Asylum seekers’ cost to taxpayer is unknown, public auditor says December 10, 2025 The full cost of asylum to the British taxpayer is unknown as the government has not processed data on how much local authorities spend on migrants, the National Audit Office (NAO) has said. In a broad report mapping out asylum seekers’ journeys through the UK’s legal systems and support structures, public auditors found that there [...]
AI is set to dominate retail in the next decade December 10, 2025 A majority of retail tasks are set to be replaced by AI by 2035, according to fresh data. UK retailers are set to pour a third of their budgets into AI-aligned tech next year to help with a spate of rising costs, with 69 per cent expecting to increase investment within two years, according to [...]
Time to get relaxed about high executive pay December 10, 2025 This week Anglo American walked back on a plan that would have seen its chief executive handed a tasty bonus for the completion of its merger with Teck after investor backlash. Shareholders may have had well-reasoned objections to a scheme that would have dealt boss Duncan Wanblad an award amounting to almost two-thirds of his [...]
Ed Sheeran pays himself over £40m after album success December 9, 2025 Ed Sheeran has paid himself more than £40m after the huge success of his latest album, it has been revealed. The music mega star received a dividend of almost £40.1m through his self-named business, Ed Sheeran Limited. The accounts filed with Companies House also show the firm’s turnover totalled £25.7m while it made a pre-tax [...]
Interest rates: Bank of England hawks to ‘look through’ Budget’s disinflation December 9, 2025 Bank of England policymakers struck a hawkish tone on the future path of interest rates despite acknowledging that the upcoming Budget would lower inflation. Appearing before MPs on the Treasury Select Committee, Bank staff analysis agreed with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) that measures in Rachel Reeves’ November statement would strip 0.5 percentage points [...]
San Francisco 49ers: Stake sale to OpenAI chair values NFL team at $9bn December 9, 2025 The San Francisco 49ers have been valued at more than $9bn after the chairman of artificial intelligence behemoth OpenAI agreed to acquire a stake in the NFL franchise. Bret Taylor – who is also the co-founder and chief executive of fellow AI business Sierra, and formerly the board chairman of Twitter – will acquire one [...]
UK property tax burden is fourth heaviest in OECD December 9, 2025 The UK’s property tax burden is the fourth heaviest in the OECD’s list of 38 countries and it is more than double the average across the list of advanced economies. In a report on government revenue levels across most of the world’s largest economies, the OECD said the UK’s taxes on property as a percentage [...]
Verstappen future in doubt as Red Bull rocked by third key departure in a year December 9, 2025 Red Bull Racing have been rocked by the departure of Helmut Marko, the man credited with turning them into Formula 1’s most dominant team, after 26 years with the organisation. Marko is the third pivotal figure in the team’s F1 success to leave in the last year, following design guru Adrian Newey and team principal [...]
Stamp duty holiday first ‘meaningful change’ in a long time, says London Stock Exchange boss December 9, 2025 The London Stock Exchange has welcomed the government’s move to grant a stamp duty holiday to newly-listed entrants, hailing it the first “meaningful change” seen in a long time. Chancellor Rachel Reeves launched a three year stamp duty holiday for fresh listings on the London market in her Budget last month. The Treasury’s plans have [...]
No-zempic: Jolly Brits swap weight-loss jabs for stuffing this Christmas December 9, 2025 Brits are set to go all out this Christmas as nearly half plan to swap out their weight loss jabs for an extra helping of turkey and pudding. One in three don’t plan to return to their normal dose until after New Year in order to take full advantage of the festive season, according to [...]
