Business

The affordability of housing in England and Wales has come back to pre-pandemic levels, mostly because wages are growing at a much greater rate than property prices, official data shows. In 2023, the median value of a house in England was £290,000, or 7.7 times the median salary of a full-time employee. This represents a […] More

As fire raged through a critical power substation feeding Heathrow Airport, its Chief Executive Thomas Woldbye chose sleep over direct handling of the crisis. His deputy, Javier Echave, was left to handle the shutdown of Europe’s busiest airport on Friday morning. Woldbye, 60, was reported to have been at a function in central London when […] More

The sovereign wealth fund of Norway has made a significant investment by purchasing a 25% stake in one of London’s most historic districts, Covent Garden. The transaction, worth £570 million, marks the fund’s continued faith in central London’s real estate market future. Owned by Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), this sovereign wealth fund is the […] More

Former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is no longer being investigated in the current Police Scotland inquiry into the Scottish National Party’s (SNP) finances. The news came as her husband, Peter Murrell, appeared in court in Edinburgh on embezzlement charges. Murrell, the former chief executive of the SNP, faced a private hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court […] More

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has downgraded the global economic growth forecast amid the ongoing fallouts of US President Donald Trump’s protectionist tariff policies. In its latest report, the OECD estimates that major economies, such as the UK, will see slower GDP growth rates. The organization’s warning is that consumers will bear […] More

Thames Water has received a £3bn rescue loan after an appeal against the deal was rejected. The struggling utility firm won the loan in February as part of plans to avoid being taken over by the government due to worsening financial pressures. The appeal, lodged by a small number of lenders and Liberal Democrat MP […] More

Tesco is making a real effort to lower food waste and promote sustainability by donating food approaching its sell-by date for nothing in some supermarkets. The service, which has been piloted in some Tesco Express shops, lets people take home foods with yellow labels after 9:30 pm. But instead of being distributed to the general […] More

Southwest Airlines is implementing a major shift in its long-standing practices by charging for checked bags, a step that will help increase revenue as the airline faces financial difficulties. The new policy, announced on Tuesday, will be implemented on May 28, representing a dramatic departure from one of the airline’s most popular customer amenities. For […] More

Barclays will pay millions of pounds in compensation to customers after a succession of severe technical breakdowns which left banking services in disarray. The bank puts the total it will have to pay to affected customers at between £5 million and £7.5 million. This was revealed in a recent letter to Members of Parliament (MPs). […] More