£4.5bn black market cigarette tax loss should be ‘a major wake-up call’ for Labour June 4, 2026 Over half of cigarettes smoked in the UK are black market and are contributing £4.5bn to the country’s tax losses – a record high – according to new analysis from KPMG and tobacco giant Philip Morris. The findings show that 1.5bn more black-market, tax-free cigarettes were consumed by UK smokers last year compared to 2024, [...]
Lex Greensill banned as company director for nine years after multi-billion-pound collapse June 4, 2026 The UK Insolvency Service has confirmed that financier Lex Greensill will face a nine-year ban from serving as a company director, after he signed a legally binding disqualification undertaking to resolve long-running enforcement proceedings just days before a scheduled High Court trial. The Insolvency Service, which opened its probe into him in 2022, filed a [...]
Martin Sorrell calls WPP ‘catatonic’ as Goldman slaps sell rating on its own client June 4, 2026 Sir Martin Sorrell spent 33 years turning WPP from a small Kent-based wire and plastics manufacturer into the world’s largest ad company. He left in 2018 following a dispute over personal conduct that he has consistently denied, and has been a vocal critic of his successors ever since. “I think they are further gone than [...]
Partners Group suffers surge in withdrawal requests and braces to cap more funds June 4, 2026 Partners Group warned that its flagship private equity fund had been hit by a flurry of requests from wealthy investors, raising concerns the Swiss firm would have to cap withdrawals, a day after doing so on a major European fund. Redemption requests at its $16bn private equity master fund reached roughly six per cent of [...]
S4 Capital cuts jobs as Sorrell predicts ‘fewer people’ in advertising June 4, 2026 S4 Capital has cut a further 150 jobs this year, amid warnings from Sir Martin Sorrell that AI will leave the advertising industry employing “fewer people” in the years ahead. The London-listed marketing group said its workforce has fallen to around 6,200, down from roughly 7,000 a year ago, as clients continue to rein in [...]
Stockbroker boom down under boosts CMC Markets share price June 4, 2026 CMC Markets shares rocketed in early trading after a rise in stockbroking activity in Australia coupled with its expanding institutional business partnerships boosted profits. Shares soared 12.7 per cent to 415p, with shares up 37.1 per cent since the start of the year. The trading platform operator recorded a 20 per cent hike in profit [...]
Gold prices glitter amid geopolitical uncertainty June 4, 2026 Gold saw a significant price rally over the course of 2025, after geopolitical uncertainty and heightened central bank buying drove more people to the safe haven asset. Gold prices rallied 44 per cent last year, reaching $4,550 per ounce in December and recording 56 fresh record highs according to the latest report from Metals Focus. [...]
Working Brits are struggling to keep up with AI June 4, 2026 Britain’s workforce is showing signs of AI fatigue just as politicians and business leaders demand faster adoption of the technology. New research from Henley Business School found 61 per cent of workers feel overwhelmed by the pace of AI change in the workplace, while nearly two-thirds of AI users admit they sometimes choose not to [...]
As it happened: Stocks mixed as Trump warns takes ‘two to tango’ on Iran peace June 4, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. Donald Trump has hinted a peace deal in the Middle East could come as soon as “over the weekend” in the latest back-and-forth of negotiations between the US and Iran. The President yesterday doubled down once more on his claim that Iran is set to [...]
In 23 months Labour has dragged the UK economy to its knees June 4, 2026 Reading our interview with billionaire John Caudwell, in which he says he was “misled” by Labour’s pitch for power, I’m reminded of just how unambiguous Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves were in the run-up to the 2024 election. They promised to be “the most pro-business government this country has ever seen.” Some of us were [...]