BP to sell majority stake in Castrol to US investment firm December 24, 2025 BP’s share price was slightly up on Wednesday after it announced the sale of a majority stake in its lubricant business to a US investment firm in a deal valuing the unit at $10.1bn (£7.5bn). The FTSE 100 oil giant kicked off the sale process in February, and New York-based Stonepeak has agreed to buy [...]
Lawyers warn farmers: Labour’s U-turn on IHT threshold “not an all-clear” December 24, 2025 Lawyers warned that, despite Labour’s U-turn on the inheritance tax relief threshold for farms, many agricultural families may still be impacted, and significant tax burdens may remain for some estates. In a whiplash U-turn, the Labour government revealed on Tuesday that, after a year of backlash from rural communities, it would increase the Agricultural and [...]
Keir Starmer urges public to ‘reach out’ as he acknowledges cost-of-living struggle December 24, 2025 Prime Minister Keir Starmer has acknowledged that many are “still struggling with the cost of living” in a Christmas message posted on Wednesday morning. He said “we should each do our bit” as he urged people to “call around to a neighbour, check in on a friend or a relative who you haven’t heard from [...]
Can you complete Morning Wire’s economics quiz of 2025? December 24, 2025 Test your knowledge with Morning Wire‘s Economics Quiz of 2025. The first full calendar year of the Labour government has not been particularly pretty for the UK economy. The unemployment rate has edged up to 5.1 per cent, inflation rose far above the Bank of England’s 2 per cent target rate and economic activity was [...]
I’ve been speaking to CEOs all year – this is what they really think December 24, 2025 After spending a year interviewing some of the UK’s top business leaders, a number of themes have emerged which paint a concerning picture of their confidence in this country’s future prospects – but there is also hope. In 25 episodes of Morning Wire‘s Boardroom Uncovered podcast series in 2025, a large number of the CEOs [...]
US investors buy stakes in Liga MX’s Club America and Azteca Stadium in $490m enterprise value deal December 24, 2025 US investors have purchased stakes in Mexican football team Club America and the iconic Azteca Stadium in a $490m enterprise value deal to go into Mexican football just months before the 2026 Fifa World Cup. In a joint statement to the Mexican stock exchange — Bolsa Mexicana de Valores (BMV) — a new entity known as [...]
Why sports districts like Birmingham City’s are the future of stadiums December 24, 2025 On-pitch glory will always be the ultimate prize, but ambitious sports investors are now looking beyond traditional matchday revenues and exploring ways to diversify income, enabling reinvestment into areas that support on-pitch performance and secure a more robust future. This strategic shift also recognises that sport, particularly its physical infrastructure, presents a powerful opportunity for [...]
I read 100 books in 2 years. Here’s what I learnt. December 24, 2025 As I write this, I am in the final days of the longest reading marathon of my life. In January last year, I set a challenge to read 52 books in as many weeks. Having (just) completed my goal, I set another to read 48 this year, to finish at 100 (journalists like round numbers). [...]
The great high street outage of 2025 December 24, 2025 On paper, British high streets have seen worse. Footfall has survived recessions, pandemics and price shocks before, and tills were just about still ringing. But this year it flickered, stalled and, in some cases, went dark – brought to its knees by a wave of cyber attacks that exposed the fragility of retail in the [...]
Regulators show their teeth – financial services fines in 2025 December 24, 2025 UK watchdogs sharpened their sword in 2025 and slapped a handful of financial services firms with hefty fines and a thorough dressing down. In just under a week alone in July, the Financial Conduct Authority and Bank of England handed out £74.9m worth of fines to a trio of financial services giants. But it was [...]