Monday, if they started work straight after the new year holiday.
Friday newspaper round-up: Retail footfall, tax, Tesla, Nick Clegg, easyJet
High streets and other shopping destinations have had a “drab December”, ending another year of falling visitor numbers and raising fears of disappointing sales in the most important month for retailers. Attendance at UK shopping centres, retail parks and high streets was down 2. 2% in December compared with the same period in 2023, according to data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and analysts at Sensormatic. The decrease was led by a 3. 3% decline at shopping centres.
Thursday newspaper round-up: Shop closures, BoE cuts, Chinese hackers, Post Office
The UK lost about 37 shops a day during 2024 in yet another brutal year for the high street, data suggests. Almost 13,500 retail stores closed for good in the last 12 months, a rise of 28% on 2023 – although the losses were below the levels seen each year between 2019 and 2022, according to provisional figures compiled by the Centre for Retail Research. - Guardian.
Monday newspaper round-up: Jimmy Carter, House prices, London Stock Exchange
Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, a broker of peace in the Middle East in his time, and a tireless advocate for global health and human rights, has died, it was announced on Sunday. He was 100 years old. A Georgia Democrat, Carter was the longest-lived president in US history. He only served one term in the White House and was soundly beaten by Ronald Reagan in 1980. But Carter spent the decades afterward focused on international relations and human rights, efforts that won him the Nobel peace prize in 2002.
Monday newspaper round-up: Jimmy Carter, London house prices, EG Group, retail layoffs
Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, a broker of peace in the Middle East in his time, and a tireless advocate for global health and human rights, has died, it was announced on Sunday. He was 100 years old. A Georgia Democrat, Carter was the longest-lived president in US history. He only served one term in the White House and was soundly beaten by Ronald Reagan in 1980. But Carter spent the decades afterward focused on international relations and human rights, efforts that won him the Nobel peace prize in 2002.
Friday newspaper round-up: Steel industry, Daily Mirror, pensions
The UK steel industry has called for the government to promise to buy British as it prepares for a major expansion of offshore wind generation. Wind generation has become a key part of the UK’s energy system, contributing 29% of generated electricity in 2023. However, despite the huge increase in the number of turbines, only 2% of the steel used in British offshore wind projects over the past five years was made in the UK, according to a study by the consultants Lumen Energy & Environment, commissioned by UK Steel, a lobby group.
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Prepayment meters, Morrisons, BMW
Millions of vulnerable UK households on prepayment meters could see their energy bills consume almost a third of their incomes this winter. As temperatures drop across the country, the Resolution Foundation said a combination of higher gas and electricity prices and the typical seasonal increase in energy usage over the colder months would hit poorer families most. – Guardian.
Monday newspaper round-up: business activity, exporters, Donald Trump
British firms are predicting a sharp fall in business activity in the new year, in the latest economic snapshot to warn of an increasingly gloomy outlook for the UK in 2025. The growth indicator survey from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) indicates firms are preparing to cut down on hiring and reduce output over the next three months. – Guardian.
Sunday newspaper round-up: Panama Canal, Warhammer, Thames Water
Donald Trump is asking that the Panama Canal be returned to the US unless Panama addresses his criticism of how the waterway is managed. In a post on social media platform Truth Social, Trump described the current arrangement as a complete 'rip-off' which will "immediately stop". He also warned against that the key interoceanic route would not be allowed to fall into the "wrong hands". He also appeared to caution against possible Chinese influence in the canal. - Guardian .
Friday newspaper round-up: Aldi, Richard Desmond, Collateral
The grocery industry watchdog is to make a rare intervention in a Yorkshire sprout grower’s £3. 7m legal case against Aldi over the discount chain’s decision to terminate a long-term supply deal. In papers filed at the high court, W Clappison Ltd, which produced sprouts for Aldi’s UK arm for 13 years, said its supply agreement was ended in February last year at planting time without reasonable notice so it was unable to find new clients immediately. It said it was forced to cease sprout production and sell off its machinery.
Thursday newspaper round-up: Water bills, Brexit, Imperial Brands
Households in England and Wales will see their water bills rise by an average of £31 a year, as suppliers pay to fix leaky pipes and cut pollution. The industry regulator Ofwat said on Thursday it would allow companies to raise average bills will rise by £157 over five years to an average of £597 by 2030 to help pay for investment. – Guardian.
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Amazon, Lloyds Banking, Heathrow
Amazon is to settle a group claim from delivery drivers that it deprived them of thousands of pounds, the Guardian has learned, ending a suit that lawyers had said could cost the company £140m. Drivers who deliver for the internet marketplace through its “delivery service partners” (DSPs) are classed as self-employed, meaning they are not entitled to benefits such as holiday pay and the minimum wage, while they also do not have an employment contract. – Guardian.
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Amazon, Lycamobile, Revolut
Thousands of workers at Amazon are threatening to strike at the company after giving the company a deadline of 15 December to agree to begin negotiating a first contract with the union representing employees. The strike threats, which started in New York, have now spread to Chicago and Atlanta. They come during Amazon’s peak holiday season and after the company experienced record sales during its 2024 Black Friday and Cyber Monday events. – Guardian.
Monday newspaper round-up: Water companies, TalkTalk, Persimmon
Water companies should spend more on helping vulnerable customers, according to consumer groups, as households in England and Wales brace for steep bill increases to be announced this week. The water regulator, Ofwat, is due to reveal on Thursday how much water bills will rise over the five years from next April. – Guardian.