11+ mon, 3+ week ago (226+ words) London, as we know, is the global epicentre of artistic creativity, and has been since the Fifties tick-tocked into the Sixties, 65 years ago. In this respect we are the most regenerative city in the world, a creative hub that regularly throws up young, energetic talent in all the major creative pursuits, from music to theatre, from art to dance, and from every modern genre fragmentation in worlds as diverse as DJ culture and poetry, AI design and narcotic experimentation. There must be something in the water, as the portents of rebellion are always harnessed here before anywhere else. Gregg Wallace: why I stand with him The London Standard is available for free pick-up across the city from Thursday to Monday Nicholas Cullinan's guide to London: Korean fried chicken, karaoke and The River Caf" David Ellis reviews Mondo Sando: Probably the…...

10+ mon, 2+ week ago (336+ words) Sainsbury's today said grocery sales rose 3.8% in the six weeks to 4 January. Chief executive Simon Roberts said the performance represented seven consecutive quarters of volume performance ahead of the market. He added: "We have won grocery market share for the fifth consecutive Christmas, with more customers choosing Sainsbury's for their big shop." It remains on track for an annual operating profit within the company's guidance range between "1.01 billion and "1.06 billion, representing growth of around 7%. Across the third quarter of the financial year, like-for-like sales rose by 2.8% compared with 4.2% in the previous three months. Argos sales fell 1.4% in the quarter but with a return to growth over the eight weeks covering the peak Christmas and Black Friday period. Sterling stands at $1.227 this morning, having fallen to a one-year low during a turbulent week for UK financial markets. The 10-year gilt yield…...

1+ week, 5+ day ago (649+ words) Britain's competition regulator has opened investigations into eight companies, including leading ticket resellers StubHub and Viagogo , over hard sell online pricing practices. The companies being probed by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) are StubHub, Viagogo, AA Driving School, BSM Driving School, Gold's Gym, Wayfair, Appliances Direct and Marks Electrical. It is the first time the CMA has used new consumer protection powers to launch an investigation into anti-competitive behaviour. The latest crackdown comes after it was revealed reselling tickets for profit is to be outlawed under plans due to be announced by the Government tomorrow. Ministers had been originally considering allowing companies and ordinary consumers to sell on a ticket for up to 30% above the original face value but it is now thought that reselling a ticket at anything more than the original face value will be banned. It…...

2+ mon, 2+ week ago (496+ words) The John Lewis Partnership (JLP) has posted an "88 million loss for the past half-year after being hit by increases to national insurance contributions and packaging taxes. However, the employee-owned group, which runs the John Lewis department store chain and Waitrose grocery business, said it is still "well positioned" to deliver profit growth for the full year. It said pre-tax losses before exceptional items grew to "34 million for the 26 weeks to July 26. However, it saw this grow to an "88 million pre-tax loss after exceptional costs linked to the company's ongoing turnaround programme and non-cash impairments were taken into account. This compared with a "30 million loss a year earlier. JLP said this included a "29 million impact from the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) packaging and higher national insurance payments, after they were introduced in April following last year's autumn Budget. The group also…...

8+ mon, 2+ week ago (418+ words) South Korean singer Wheesung has been found dead at his Seoul home at the age of 43. Authorities discovered the singer, whose real name was Choi Whee-sung, in a state of cardiac arrest, noting that a "significant amount of time" had passed before his body was found. Officials confirmed there were no signs of foul play. His agency, Tajoy Entertainment, announced his passing, stating, "Artist Wheesung has left us," and expressing deep sorrow over his death. According to local reports, emergency responders found Wheesung unconscious in his apartment on Monday night after his mother called for help. He had been set to perform alongside artist KCM at a concert in Daegu this weekend. In his final social media post, the singer shared his excitement for the upcoming event, writing, "Weight loss completed. See you on March 15." Wheesung rose to fame in…...

8+ mon, 2+ week ago (439+ words) Domino's Pizza has said it plans to open more than 50 stores this year as it cheered a return to delivery growth in 2024. The London-listed takeaway pizza chain reported an 8.4% rise in underlying pre-tax profits to "107.3 million on a 52-week comparable basis, with adjusted like-for-like system sales edging up by 0.7% thanks to improved trading over the year. In the final three months, like-for-like sales rose 3%. It saw delivery orders return to growth, up 2.4% over the full year, while collection orders nudged up by 0.5%. The firm opened 54 stores across the UK and Ireland in 2024 and said it plans to expand with over another 50 in 2025. Domino's cautioned over an "uncertain economic environment" but said sales had continued to rise in the first 10 weeks of the new financial year, with system sales up 2.4% and like-for-like sales remaining 0.7% higher. The group added that it remains…...

2+ week, 6+ day ago (606+ words) The Government "only listens to big business, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said as he set out his party's pitch to small business owners. Big businesses "virtually control and own the political arena, Mr Farage said, as he vowed to cut red tape and regulation for business owners who are "literally living in fear about the inspector walking through the door. Speaking at a press event in central London, he told the 300 small and medium-sized business owners joining him that he understood the challenges they face. "We get it. I've been in business, I've run my own businesses, as many of my colleagues have, as thousands of our members have, he said. "Some on the left will tell you "the economy is failing because capitalism is failing'. No. We're not living in capitalism, we're living in an age of global…...

7+ mon, 2+ week ago (539+ words) The main reasons for the fall included lower fuel prices and softer hotel rates The rate of inflation fell to 2.6% in March in a boost to Rachel Reeves. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the headline measure of inflation - the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) fell from 2.8% in February. The Bank of England sets a target of 2%. It is the latest in a run of better than expected economic figures including more robust growth at the start of the year than City doomsters had been pencilling in. The inflation figure was the lowest since the 2.5% recorded in December. The ONS said the main reasons for the fall included lower fuel prices, and softer hotel rates. The average price of petrol fell by 1.6 pence per litre between February and March to stand at 137.5 pence per litre, down from 144.8 pence per litre…...

2+ mon, 7+ hour ago (648+ words) The UK economy grew by an unrevised 0.3% between April and June as official figures confirmed a marked slowdown from the first quarter, but revealed growth was better than first thought throughout much of last year. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed second quarter growth remained unchanged from its earlier estimate, at 0.3%, marking a steep pull-back from 0.7% expansion in the first three months of the year. While data for 2025 so far has been unrevised, the ONS said it revised quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) throughout 2024, though the overall annual growth rate last year remained at 1.1%. The ONS revisions for 2024 mean that growth in the first quarter was revised down from 0.9% to 0.8%, but up from 0.5% to 0.6% for the second quarter, up from zero to 0.2% in the third and up from 0.1% to 0.2% in the final three months. The data also…...

3+ mon, 2+ week ago (406+ words) The number of students accepted on to UK degree courses has risen to a record high year, Ucas figures show. A total of 439,180 applicants have gained a place at university or college " up 3.1% on the same point last year, according to data published by the university admissions service. Ucas said it is the highest number of placed students on results day on record. Overall, 82% of UK 18-year-old applicants awaiting a decision on results day secured their first choice " which was the same proportion as last year. For 18-year-olds in the UK, 255,130 applicants have been accepted onto a university or college course " up 4.7% on last year. The number of international students who have been accepted on to undergraduate courses has risen by 2.9%" from 51,170 last year to 52,640. Accepted applicants from China (12,380) are up 13% compared with last year. Jo Saxton, chief executive of…...