2 h. ago Brain health warning over popular drinks in new study by scientists

Consuming high levels could cause your brain to age 1.6 years faster, impacting cognition and memory, with scientists warning that type two diabetics may be the most at risk

Events

7 h. ago The best and worst performing water companies revealed by watchdog

Household complaints to the Consumer Council for Water have surged to a nine-year high

Politics

22 h. ago Dunelm posts higher sales despite ‘volatile’ consumer backdrop

In boss Nick Wilkinson’s final set of results before leaving the firm, he said the business has made ‘good progress’.

Politics

40 h. ago Four hikers on magic mushrooms, one with ‘debilitating high’, rescued in New York

Group of men in 20s found in Catskill Mountains by forest rangers, who later hiked up to retrieve one man’s keysFour hikers who had consumed psychedelic mushrooms – including one experiencing a “debilitating high” – had to be rescued from New York’s Catskill Mountains after they got lost there, according to state authorities.In a news release, forest rangers from the the New York state department of environmental conservation (DEC) said that they were alerted to the situation at about 5pm on 29 August after the receipt of a satellite text. Continue reading...

Events

45 h. ago UK high street: AI supercomputer predicts 9 retailer, shops and stores most at risk of administration in 2025

From rising online competition to shrinking stores, the high street faces fresh pressure in 2025 🏬

Events

4 d. ago Bodycare collapse: Full list of nine Scottish stores among 32 to close immediately

“These remain challenging times for high street retailers as rising costs and reduced consumer spending continue to weigh heavily on trading” – Nick Holloway, administrator

Politics

4 d. ago H&M: UK high street fashion chain shakes up its loyalty scheme

Shoppers face higher spending thresholds as the retailer tweaks its perks 🎁

Politics

5 d. ago The Scottish airport rated highest by passengers according to consumer champions Which?

Scotland’s three busiest airports improve their ratings

Politics

5 d. ago NFL 2025 season predictions: will it be Mahomes, Jackson or Allen in the Super Bowl?

The NFL season kicks off on Thursday night. Which rookies will impress? Will Dallas regret the Micah Parsons trade? And who will win it all?The Micah Parsons revenge tour. Ignore the nonsense coming out of Dallas. Jerry Jones’s claim that Parsons hurt the Cowboys’ run defense is laughable. So is the idea that Parsons’ ego was an issue. NFL history is filled with game-breaking pass-rushers with big egos or, umm, personality quirks. What matters is production, and Parsons is a one-of-a-kind pass-rushing force, capable of detonating the pocket from any alignment. No defender has generated more pressures since Parsons entered the league. With him on the field, the Cowboys had the No 1 defense in the league; when he was off the field, they fell to the second-worst unit in the league. If he needed any extra motivation, the Cowboys booting him on the way out should provide it. OC Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago I called my children awful, boring and stupid. Now as adults they've told me how my 'jokes' impacted them. I feel so ashamed, says SUSANNAH JOWITT

'All parents yell,' SUSANNAH JOWITT'S daughter tells her, 'but this was the first time I remember you saying something so unnecessarily cruel. It was really disturbing.'

Politics

6 d. ago ‘You’re finally dressing your age, David!’ Mitchell and Webb on age, arguments and their big comeback

The TV comedy duo are back this week with their first new sketch show in 15 years, Mitchell and Webb Are Not Helping. Do newer comics think they’re old farts? They tell allDavid Mitchell and Robert Webb are back with their first new sketch show in 15 years. It’s a comedy smorgasbord that is as random as it is funny, and will feel like a glorious throwback for fans of their 00s series That Mitchell and Webb Look. And this time they have brought some friends, with guest appearances on Mitchell and Webb Are Not Helping including Ghosts’ Kiell Smith-Bynoe and podcaster and Taskmaster star Stevie Martin. We caught up with the pair to chat about Gogglebox, The Two Ronnies, Downton Abbey and snooker.A recurring joke in the show is that the younger comedians you feature think you are a couple of old farts. Are sketch shows a young person’s game? Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Macy's quarterly profit and sales fall but it raises guidance with declines limited

Macy’s reported lower profits and sales during the fiscal second quarter as the department store chain grapples with a still cautious consumer and higher costs from President Donald Trump’s tariffs

Economics

6 d. ago Taylor Swift’s Eras tour helps fuel UK consumer spending on live music to record £6.7bn high

Report from Live shows spending £2bn higher than before Covid-19 shutdowns, although grassroots venues are still closing at an increasing rateUK consumer spending on live music events reached a record-breaking total of £6.68bn in 2024, up 9.5% on the previous year, fuelled in part by Taylor Swift’s blockbuster Eras tour.The report from Live (Live music Industry Venues and Entertainment), the recently formed body advocating for the British music industry’s interests before government, signals a full-bodied return from the effects of Covid-19. The figures are 28.2% higher than in 2022, when live music more or less resumed after the pandemic, and more than £2bn more than in 2019, the last fully functioning year for live music prior to the shutdown. Continue reading...

Economics

6 d. ago Energy drinks crackdown sees Prime and Monster banned for under

Around 100,000 children are thought to consume at least one high-caffeine energy drink every day

Politics

1 week ago Households face higher bills for years because of clean energy bid, campaigners warn

Push for net zero energy grid by 2030 risks leaving consumers paying higher bills for longer, says group

Events

2 w. ago August consumer confidence dips in US with jobs, tariffs and high prices driving most unease

Americans’ view of the U.S. economy declined modestly in August as anxiety over a weakening job market grew for the eighth straight month

Economics

2 w. ago North Lanarkshire Council’s Trading Standards Service gets Enforcement Order against Coatbridge firm and company director

Order is against SPM Roofing and Rendering Limited and company director Sean Paul McFarlane and follows a high number of consumer complaints.

Economics

2 w. ago The Guardian view on the carnivore diet: red meat for influencers, but bad news for health | Editorial

A fad for consuming high-protein, high-fat food, while avoiding vegetables, has taken off online. Followers are doing themselves no favoursOnce, it seemed that much of the world was intent on drastically cutting back on meat for health and environmental reasons. Vegetarian and vegan options appeared on restaurant menus and the very idea of a bloody red steak became almost unthinkable in liberal circles. And yet the carnivore diet is now all over Instagram and TikTok, prompting health bodies to start issuing warnings.Followers of this diet eat meat, fat, seafood, eggs and butter, avoiding all vegetables, fruits, grains and legumes as if plants were, as Paul Saladino, an advocate of this diet alleged, “poison”. Dr Saladino is a US psychiatrist and health influencer with a range of supplements called Heart and Soil that contain dried animal organ meat. He appears shirtless on social media, denouncing vegetables, which he says will harm us. Other Instagrammers tuck into plates of huge s...

Events

2 w. ago Consumer confidence reaches highest point of year despite ‘clouds on horizon’

GfK’s Consumer Confidence Index increased by two points to minus 17 in August, likely because of the latest cut to interest rates.

Politics

2 w. ago Xbox Game Pass delivers Persona 4 Golden in second August update stacked with day one releases

A new Xbox Game Pass update has been revealed and it's bringing with it a slew of new games to check out, including a couple of Gamescom highlights

Sport