Business

The number of pensioners paying a punishing 60 per cent income tax rate has more than doubled in just three years, as frozen tax thresholds drag tens of thousands more older savers into higher tax bands. New figures from HM Revenue & Customs show that around 77,000 people aged 66 and over fell into the “60 per cent tax trap” …

Fawn and India Rose James, the granddaughters of late property and publishing magnate Paul Raymond, have received £23 million in dividends from the family’s billion-pound Soho property empire following another record year of rental income. The sisters inherited Soho Estates, which owns much of London’s West End, including bars, offices and restaurants, after Raymond’s death in 2008. Their combined wealth …

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is weighing plans to scrap the windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas producers in a bid to boost investment and revive economic growth. The energy profits levy (EPL), introduced in 2022 under Rishi Sunak amid soaring global energy prices, currently imposes an effective tax rate of 78 per cent on North Sea operators. The Treasury …

Virgin Group has been given the regulatory go-ahead to move forward with plans to operate a new international train service through the Channel Tunnel, paving the way for the first serious competition on the route in three decades. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) confirmed on Thursday that Virgin can proceed with its bid to use the Temple Mills …

by Tristan Gaudiaut, Driven by geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty and sustained central bank buying, the price of gold has reached record levels, gaining nearly 60 percent this year to pass the $,4,000-per-ounce mark this month (closing price average from October 1st to 27th). The level of demand for gold is now prompting questions about whether reserves of the commodity are being exhausted and if …

by Tristan Gaudiaut, Globally, the most widely used investment products include stocks, bonds, real estate, insurances with an investment element (e.g., life insurance) and precious metals (gold, silver, etc.). Cryptocurrencies have also been gaining traction in recent years, particularly among younger investors and in emerging economies. According to the most recent Statista Consumer Insights survey conducted in six countries across the globe, equity investments, such as …

by Katharina Buchholz, The following chart shows data on suicide prevalence in countries around the world. Out of every 100,000 men in the United States, an average of 24 died from suicide in 2021, while for women the average was close to seven per 100,000. In several countries these figures were even higher, such as in South Korea, Lithuania and Hungary. While there …

by Tristan Gaudiaut, With sales continuing to thrive in many countries, the global market for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) surpassed the 10 million annual sales mark for the first time in 2024, with sales up nearly 10 percent compared to 2023. More recently, in May 2025, China also reached a major milestone, with over one million electric cars sold in a …

by Anna Fleck, Prices have increased again for subscription services to streaming platforms in 2024 and 2025. Disney+ is the latest to raise its costs, increasing from $15.99 per month to $18.99 per month as of October 21, 2025. This places it on the upper end of monthly pricing, alongside Hulu, which raised its monthly prices from $17.99 to $18.99 in October 2024. …

Parliament Street, one of the UK’s leading think tanks has today appointed Steven George-Hilley as its Director of Artificial Intelligence, in a newly created role. The news comes as the UK government signs a new deal with OpenAI, the firm behind ChatGPT, to use artificial intelligence (AI) to increase productivity in the UK’s public services and key government departments. Areas …