Rachel Reeves has defended her cut to the winter fuel allowance and abandoning infrastructure projects, arguing that the decisions taken in the early weeks of the Labour government would pave the way for a more optimistic economic future. Giving her first speech to the Labour conference as chancellor, Reeves said she had been forced to…

A Southwest Airlines plane takes off from Hollywood Burbank Airport on July 25, 2024 in Burbank, California.  Mario Tama | Getty Images Southwest Airlines has warned employees that it will have to make “difficult decisions” ahead to boost profits as the carrier faces pressure from activist Elliott Investment Management, which has sought leadership changes at…

JCB has reported an increase in profits last year as strong US sales made up for the end of exports to Russia and faltering demand in the the UK and Germany. The company, one of the largest manufacturers in Britain, said that pre-tax profits rose 44% to £806m last year, up from £558m in 2022,…

The Swedish battery maker Northvolt is to cut 1,600 jobs in restructuring, in response to “headwinds” blowing through the electric car industry. The battery company announced redundancies across three of its sites on Monday, including 1,000 in Skellefteå, in northern Sweden, where it is suspending the expansion of Northvolt Ett, Europe’s first homegrown battery gigafactory.…

Britain’s biggest building society is to let first-time buyers borrow up to six times their earnings in what has been labelled a “gamechanging” move that ramps up the mortgage price war. Weeks after it was announced that the Halifax and Lloyds would allow new buyers to take out loans worth up to 5.5 times their…

The Friedkin Group has agreed a deal to buy Everton, two months after pulling out of talks to purchase Farhad Moshiri’s 94.1% shareholding. The US company, owned by the billionaire Dan Friedkin, held constructive negotiations with Everton’s majority owner over the weekend as it sought to gazump interest from the Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor.…

Uncertainty before Labour’s first budget next month is weighing on the UK economy, according to a survey of private businesses. The data firm S&P Global said UK private sector activity growth slowed for the second consecutive month in September, affecting companies in the services and manufacturing industries. Some companies reported that clients are taking a…

Dozens of Tesco food products contain lower proportions of key ingredients than “price-matched” equivalents at Aldi, according to a report that raises questions over value for money at the UK’s largest supermarket chain. BBC Panorama said that 38 out of 122 Tesco products it surveyed contained at least five percentage points less of the main…

British Airways lost my 14-year-old daughter in Toulouse airport when she was flying alone to Heathrow, then charged me for a whole new flight departing the next day. My cousin had checked her in, and she was given a boarding pass marked gate 54, where she duly waited. When staff appeared, she presented herself at…

Introduction: Australia’s REA sweetens takeover offer for Rightmove to £6.1bn Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy. When bidding for property, it’s important not to take no for an answer. Australia’s REA Group is taking this advice seriously, and has just launched its third offer…