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Business · 26 October 2026

Robots Shy Away From Cigar Cases: Walsall’s Leather Guild Sticks to Hand‑Made

Iris Quay, London desk

Ettinger in Walsall turned down a robot, preferring hand‑crafted wallets and cigar cases. Meanwhile, a Welsh town is reviving denim production, and Rolls‑Royce is offering custom pet portraits on its cars – all sig…

Business · 26 October 2026

Future Says No to The Week, Keeps Its Own ‘Future’ Tasting of Loss

Iris Quay, London desk

London‑listed Future, the owner of price‑comparison site Go Compare, has turned down an indicative bid for the current‑affairs magazine The Week. The rebuff underscores that even a struggling media group isn’t wi…

Business · 26 October 2026

Rosebank’s Floating Oil Field Becomes a Political Soap Opera

Iris Quay, London desk

Scotland’s Rosebank floating oil field, still untapped, has turned into a stage for political debate as editor James Cook documents life aboard the rig while its future hangs in the balance.

Finance · 26 October 2026

City Economists Say BoE Won’t Hit 4.75% by Summer – Full‑Point Hike Unlikely

Iris Quay, London desk

City economists warn that the Bank of England is unlikely to raise interest rates by a full percentage point by next summer and could even cut them by the end of 2027, contradicting market forecasts of a 4.75% rate.

Business · 25 October 2026

Phoenix deals: CEOs keep buying back dead firms, only to watch them burn again

Iris Quay, London desk

A Guardian‑commissioned study finds that companies rescued in pre‑pack administrations by their former directors are far less generous to creditors and far more likely to fail again.

Business · 25 October 2026

Labour’s Tax‑Free Treasure Hunt: Four Ways to Fund the Budget Without Raising Income Tax

Iris Quay, London desk

BBC Verify outlines four options Chancellor John Healey could use to raise money for the Budget – tighter spending, selling a public asset, tweaking another tax band and borrowing – all without raising income tax.

Business · 25 October 2026

TG Jones to shut over a third of its post offices by early 2027, creating ‘postal deserts’ on high streets

Iris Quay, London desk

TG Jones, the former WH Smith‑branded chain, will close more than a third of the post offices inside its stores by early 2027, sparking concerns that many high‑streets could become postal deserts.

Business · 24 October 2026

Healey Pledges Hundreds of Millions for a ‘Distinctively British’ AI to Boost National Security

Iris Quay, London desk

Chancellor John Healey announced that the upcoming budget will allocate hundreds of millions of pounds to develop a uniquely British artificial‑intelligence programme aimed at strengthening the UK’s security and pr…

Business · 24 October 2026

Britain’s State Pension: A Modestly Middle‑Of‑The‑Road Retirement Stroll

Iris Quay, London desk

The UK’s state pension sits roughly in the middle of global rankings – better than a handful of Eastern European systems but trailing the generous payouts of many Nordic and Pacific nations.