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Long-term government borrowing costs have risen to a 28-year high, putting further pressure on Prime Minister Andy Burnham ahead of his first Budget next month. The yield on a 30-year gilt — a loan to the British government — rose to 5.89%, the highest since 1998.The effective cost of borrowing for governments across the globe has continued to rise this morning with new multi-decade highs in market interest rates.The moves reflect concerns about inflation arising from the ongoing Iran war, competition from major tech firms for long-term borrowing, and concerns about state borrowing levels.All of those factors will make the…

Swedish furniture giant Ikea is cutting prices across a range of popular products in Europe, including the Billy bookcase and Kallax storage units, to woo cash-strapped customers.Ikea has seen revenue decline over the past two years as the rising cost of living reduces people’s ability to invest in new furniture and home renovations.The company is spending €1.2bn (£1bn) on the price cuts, which represent reductions of up to 28% on certain products.Ikea said it could make the cuts by making savings throughout the supply chain, such as packaging costs.Ingka, the franchisee which operates most of Ikea’s European stores, said the…

“Sometimes it can be helpful, but it also needs to come with changes to the context that’s causing the distress,” said Davies.”For many people rest is necessary, but it’s not always enough. If you go back to work and your attitude to work is the same, then you’re going to have the same result, so something needs to change,” added Williams.Jo ended up leaving her career after she realised it was not sustainable. She was diagnosed with anxiety and depression.”I’ve learnt the hard way that rest doesn’t fix burnout, and it certainly didn’t fix the breakdown for me. Actually changing…

That included tackling what Beckham admitted was “mindblowing” waste, including “flying chairs from one side of the world to another” and spending what NEO’s David Belhassen said was “70,000 a year” on office plants.In a statement on Monday, Belhassen, who is chairman of Victoria Beckham Holdings, said: “With two complementary growth engines in fashion and beauty, an increasingly international customer base and a focused operating model, the business is powerfully positioned for its next phase of profitable growth.”CEO Sybille Darricarrère Lunel said: “Achieving our first operating profit is a landmark moment for Victoria Beckham and reflects several years of disciplined…

It will not, however, be used to offset any potential future increase to council tax.”At this time, we think it’s better value for the taxpayer to take that £20m underspend and invest it into the services that they want to see improvement in,” Radford said.The council effectively declared itself bankrupt in 2023 but has recently shown signs of recovery.Commissioners appointed to help run the authority in 2024 left earlier this year and were replaced with “ministerial envoys”, who have fewer powers.Radford said an underspend was “quite rare” but was evidence of the council’s improving financial position.Kirsty L Jones, leader of…

A Scarborough bed and breakfast owner has said businesses like his will face an “uneven playing field” if a so-called tourist tax is introduced in North Yorkshire but not in neighbouring East Yorkshire.A consultation on plans for a visitor levy closed in February and legislation is expected to be brought forward later this year.James Rusden, who runs Scarborough’s Toulson Court B&B, said if the levy was not England-wide, cost-of-living pressures would mean some visitors would instead go where no tourist tax was being charged.A government spokesperson said: “We’re listening to businesses in Yorkshire and across the country on this so…

Since the end of June until 1 September, VAT was reduced on children’s meals served in restaurants, as well as kids’ and family tickets for cinemas, shows, exhibitions and outdoor venues and activities.Tara Stapley, the general manager of the Big Sheep Farm and Theme Park in Bideford in north Devon, said: “Numbers have increased slightly and I think that is partly down to the summer savings scheme.”The business reduced ticket prices and added more children’s meals to the menu.Stapley said there were “lots of people calling and asking about it”.She said: “People coming have been quite pleasantly surprised by our…

Care Zone is one of several organisations part of the council’s crisis resilience fund, a network helping people with food parcels, advice and other services.Its volunteers clean and repair donated furniture and other household goods, giving out more than 3,500 larger items last year and 425 smaller items, such as saucepans and tin openers.Of the 1,900 people who used Care Zone last year, about 845 were children.This year the warehouse is piled high with brand new mattresses ready for families in need.”We see families that have basically been in temporary accommodation,” said Wilcox.”There might be a family of five in…

The first minister said he had been “appalled” by the number of cases involving violence against women and girls over the summer months.”This has been a long-running issue within Scottish society,” he said.”The government has taken many measures to tackle this, but I think events over the summer have said to me that I’ve got to exercise the strongest possible personal leadership as first minister to make sure that we tackle these issues.”He said violence against women and girls could not be tolerated “in any way, shape or form in our society” and added that “making sure that we change…

At the same time, Japan’s traditional markets for expansion have become increasingly less attractive, he says.”Investment into China has fallen sharply amid geopolitical tensions and changing economic dynamics, the US market is more challenging because of tariffs and domestic competition, and the market size of other Southeast Asian economies is limited.”Against this backdrop, India has become a natural target market for Japanese companies to drive long-term business growth.Economic ties between the countries gathered pace at a government-to-government level when they signed an agreement to liberalise trade nearly a decade-and-a-half ago.After Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, he…