FTSE 100 closes at record high | Money News Aitrend

FTSE 100 closes at record high | Money News

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The UK’s benchmark stock index has hit a new record high. The FTSE 100 index of the most valuable companies on the London Stock Exchange closed at 8,505.69, breaking the record set last May. It had already surpassed its intraday high earlier on Friday, meaning it reached a never-before-seen high during trading hours. The weakening … Read more

Surprise fall in retail sales in December, ONS figures show | Money News Aitrend

Surprise fall in retail sales in December, ONS figures show | Money News

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There was a surprise contraction in retail sales in December, although this month is key for many retailers due to Christmas shopping, according to official figures. Retail sales fell by 0.3% last month, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). No decline was expected, including a drop of 0.3%. Economists forecast sales growth of … Read more

FCA considers increase in contactless limit after PM’s decree to watchdogs | Money News Aitrend

FCA considers increase in contactless limit after PM’s decree to watchdogs | Money News

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City watchdog considers formal proposal to increase Britain’s £100 contactless spending limit as part of response to prime minister’s order for regulators to remove barriers to economic growth. Sky News has learned that the Financial Conduct Authority’s response to a Christmas Eve letter from Sir Keir Starmer, Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds … Read more

Passengers on trains without tickets should receive ‘yellow cards’ instead of fines, watchdog says | Money News Aitrend

Passengers on trains without tickets should receive ‘yellow cards’ instead of fines, watchdog says | Money News

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Train passengers stopped without a ticket should receive a ‘yellow card’ warning instead of a fine for a first offence, a watchdog has said. Transport Focus has urged all UK operators to introduce the system to “make things fairer for everyone”. The suggestion comes after media reports highlighted a number of cases in which passengers … Read more

The British economy is on the verge of returning to growth after two months of contraction | Money News Aitrend

The British economy is on the verge of returning to growth after two months of contraction | Money News

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The British economy almost returned to growth in November after two months of contraction, according to the latest official figures. Gross domestic product (GDP), the standard measure of the value of an economy and everything it produces, increased by 0.1%, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. Growth of 0.2% was forecast. Money … Read more

Former Chancellor Zahawi joins Ador diagnostics group | Money News Aitrend

Former Chancellor Zahawi joins Ador diagnostics group | Money News

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Nadhim Zahawi, the former chancellor, is joining an Israeli medical diagnostics group that is trying to transform the way infectious diseases are detected and managed. Sky News understands that Mr. Zahawiwho has amassed a portfolio of roles since leaving frontline politics, will be named chairman of the Ador Diagnostics advisory board on Thursday. His appointment … Read more

World’s largest advertising company WPP faces staff backlash following four-day mandate | Money News Aitrend

World’s largest advertising company WPP faces staff backlash following four-day mandate | Money News

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Thousands of people have signed a petition asking the world’s largest advertising agency, WPP, to repeal a new rule requiring employees to come into the office four days a week. Mark Read, the chief executive of the group which employs 111,000 people worldwide, wrote in a January 7 memo: “From the beginning of April this … Read more

Inflation falls slightly after two months of increase | Money News Aitrend

Inflation falls slightly after two months of increase | Money News

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Inflation unexpectedly fell to 2.5% after two months of rising, according to official figures. This means prices are still rising, but at a slower rate than before, according to December data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Economists expected this figure to remain at 2.6%, the level recorded in November. Inflation is still above … Read more

TikTok reacts to Musk ownership report to prevent US ban | Money News Aitrend

TikTok reacts to Musk ownership report to prevent US ban | Money News

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TikTok has dismissed a report that it could sell its threatened US operations to Elon Musk as “pure fiction”. The Chinese owners of the short video platform, ByteDance, face the prospect of a TikTok be closed permanently in America on Sunday. It was then that a US government banfor reasons of national security, should come … Read more

FSB urges watchdogs to heed Starmer’s growth decree | Money News Aitrend

FSB urges watchdogs to heed Starmer’s growth decree | Money News

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Britain’s leading small business group has appealed to economic watchdogs to heed Sir Keir Starmer’s executive order to remove regulatory barriers to growth with a new list of reform demands. Sky News has obtained a letter from the FSB to more than half a dozen regulators, including Ofgem and the Financial Conduct Authority, in which … Read more