Category: News

As the deadline passes for PPE Medpro to repay £122m over a breached COVID PPE contract, the company remains in administration, and the DHSC faces a growing risk of recovering nothing.

UK unemployment has risen to 4.8%, its highest level since 2021, as wage growth cools sharply to 4.7%. Economists say the data signals a loosening labour market and could pave the way for Bank of England rate cuts next year.

Retail sales growth slipped to 2.3% in early October, new BRC and KPMG figures show, as wet weather, high inflation and fears of tax rises in Rachel Reeves’s upcoming Budget dampened consumer confidence ahead of the key Christmas trading season.

Oracle founder Larry Ellison has committed a further £890m to expand his Oxford institute into a 2m sq ft research campus for 7,000 people — one of the UK’s largest ever private investments in science and innovation.

Fujitsu’s UK chief has received a 50% pay rise to £591,000 as the company faces ongoing scrutiny and lawsuits linked to the Post Office Horizon scandal, one of the worst miscarriages of justice in UK corporate history.

The University of Edinburgh’s EPCC has secured €10m to launch the UK AI Factory Antenna, a major UK–EU project to accelerate AI adoption in science, business and public services and strengthen European research collaboration.

Beijing has vowed retaliation if Donald Trump imposes 100% tariffs on Chinese imports, reigniting fears of a renewed U.S.–China trade war and wiping trillions off global markets as investors brace for further economic turbulence.

The Co-op has warned that 60,000 small shops and 150,000 jobs could vanish unless the Government delivers urgent business rates reform, as new research shows most Britons doubt ministers will act to save struggling high streets.

Lloyds Banking Group has increased its car finance mis-selling provision by £800m, taking the total to £1.95bn, as the FCA pushes ahead with an £11bn compensation scheme for UK drivers.

Lloyds Banking Group is sending CEO Charlie Nunn and 300 senior leaders through a six-month Cambridge-designed AI bootcamp as part of its push to make artificial intelligence central to its banking and digital strategy.

Following a £122m High Court ruling, PPE Medpro’s consortium says it is willing to engage in settlement talks with administrators — as questions mount over the government’s refusal to resell £85m worth of gowns.

Pub landlords have criticised Sir Keir Starmer’s plan to extend opening hours, warning it will raise costs and fail to revive Britain’s pub trade, which is struggling with higher taxes, energy prices and changing drinking habits.