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Uber’s autonomous taxi trial in Manchester highlights the future of driverless transport, safety concerns and potential job losses for taxi drivers.

Manchester’s Streets Become a Testing Ground for Uber’s Driverless Taxi Revolution

The future of urban transport is arriving quietly in Manchester—but behind the promise of convenience lies a bigger question: what happens to the thousands of people who make their living behind the wheel? Manchester has become the latest British city to enter the race towards driverless transport, as Uber begins testing autonomous vehicles on its...

Water companies in England and Wales face proposed customer bill reductions after missing performance targets, while some suppliers may receive financial rewards.

Water Bills Under Pressure: UK Suppliers Face £107m Repayment After Missing Targets

Households across England and Wales could see money returned through lower water bills after several suppliers failed to meet performance targets. But while some customers may pay less, others face increases—exposing the uneven costs of Britain’s troubled water system. For millions of households, opening a water bill has become an increasingly expensive routine. Now, the...

Hobbs, Phase Eight and Whistles investigate a cyberattack that disrupted online orders and may have exposed customer data.

Cyberattack Hits Hobbs, Phase Eight and Whistles as Customer Data Fears Mount

A digital intrusion has forced three British fashion brands to suspend online orders, raising fresh concerns about customer privacy as cyberattacks continue to target the retail industry. For shoppers, a fashion website is usually a place to browse new collections, place an order and trust that personal details will remain private. But for customers of...

Stellantis and Renault urge the UK to join EU automotive protection rules as Europe debates Chinese car imports and electric vehicle manufacturing.

Britain’s Car Industry Faces a Defining Choice: Join Europe’s Industrial Shield or Leave the Door Open to China?

Britain’s automotive future is becoming part of a wider European struggle over manufacturing, trade and the electric vehicle revolution. Now, two of the continent’s biggest carmakers are backing the UK’s inclusion in proposed European industrial protection rules—but they are also urging London to reconsider its approach to Chinese car imports. The message from Stellantis and...

IMF warns that dwindling oil reserves, rising debt and geopolitical tensions threaten global economic resilience.

The World’s Economic Safety Net Is Wearing Thin: IMF Warns of a New Global Shock

The global economy has weathered months of geopolitical turbulence, but the cushions protecting it from another crisis are beginning to disappear. Oil reserves are shrinking, government finances are under pressure, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is warning that the world may soon discover how much strain its economy can actually withstand. In its latest...

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva warns governments to tighten fiscal policy as global debt approaches 100% of GDP and rising bond yields increase borrowing costs

When Debt Stops Being a Number and Becomes a Political Reckoning

For years, governments have treated debt as tomorrow’s problem. Tomorrow, however, is beginning to send the bill. With borrowing costs climbing and global debt approaching levels not seen since the aftermath of the Second World War, IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva has delivered an unusually blunt warning: major economies can no longer depend on growth,...

Shell refinery facilities as global fuel shortages drive record refining margins and sharply increase profits from refined fuels

The Refinery Windfall: How a Global Fuel Shortage Turned Oil Plants Into Goldmines

The world is paying more for fuel. Shell is counting the money. That is the striking reality emerging from the latest energy-market figures, as shortages of refined products push the profit earned from turning crude oil into fuel towards extraordinary levels. Shell expects its refining margins to reach about $42 per barrel in the July–September...

Ikea entering the growing UK secondhand furniture market

Ikea Wants a Bigger Piece of Britain’s Secondhand Furniture Boom

The days when buying furniture meant choosing between a showroom and a brand-new flat-pack box are beginning to look different. Across Britain, secondhand shopping has moved firmly into the mainstream. People are selling furniture when they move house, replacing pieces while redecorating, or simply searching for discontinued items they cannot find in stores. Now Ikea...

UK mortgage rates reach 6% as cheaper fixed-rate deals disappear

The Mortgage Market Has Just Lost Its Safety Net

For British borrowers hoping that mortgage costs were finally settling down, the latest figures deliver a sharp reality check. The average five-year fixed mortgage rate has reached 6%, its highest level in three years. The average two-year deal is almost at the same point, at 5.98%. But the headline rate tells only part of the...

UK weighs tariffs on Chinese cars amid growing EU trade pressure

Britain’s Chinese Car Dilemma: Europe Wants Tariffs, Industry Wants Room to Breathe

Britain’s roads are becoming a testing ground for a much bigger economic question: how far should the UK go to protect its relationship with Europe without closing the door on Chinese investment and increasingly popular Chinese-made cars? The government is now reviewing whether to introduce tariffs on Chinese car imports — a move that could...

Lidl supermarket sales rise as UK shoppers seek lower prices and premium food

Lidl’s £13bn Surge Shows Britain Is Still Hunting for Value

Britain’s supermarket battle is increasingly being decided in a simple place: the household budget. Lidl has emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries. The German-owned discounter recorded more than £13bn in sales in Great Britain, representing growth of 10% during the year to February. Its pre-tax profit also climbed sharply, rising 30% to £245.5m, compared...

BT agrees £400m deal to rescue TalkTalk and protect 900 jobs

BT’s £400m TalkTalk Rescue Comes With a Bigger Question

TalkTalk was heading towards collapse. Instead, its customers, employees and vital broadband services are now being placed under the protection of Britain’s biggest telecoms group. BT has agreed to pay £400m to acquire TalkTalk and its wholesale arm, PlatformX Communications, rescuing the businesses from administration and securing the jobs of around 900 employees. For BT,...

Euro falls as French debt and political uncertainty unsettle European markets

Europe’s Debt Anxiety Is Putting the Euro Under Pressure

The euro is losing ground, and investors are increasingly looking beyond currency markets for the reason. The single currency dropped below $1.12 on Monday, touching its weakest level against the US dollar in 17 months. The fall reflects mounting anxiety over France’s finances, political uncertainty across the eurozone and fears that problems in one of...

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