20 h. ago UK lenders approved most mortgages for 6 months in July, says BoE

Data points to continued recovery in property transactions

Politics

3 d. ago Interactive map reveals huge variation in MMR vaccine uptake across London

The vaccination rate is as low as 60.8% in one east London borough

Politics

5 d. ago Lego sales rise as parents steer children to activities away from smartphones

Record lift for Danish firm comes as sales for UK-based Yoto, creator of screen-free speakers for children, almost doubleLego said it could be benefiting from parents’ desire to keep children – and themselves – away from smartphones as sales rose 12%, helped by strong sales of its Botanicals and Formula One grand prix-themed sets.The Danish toy company said sales increased to a record 34.6bn Danish kroner (£4bn) in the first half of the year, rising well ahead of the recovering global toy market in which sales rose 7%. Continue reading...

Society

5 d. ago Lego builds record sales of £4bn as parents steer children away from smartphones

Danish toymaker’s first-half profits also rise, and sales almost double at UK-based Yoto, creator of screen-free speakers for childrenLego said it could be benefiting from parents’ desire to keep children – and themselves – away from smartphones as sales rose 12%, helped by strong sales of its Botanicals and Formula One grand prix-themed sets.The Danish toy company said sales increased to a record 34.6bn Danish kroner (£4bn) in the first half of the year, rising well ahead of the recovering global toy market in which sales rose 7%. Continue reading...

Economics

6 d. ago Victoria Beckham brand gets £6.2m loan from stars and backer as its losses grow

Fashion empire’s sales top £100m for first time as eyeliner sells strongly, but group remains in the redDavid and Victoria Beckham and private equity firm Neo have pumped a further £6.2m into the former Spice Girl’s fashion empire this year as losses widened to almost £5m despite a surge in sales last year.Sales rose 26.5% to £112.7m in 2024, the brand’s fourth consecutive year of growth, helped by strong sales online and at Victoria Beckham’s London flagship store, as well as a 24% leap in online sales of cosmetics including a new concealer pen and eyeliner. Continue reading...

Economics

6 d. ago Victoria Beckham brand gets £6.2m loan from stars and backer as losses grow

Sales surge to £112m at fashion business on strong growth online, including new cosmetics products David and Victoria Beckham and the private equity firm Neo have pumped a further £6.2m into the former Spice Girl’s fashion empire this year as losses widened to almost £5m despite a surge in sales last year.Sales rose 26.5% to £112.7m in 2024, the brand’s fourth consecutive year of growth, helped by strong sales online and at Victoria Beckham’s London flagship store, as well as a 24% leap in online sales of cosmetics, including a new concealer pen and eyeliner. Continue reading...

Economics

8 d. ago Almost all short prison sentences to be scrapped in bid to solve UK jails crisis

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood is planning extreme changes to the justice system in a bid to try and ease the overcrowding in prisons and slash reoffending rates

Events

1 week ago B&Q shoppers can get a garden plant named after Princess of Wales from September

September sales of Catherine's Rose come just over a year after the Princess announced her cancer diagnosis

Politics

1 week ago US home sales rose in July as mortgage rates eased a bit and home prices grew more slowly

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes rose in July as homebuyers were encouraged by a modest pullback in mortgage rates, slowing home price growth and more properties on the market

Economics

1 week ago London and South East see largest regional drops in GCSE pass rate

Only one region saw a clear year on year increase in entries receiving a grade 4 or above.

Politics

2 w. ago ‘I was completely dehumanised by my father’: how Kate Price uncovered the horrifying truths of her childhood

She was sexually abused by her father until she was about 12 – and he would also sell her to other men. Then she grew up and began researching child sex trafficking, slowly piecing together clues about her own lifeKate Price is now an academic, but it was at six that she conducted her first piece of research, leaning into the cab of her father’s truck and pressing the side button of his CB radio, the black plastic hot from the sun. She spoke the name she’d heard into it, “Chicken Plucker”, and a man’s voice replied. It was her first proof that the name she’d somehow associated with being taken from her bed in the middle of the night was attached to a real person, and that perhaps he would have answers. Then her father caught her and she was too terrified to try to contact him again.Five decades on, Price has written This Happened To Me, a memoir that reads, in part, like a detective story, piecing together clues to create a picture of the horror that had been done to her as a child,...

Politics

2 w. ago I'm shocked by the sneaky trick the banks are pulling... you must act NOW to rescue your hard

Savings providers were quick off the mark to cut interest rates following last week's Bank of England base rate cut from 4.25pc to 4pc. Within hours of the announcement, top rates disappeared.

Events

3 w. ago Rents on newly let homes ‘pause for breath after five years of relentless rises’

Rents on new lets have dipped for the first time since 2020, as falling mortgage rates ease pressures, Hamptons said.

Society

3 w. ago Interest rates cut to 4% but Rachel Reeves’ hopes of easing cost

The reduction is the fifth over the past year and brings borrowing costs down to their lowest since March 2023

Politics

3 w. ago House prices see biggest monthly rise this YEAR as banks offer cheaper and bigger mortgages

According to Halifax, property prices went up in the month of July as mortgages got more affordable.

Economics

3 w. ago Ryanair and EasyJet hand luggage bags on sale at Amazon from just £18.99

Amazon has dropped the price of two top-rated cabin backpacks that fit Ryanair and EasyJet size limits – perfect for your August holiday getaway.

Economics

3 w. ago Amazon undercuts Shark on 'top rated' vacuum cleaner that 'makes cleaning easy'

Amazon has highlighted the Shark Stick Vacuum Cleaner as 'number one top-rated' and shoppers say it 'outdoes' their Dyson

Politics

4 w. ago 'Lightweight' Shark cordless vacuum that will leave users 'amazed' slashed by £200

The top-rated vacuum tackles dirt and pet hair with ease and is currently 44 per cent off.

Economics

4 w. ago Sale offers £75 off Antler cabin bag that 'fits Ryanair luggage restrictions perfectly'

Antler's 4.9 out of 5-star rated cabin bag that meets Ryanair, EasyJet and Jet2 luggage restrictions is currently part of the brand's huge summer sale with a whopping £75 discount

Economics