Business

During the last 17 months we have become almost inured to the terrifying increases in government borrowing incurred in grappling with the pandemic. The government borrowed £303bn during the 2020-21 financial year, a peacetime record, equivalent to 14.5% of UK GDP. Yet something interesting has been happening during the current financial year. Please use Chrome

New York’s months-in-planning post-Covid-shutdown “Homecoming” concert in Central Park, airing live on CNN, was abruptly halted mid-show this evening – mid-song, in fact – after lightning and rain broke out in the area. Grammy winner Barry Manilow was on stage performing the song “Can’t Smile Without You” when an announcement was made, telling those on

Shares in Marks & Spencer have surged after it bumped up its profit outlook following “encouraging” sales – but admitted stores are still struggling to recover after lockdowns. The retailer pointed to clothing and home sales – increasingly made online – bouncing back to just below pre-pandemic levels as well as a big boost to

Tom T. Hall, a Country Music Hall of Famer who wrote “Harper Valley P.T.A.” and was known for such songs as “I LIke Beer,” died today at home in Franklin, TN, according to his son. He was 85. No cause of death was given. A consummate country songwriter, Hall is known for the such classics

John Flint, the former HSBC Holdings chief executive, is in talks with Whitehall officials about becoming the inaugural boss of the government’s new £22bn UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB). Sky News has learnt that Mr Flint, who left HSBC two years ago, is among the leading candidates to run the new lender. The UKIB has been

Signature Theatre, one of New York’s premiere Off Broadway venues, has postponed its fall production of Pulitzer Prize winner Annie Baker’s Infinite Life due to “ongoing health and safety concerns.” The production – the last of three plays in Baker’s residency with the company – was to have opened Oct. 5, but Signature announced the

The $40bn takeover of UK chip designer Arm Holdings by US tech giant Nvidia faces an in-depth probe after regulators found the deal could weaken rivals and stifle innovation. Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it could ultimately mean more expensive or lower quality products in cutting edge technologies. These include fields such as

The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday filed an amended complaint against Facebook in a reboot of an earlier lawsuit charging the world’s largest social media platform of using anti-competitive tactics “that helped cement its monopoly.” The amended complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. That court tossed out the

Retail suffered a washout last month as the end of the Euro 2020 tournament combined with wet weather were blamed for a sharp fall in sales. Experts also pointed to the likely impact of rising COVID-19 case numbers prompting people to self-isolate as well as the global chip shortages holding back computer and phone supply.

Los Angeles County Health Department officials today released the first data on Covid cases during the first week of school: In the 24 hours between Tuesday at 8 a.m and Wednesday at 8 a.m, the Los Angeles School District recorded 118 new cases. Classes resumed on Monday. The vast majority of those cases — 107

A £7bn bid for the supermarket chain Morrisons by US private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice has been backed by the supermarket’s board, edging the company towards a takeover of the Bradford-based grocer. The offer by CD&R tops a rival bid by a private equity-backed consortium of £6.7bn, and is the latest development in

On Wednesday, Los Angeles County reported more than 4,000 new daily Covid cases for the first time since January. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed 4,046 new cases of Covid-19 and 34 new deaths. New Covid cases in Los Angeles have been ranging a few hundred above and below the 3,000 mark

Stock markets have fallen sharply after signs that the US Federal Reserve could start pulling away emergency support for the world’s biggest economy later this year. In London, the FTSE 100 was down by more than 160 points – or about 2% – in early trading following the publication of minutes of the Fed’s latest

EXCLUSIVE: Fourteen of Hollywood’s top cinematographers – including Oscar winners John Toll, Roger Deakins, Emmanuel Lubezki and Erik Messerschmidt – have signed a letter urging the member companies of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to finally address “the hazards of unsafe working hours” that have been common in the film and TV

The UK government has ordered regulators to investigate the acquisition of British defence firm Ultra Electronics by a US private equity firm on the grounds of national security. Ultra, which sells radars and other hi-tech electrical systems to the British military among others, is being bought by rival Cobham, which was acquired last year by

“I’m sticking with Gavin Newsom,” said comedian George Lopez about the California recall in an Instagram video on Tuesday, “and I’m voting ‘No.’” Lopez did not berate others who might vote “Yes.” “You do what you do, and I’ll do what I do,” he said. Mira / Yo / Hey ! Californians ! Bilingually opposed

The July inflation measure normally used to set the following year’s rail fare increases has been recorded at 3.8% – the highest for ten years. Figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the retail prices index (RPI) measure of inflation slipped back compared to June’s 3.9%. But it was the highest reading

Rudy Giuliani’s attorney rehashed conspiracy theories and was light on evidence when pressed by a judge Tuesday in a defamation suit brought by voting software firm Smartmatic. Joe Sibley of Camara & Sibley asked New York State Supreme Court Judge David Cohen to dismiss six of the claims against his client Giuliani because they constituted

Nando’s has been forced to temporarily close around 50 restaurants after suffering chicken shortages due to supply chain disruptions across England, Wales, and Scotland. The peri-peri chicken maker, which operates some 400 sites around the country, also said it would lend some of its staff to its suppliers to help “get things moving” again after its business

Adam Crozier, the British executive who was previously CEO of ITV and the Football Association, will take over as chair of UK telecommunications outfit BT at the end of the year. The move follows the resignation of Jan du Plessis from the role back in March. There was understood to be friction between du Plessis