More than 5,500 small business owners from across the UK have written to the chancellor demanding an urgent review of the forthcoming business rates revaluation, warning that it risks forcing thousands of viable firms to close permanently. The open letter, coordinated by MP Rupert Lowe, has been signed by pub landlords, café owners, shopkeepers and local employers who say they are already operating at breaking point after a decade of relentless cost pressures. Addressed directly...
Senior figures from across the UK’s night-time economy have hit back at suggestions that forthcoming business rates relief will apply only to pubs, warning that such a narrow approach risks devastating the wider nightlife and cultural sector. Industry leaders say recent briefings implying pubs could be singled out for protection ignore the interconnected ecosystem that underpins Britain’s evening economy, including nightclubs, bars, casinos, theatres, live music venues and late-night cultural spaces, all of which are...
The government is expected to announce a partial U-turn on looming business rates increases for pubs within days, amid growing alarm over the financial pressure facing the hospitality sector. According to Sky News, ministers are preparing a targeted rescue package that would shield pubs from steep hikes triggered by business rates revaluations and the withdrawal of Covid-era reliefs. However, the move is understood to apply only to pubs, leaving other hospitality businesses such as hotels,...
The government has spent more than £30,000 of public money so far on rebranding England’s nationalised rail services under the new Great British Railways banner, amid mounting scrutiny over value for money. Great British Railways, the brand under which rail services in England will be brought into public ownership, was formally unveiled last month by Heidi Alexander. The new identity features a modernised version of the familiar double-arrow symbol last used when Britain’s railways were...
Hong Kong’s technology sector has enjoyed a standout presence at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, with local firms securing top industry awards and attracting strong interest from global buyers, investors and multinational brands. Led by Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), and supported by the Hong Kong Electronic Industries Association, the city sent its largest-ever delegation of 61 technology companies to the annual Consumer Electronics...
The cost to UK businesses of Labour’s flagship overhaul of workers’ rights has been cut by billions of pounds after ministers significantly watered down the legislation, according to the government’s own updated analysis. A revised Whitehall impact assessment published on Wednesday estimates that the Employment Rights Bill will now cost employers around £1bn, a sharp reduction from earlier projections that put the figure as high as £5bn. The government said the lower estimate reflects a...
Berkshire Hathaway has formally drawn a line under one of corporate America’s most famous pay traditions, ending the $100,000 annual salary paid to Warren Buffett for more than four decades. Greg Abel, who took over as chief executive on January 1, will receive an annual pay package of $25 million, a sharp break from the frugal compensation model that long defined the Omaha-based investment giant. Abel, 63, had already been one of the highest-paid executives...
Donald Trump has never been shy about his favourite economic weapon. In his pre-Christmas address to the nation, the US president once again made clear that tariffs remain central to his vision for American prosperity. While supporters argue that tariffs are reviving domestic industry, lifting wages and restoring economic sovereignty, critics remain unconvinced. What is no longer in dispute, however, is that Trump’s tariff regime has already reshaped the global economy, and will continue to...
Donald Trump has launched an extraordinary attack on America’s largest defence contractors, threatening to block dividends and share buybacks unless they accelerate weapons production, as he prepares a dramatic expansion of US military spending. In a post on his Truth Social platform, the US president warned defence firms that he would no longer tolerate what he described as sluggish delivery of military equipment during “troubled and dangerous times”. His comments came ahead of plans to...
UK housebuilding has fallen to its weakest level since the Covid-19 lockdowns of 2020, underlining the scale of the challenge facing ministers as they attempt to revive construction and meet housing targets. New data from S&P Global shows activity across the UK construction sector continued to shrink in December, with housing and commercial construction work both contracting at the fastest pace in more than four years. The survey of purchasing managers found that housebuilding and...
