Investment risk misunderstandings fuel cash hoarding April 21, 2026 Brits’ confusion over investment risk warnings has kept people clinging to cash and damaged economic growth, according to recent findings. Nearly 35 per cent of savers admitted the fear of losing money was holding them back from stepping into the stock market, according to the latest research from Barclays, with only 12 per cent expecting [...]
‘Fossil fuel rollercoaster’: Government plans energy price shake-up as Miliband ‘doubles down’ on renewables April 21, 2026 UK households could see their electricity bills fall after the government unveiled measures to end the pricing system’s relationship with volatile gas prices and fossil fuels. Energy secretary Ed Miliband is set to overhaul the system in a major intervention to sever the link between the prices of electricity to gas, which has long been [...]
Robbins: Starmer’s team was ‘dismissive’ about Mandelson vetting April 21, 2026 Former Foreign Office permanent secretary Sir Olly Robbins has criticised Number 10’s “dismissive attitude” to security vetting for Lord Peter Mandelson, who accessed classified files before Robbins, who was recently sacked from his key civil service post, told the Foreign Affairs Committee that there was “constant pressure” on the Foreign Office to give Mandelson clearance [...]
Job vacancies fall to lowest level in five years April 21, 2026 The UK jobs market took a turn for the worst as job vacancies fell to their lowest level in nearly five years, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the number of vacancies fell by an estimate of 29,000 in the three months to March. It is the lowest level of [...]
Trojan tools: AI is professional services’ newest cyber liability April 21, 2026 As the UK government ramps up pressure on businesses to strengthen their cyber defences over Anthropic’s Mythos, professional services firms are already feeling increasingly anxious about cybersecurity. In the last month, a hacker gained access to one of Bain & Co’s internal AI tools, which followed another attack that exposed cybersecurity flaws in a system [...]
‘It beggars belief’: Starmer insists he was not told about Mandelson’s vetting fail April 20, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has insisted he was not told that Lord Peter Mandelson failed a security vetting before telling MPs that “due process” around his appointment as US ambassador was followed. Starmer told MPs on Monday that he asked Whitehall officials to review whether due process was followed last September on whether the security vetting [...]
Pension schemes need more carrot and less stick to back the UK April 20, 2026 The Pensions Bills Scheme will empower the government to tell pension schemes where to invest. But telling always ends badly.
Top civil servant calls on lawyers advice over Mandelson vetting dismissal April 20, 2026 Sir Olly Robbins, who is set to answer MPs’ questions over Lord Peter Mandelson’s appointment, is reportedly taking legal advice after he was ousted over the vetting scandal. Last week, Robbins, the Foreign Office permanent under-secretary, was dismissed after it emerged that the disgraced Mandelson had been denied clearance in a security vetting process. Mandelson [...]
ETFS are no longer a side experiment after record 2025 growth April 20, 2026 Global ETFs are no longer functioning as solely investment products, after record growth last year cemented its position as a “backbone” of portfolios and the use of active strategies gained popularity. The global exchange traded funds (ETF) market jumped 32.8 per cent last year from $14.8 trillion to $19.8 trillion according to the latest findings [...]
Let’s be honest, not all small businesses are meant to survive April 20, 2026 The fact that not every small business survives is far from a bad thing; in fact it's the sign of a healthy economy, writes Alexandra Rosen.