As much as £5bn needed to revive UK’s struggling high streets, study finds
Posted on Wednesday July 09, 2025

Business rates cuts not enough as people in poorer areas simply ‘don’t have money to spend’, says Centre for CitiesAs much as £5bn is needed to revive ailing UK town and city centres, with areas including Bradford in Yorkshire, Newport in south Wales, and Blackpool in Lancashire having double the proportion of empty shops as London, a study has found.A report from the Centre for Cities thinktank showed that the health of high streets across the country has varied significantly, and called for authorities to focus on developing homes and high-paying jobs in central locations to increase local spending power. Continue reading...

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Thames Water refuses to claw back bonuses paid using £3bn emergency loan
Posted on Wednesday July 09, 2025

Money was paid out from loan meant to stabilise firm’s finances weeks before it paused retention payments planBusiness live – latest updatesThames Water paid almost £2.5m to senior managers from an emergency loan that was meant to be used to keep the failing utilities company afloat – and has refused to claw back the payments, newly released documents reveal.The struggling water supplier paid bonuses totalling £2.46m to 21 managers on 30 April. Continue reading...

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Trump announces 50% tariff on Brazil, citing a ‘witch-hunt’ against Bolsonaro
Posted on Wednesday July 09, 2025

Latest threats heighten fears that the president’s erratic trade strategy risks exacerbating inflation across the USUS politics live – latest updatesDonald Trump announced on Wednesday that his administration will hit Brazil with a 50% tariff on products sent to the US, tying the move to what he called the “witch-hunt” trial against its former president, Jair Bolsonaro.Posting letters on Truth Social, the US president had earlier in the day targeted seven other countries – the Philippines, Brunei, Moldova, Algeria, Libya, Iraq and Sri Lanka – for stiff US tariffs on foreign exports starting on 1 August. Continue reading...

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Linda Yaccarino stepping down as CEO of Elon Musk’s X
Posted on Wednesday July 09, 2025

Yaccarino announces she is leaving company after two years as chief executive officerThe CEO of X, Elon Musk’s social network, announced on Wednesday she would resign.“After two incredible years, I’ve decided to step down as CEO of ,” Linda Yaccarino wrote. Continue reading...

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UK government’s deal with Google ‘dangerously naive’, say campaigners
Posted on Wednesday July 09, 2025

Company to provide free technology and ‘upskill’ civil servants but concerns raised over UK data being held on US serversGoogle has agreed a sweeping deal with the UK government to provide free technology to the public sector from the NHS to local councils– a move campaigners have called “dangerously naive”.The US company will be asked to “upskill” tens of thousands of civil servants in technology, including in using artificial intelligence, as part of an agreement that will not require the government to pay. It is considered in Whitehall to be giving Google “a foot in the door” as the digitisation of public services accelerates. Continue reading...

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‘That’s our DNA’: Russo praises ‘proper English’ performance against Netherlands
Posted on Wednesday July 09, 2025

England find form in 4-0 hammering of NetherlandsToone: ‘There are always doubters – we don’t listen to it’ Alessia Russo says England always knew they were capable of producing performances such as the one that delivered an emphatic 4-0 win against the Netherlands, as she praised her teammates for rediscovering their DNA.England were under pressure having been beaten by France in their opening Group D fixture at Euro 2025, knowing a defeat in this match could knock them out, but the defending champions had spoken in the buildup about wanting a “proper England” performance and Russo believed they found one. The Lionesses will be guaranteed a place in the quarter‑finals if they defeat Wales in St Gallen on Sunday. Continue reading...

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Horner’s Red Bull exit: the end of an era that will be felt across Formula One grid | Giles Richards
Posted on Wednesday July 09, 2025

Departure now leaves a question mark about the next chapter of one of the sport’s extraordinary success storiesThe removal of Christian Horner from his post as team principal at Red Bull represents both the end of an era in Formula One and, in the short term, the most turbulent period in the team’s history. It carries an import that will be felt right across the sport, a significance in how it played out and what happens next as the team Horner built and led to such enormous success faces an uncertain future.Horner has been at Red Bull since the team was formed in 2005 from the ashes of Jaguar, a team in no little disarray when Red Bull bought it. Horner was at the helm as it was transformed from an operation of 450 personnel, without so much as a win to their name, to one of 1,500 today that has won eight drivers’ titles and six constructors’ championships, and is one of the most extraordinary success stories in F1 history. Continue reading...

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