A pay-per-mile road pricing system must be brought in now, according to Tony Blair’s thinktank, which is urging the chancellor to overhaul motoring taxes. Rachel Reeves is widely expected to confirm the end of a temporary 5p cut in fuel duty, and possibly announce an inflationary rise in the tax paid on petrol and diesel…
Taylor Swift fans and Olympic visitors helped push record-breaking numbers of passengers to travel through Heathrow between June and September, prompting the airport to consider reinstating its dividend for the first time in four years. The UK’s biggest airport said there had been multiple consecutive weeks with record passenger numbers during the school holidays, with…
The government is preparing to give the independent regulator powers to prevent Premier League clubs from selling their stadiums to related or third-party companies. In June the Premier League attempted to close the loophole which enables clubs to use one-off profits from the sale of property to escape profitability and sustainability rules charges but failed…
Workers picket outside the Boeing Co. manufacturing facility during a strike in Renton, Washington, US, on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. David Ryder | Bloomberg | Getty Images Boeing‘s new CEO Kelly Ortberg said the company needs to become leaner and improve quality, a vision he laid out for the troubled plane manufacturer ahead of his…
An artificial intelligence startup backed by Amazon and Google says it has created an AI agent that can carry out tasks on the computer such as moving a mouse cursor and typing text. US company Anthropic said its AI model, called Claude, could now perform computing tasks including filling out forms, planning an outing and…
Vintage Coca-Cola bottles are seen in a shop window in Manhattan, New York City, on July 15, 2024. Beata Zawrzel | Nurphoto | Getty Images Coca-Cola on Wednesday reported quarterly earnings and revenue that topped analysts’ expectations, thanks to a boost from higher prices that offset sluggish demand. Shares of the company fell 2% in…
Lloyds Banking Group has backed the Labour government’s forthcoming budget and played down the impact of any tax increases, which it said would probably be part of a “constructive, pro-growth agenda”. The chief financial officer of the UK’s biggest mortgage lender, William Chalmers, said he would welcome a budget package that was consistent with government…
The UK’s competition watchdog has launched a formal investigation into the £3.3bn takeover of the UK soft drinks maker Britvic by the Danish brewer Carlsberg. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has set a deadline of 18 December for the first phase of its investigation into the deal. Britvic – maker of brands including Robinsons…
The new boss of Starbucks has pledged to shake up its “overly complex menu” in an effort to turn around the struggling coffee chain. Brian Niccol, who joined the company as chief executive in September, said Starbucks needed to “fundamentally change” its strategy in order to win back customers. The coffee chain reported falling sales,…
At our Quaker meeting house we have tried to help the planet by swapping our gas boiler for an air source heat pump. We asked our supplier, Crown Gas & Power, to end our supply, and were surprised to be told that we had to keep paying the 99p a day standing charge until the…
