Disgraced fund manager Neil Woodford and his now-defunct investment firm have been fined a combined £46 million by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for mismanaging the Woodford Equity Income Fund, which collapsed in 2019 and left hundreds of thousands of retail investors out of pocket. Woodford, once hailed as one of Britain’s most successful stockpickers, has also been banned from holding any senior role in the City, with the FCA declaring him “not fit and...
The digital gambling landscape in Canada is experiencing an unprecedented boom. With a surge in both domestic and international operators entering the market, Canadians now have access to a growing variety of options, far more than just a few years ago. If you’ve been browsing or searching for new online casinos in Canada, you’re far from alone. The market is expanding rapidly, driven by regulatory shifts, evolving technologies, and changing consumer behavior. But what’s fueling...
A growing number of UK businesses are turning away from traditional Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and embracing proxy services as their preferred tool for digital operations, amid tightening regulatory scrutiny and increased awareness of performance and compliance risks. According to new data from Decodo, a leading provider of proxy infrastructure, the UK has seen a 65% rise in proxy users and an 88% increase in proxy-generated traffic over the past year. The trend is being...
Neil Woodford, the once-celebrated fund manager behind the catastrophic collapse of Woodford Investment Management, is facing renewed calls to be stripped of his CBE after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a damning final judgement. An open letter has been sent to Sir Chris Wormald, Chair of the Honours Forfeiture Committee, by the Woodford Campaign Group and the Transparency Task Force. The letter urges the Committee to act swiftly and remove Woodford’s CBE in light...
Chinese fast fashion giant Shein has been fined €1 million (£870,000) by Italian authorities for making misleading environmental claims on its website — marking the second major regulatory penalty in Europe for the retailer in as many months. Italy’s competition and market authority (AGCM) said Shein had presented sustainability and social responsibility messaging on its site that was “vague, generic and overly emphatic”, and in some cases misleading or omissive. The authority criticised the company’s...
Rail passengers in Dorset and Devon are facing extended journey times and reduced services after extreme dry weather caused embankments to shrink and destabilise sections of railway track. South Western Railway (SWR) confirmed it has had to introduce speed restrictions and a reduced timetable on its route between London Waterloo and Exeter, following the sunniest spring in more than 100 years and the second driest spring in England since 1976. The lack of moisture has...
Tesla’s new car sales in the UK plummeted by nearly 60 per cent in July, according to new figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), marking one of the sharpest declines in the brand’s recent history in Britain. The electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer registered just 987 new cars last month, down from 2,462 in July 2024 — a year-on-year drop of 59.9 per cent. The slump comes despite a recent refresh of...
British consumers are increasingly flocking to Europe to take advantage of VAT-free shopping incentives, with new data showing a fivefold rise in spending since the UK government scrapped tax-free shopping for international visitors in 2021. Figures released by the Association of International Retail (AIR) reveal that British shoppers spent £742 million on VAT-free goods in the European Union in 2024, up from £527 million the previous year and just £147 million in 2021. The trend...
Companies House has confirmed that mandatory identity verification for company directors and people with significant control (PSCs) will begin from 18 November 2025, in one of the most significant transparency reforms in UK corporate governance in decades. Under the new rules, new directors must verify their identity to register a company or accept a directorship. Existing directors will be required to verify their identity when filing their next confirmation statement, during a 12-month transition window....
A quiet but profound transformation is underway in the UK’s rural and remote communities. The government-backed Shared Rural Network (SRN) — a £1.3 billion programme launched to eliminate mobile “not-spots” — is reshaping how people live, work and do business across the countryside. Launched in 2020, the SRN aims to deliver 95% 4G coverage across the UK from at least one operator by the end of 2025, and 84% from all four mobile network providers...
