Category: News

The Bank of England leaves interest rates on hold at 4.25%, but hints at a possible cut in August as global tensions, rising oil prices, and a softening labour market cloud the economic outlook.

Shell CEO Wael Sawan warns a blockage of the Strait of Hormuz amid rising Israel-Iran tensions could severely disrupt global trade and energy markets, as oil tanker rates surge.

Companies House has removed more than 10,000 companies from the official register in a sweeping crackdown on fraud, corporate abuse and organised crime, after uncovering a network of just 30 entities responsible for incorporating up to 50,000 businesses suspected of being involved in illicit activities.

The Department of Health and Social Care’s handling of a £122 million PPE contract came under increasing scrutiny last week as three days of testimony in the High Court laid bare a string of apparent failings in oversight, documentation, and witness evidence.

UK inflation cooled to 3.4% in May, with core and services inflation also easing. The Bank of England is expected to hold interest rates at 4.25% as underlying pressures persist.

Nissan has revealed its third-generation electric Leaf, to be built in Sunderland with UK-made batteries and a range of up to 375 miles, as part of its EV36Zero sustainability project.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband says Labour will defeat critics of net zero by creating jobs in offshore wind, as the government unveils £1bn to boost the UK’s clean energy supply chain.

DNA firm 23andMe fined £2.31m by UK regulator for a 2023 data breach that exposed sensitive health and family information. Sale to TTAM Research to include stricter privacy commitments.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander to reveal billions were wasted on HS2 by the previous Conservative government due to poor management, bad contracts and scrapped designs, as project costs head towards £100bn.

Bank of America survey finds investors pulling out of US stocks and the dollar, rotating into eurozone and emerging markets amid fading recession fears and softening Trump trade rhetoric.

Ensus, the UK’s largest supplier of food-grade CO₂, warns its Teesside plant could close without urgent government support after the UK-US trade deal removed tariffs on cheaper US bioethanol imports.

MPs and peers warn that tax changes and affordability checks risk damaging British horse racing, calling on the government to rethink gambling policy to protect jobs and the £4bn industry.

Poundland is shutting 68 stores, ending online sales, and closing two distribution centres after its £1 sale to Gordon Brothers, putting over 2,000 jobs at risk.