Government borrowing rose sharply to more than £20bn in September – the highest level in five years – piling further pressure on Chancellor Rachel Reeves as she prepares a tax-raising Budget next month. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), monthly borrowing increased by £1.6bn from August, contributing to a six-month total of £99.8bn, the second-highest level ever recorded ...
A pair of Senate Republicans plan to nominate President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in fast-tracking the production and distribution of vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., plan to introduce a resolution that would formally nominate Trump for the prize for launching Operation Warp Speed ...
A House Republican exploring higher office is predicting the ongoing government shutdown will make the 2026 midterm field a more difficult one for Democrats. ‘Once all the dust settles, I think people will think, ‘Why did the Democrats shut it down? What was their reason? What did they get out of it?’’ Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, told Fox News Digital. ...
Former President Joe Biden completed a round of radiation treatment for his aggressive form of prostate cancer on Monday. Biden had been undergoing treatment at Penn Medicine Radiation Oncology in Philadelphia for several weeks. The former president’s daughter, Ashley Biden, hailed the milestone in a post on social media. ‘Rung the bell! Thank you to the incredible doctors, nurses, and ...
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is preparing to unveil a major “blitz on business bureaucracy” that the Treasury claims will save companies up to £6bn a year, as Labour seeks to reassure businesses ahead of a potentially tax-raising Budget next month. Addressing more than 350 executives, regional mayors and global investors at the government’s first regional investment summit in Birmingham, Reeves will ...
Waymo, the autonomous vehicle company backed by Google’s parent firm Alphabet, has confirmed plans to roll out its self-driving ride-hailing service in London in 2026, marking a major step forward in the UK’s adoption of autonomous transport. Already operating fully driverless services in US cities including Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Francisco, Waymo will work with fleet partner Moove to ...
A Welsh steel engineering company has secured a £1.1 million international contract to support Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction, providing a significant boost to the UK’s export manufacturing sector. Pontypool-based Pro Steel Engineering has been awarded the deal by construction giant ONUR Group to manufacture 200 tonnes of steel girders for a bridge near Kyiv that was destroyed during the war with ...
Labour is facing calls to rethink its manifesto pledge to abolish lower minimum wage rates for young workers amid warnings that nearly one million 16- to 24-year-olds are now out of education, employment or training. A new report from the Resolution Foundation shows that the number of so-called “Neets” has surged by 195,000 in the past two years, reaching 940,000 ...
The top 1% of UK taxpayers contributed a third of all income tax and capital gains tax (CGT) collected in the last financial year, according to new HMRC data that highlights the growing reliance on a small pool of high earners to support the public finances. A Freedom of Information (FOI) request by investment service Wealth Club found that the ...
Customer expectations are higher than ever. Customers demand immediate responses, 24/7 availability, and personalized interactions. As a result, businesses are turning to AI chat tools to meet these demands efficiently. AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants are revolutionizing customer support by automating responses, handling repetitive tasks, and providing consistent, high-quality service. Handling Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) One of the most common ...