Competition watchdog seeks emergency powers to tackle coronavirus profiteering May 18, 2020 The UK’s competition watchdog has told the government it needs emergency powers to crack down on firms profiteering from the coronavirus crisis. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it needs emergency time-limited legislation to tackle companies that have increased prices for high demand products such as hand sanitiser during the pandemic. CMA chief executive [...]
London ensnared by global market turmoil as recession jitters spread May 19, 2022 The City was ensnared by a global market sell off today driven by investors ditching stocks over fears soaring inflation will tip major economies into recession. Britain’s biggest companies shed around £40bn today. London’s premier FTSE 100 index tumbled just under two per cent, taking its total losses for the year so far to nearly [...]
Inside AlUla, Saudi Arabia, where monuments are older than the pyramids October 17, 2022 Just when you think you’ve grasped how ancient the city of AlUla, Saudi Arabia is, you stumble upon an even older part, and then another, each earlier still. By the time someone mentions palaeolithic axe-heads from 200,000 years ago, a 12th century Islamic town is beginning to sound contemporary. What’s made all this Indiana Jones [...]
Washed away: The strange, nostalgic world of public swimming pools June 8, 2024 The swimming pool is a place of both solitude and community, a strange human ritual practised from Manchester to Montpellier and New Delhi
The Big List: Top London cocktails to break Dry January January 30, 2024 The Life&Style desk is planning an epic night out, taking in some of London’s most august cocktail bars and trendy new venues.
European Super League: Will ECJ resurrect breakaway or prove final nail in its coffin? December 14, 2022 Abandoned by most of its supporters in the face of widespread outcry, tied up in red tape, and then undermined by the financial problems of its remaining backers, the European Super League has never looked more dead. But the controversial breakaway football competition could be dramatically resurrected on Thursday when an advocate general delivers their [...]
Gaucho boss: Restaurant menus featuring more seasonal produce could be ‘silver lining’ of high inflation September 12, 2022 Restaurants shifting to more seasonal menus may be the “silver lining” of sky-rocketing food prices, Gaucho boss Martin Williams has said. Hospitality venues have been forced to grapple with heightened prices for vegetables and proteins this year, in addition to energy bill increases that bosses say pose an existential threat to the sector. However, the [...]
It could be said the EU was never going to offer Britain a Switzerland-style deal November 24, 2022 It is often said that Britain is a nation divided by our relationship with Europe, but British people are in fact united in their disinterest as to how the European Union works. To most it will always come across as a byzantine mixture of commissions, councils, and competencies presided over by a rather grey cadre [...]
Food price hikes will become baked in if we can’t choose a fiscal policy and stick with it October 20, 2022 Yesterday marked a grim milestone. Food and drink price inflation hit its highest recorded level since the 1980s. In the year to September, it has jumped to 14.6 per cent and the rise in food prices has helped push overall inflation over 10 per cent. What’s more, it hasn’t peaked yet – prices will certainly [...]
Boohoo poaches Trainline CFO weeks after retailer saw first-ever sales drop June 23, 2022 Boohoo has poached Trainline’s former finance lead as its new chief financial officer (CFO), just weeks after the retailer posted its first-ever sales drop. It comes amid a turbulent period for fast fashion brands. Rival retailer Missguided collapsed in late May, after being hammered by spiralling supply chain costs. Shaun McCabe, who has sat on [...]