Finance chiefs fearful of war and geopolitical risks January 6, 2026 Finance chiefs have begun the year fretting over the spectre of war and rising global tensions as President Trump’s shock operation to capture Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro put investor nerves on edge. A quarterly survey by Big Four accounting firm Deloitte showed that “geopolitical risks”, which can include everything from higher tariffs to conflict and [...]
Employers brace for more layoffs as headcount expectations drop January 6, 2026 Employers are preparing to lay off more staff as higher payroll costs from taxes and red tape are hitting headcount expectations, an industry survey has found. The Institute of Directors’ monthly business confidence survey showed that headcount expectations dropped in December after Rachel Reeves’ Budget unveiled a salary sacrifice cap and higher taxes on airports [...]
Labour pencils £210m cyber plan to curb escalating attacks January 6, 2026 The UK government has unveiled a £210m cyber action plan aimed at shoring up the public services, as ministers face mounting pressure to respond to a sharp rise in attacks on major British businesses. The plan, published on Tuesday, comes amid a backdrop of high-profile cyber incidents that hit retailers including M&S, Co-op and Jaguar [...]
Future of Bank of England’s Venezuelan gold back in spotlight after Maduro capture January 6, 2026 The foreign secretary has signalled the Bank of England will continue to withhold $4.8bn of Venezuelan gold being held in its vaults, despite the dramatic toppling of the country’s autocratic ruler potentially paving the way to the reserves being returned. Addressing lawmakers late on Monday, Yvette Cooper suggested the government would continue its refusal to [...]
Non-doms made up two thirds of super-prime sellers in 2025 January 6, 2026 Wealthy foreigners fleeing the UK to escape the government’s crackdown on non-doms were behind two of every three super-prime property sales last year, leading prices at the top-end of London’s housing market to extend declines that now stretch over a decade. According to a fresh analysis of London property transactions above £15m, 65 per cent [...]
Venezuela proves farce of political forecasting January 6, 2026 If history teaches us anything, it's that political forecasters almost always get it wrong. Just look at Venezuela, writes Paul Ormerod.
2026 will be all about hard power January 6, 2026 The season of peace on earth and good will to all men did not last long, and while I’ll shed no tears at seeing a corrupt dictator snatched from his lair it’s fair to say that 2026 is off to an uneasy start. The market response to Donald Trump’s audacious swoop on Venezuela has been [...]
2025 was set to be the year of AI agents. It was not. January 6, 2026 At the end of 2024, just over a year ago today, tech behemoth and OpenAI boss Sam Altman predicted that AI agents would completely upturn the workplace before year end. AI agents are software programmes which break down any given task into smaller, more manageable steps, allowing them to devise and execute them with little [...]
Soaring food costs send shop price inflation higher January 6, 2026 Soaring food costs pushed shop price inflation higher in December, fresh data has revealed, as Brits faced the crunch during the Christmas season. Food inflation reached 3.3 per cent in the final month of 2025, up from three per cent in November, with fresh produce rising to 3.8 per cent from 3.6 per cent previously. [...]
Interpath and beyond: The surge of private equity investment in professional services January 5, 2026 It was revealed this morning that Big Four giant KPMG’s former restructuring division, Interpath Advisory, was in exclusive negotiations with Bridgepoint to acquire a majority stake in its business, the latest in a string of private equity deals in the professional services sector. KPMG sold the arm to private equity group HIG Capital in 2021 for £400m. [...]