All news by author: Lawrence Matheson

634
British Gas owner Centrica sees profits fall as crisis costs are clawed back
The business was one of several energy suppliers which regulator Ofgem allowed to recover costs that they had racked up during the crisis
1116
Airbnb reports $349m (£278m) loss in Q4, but bookings and revenue increase
Airbnb said it's improving its business by making pricing more transparent, controlling high cleaning fees, and reducing cancellations by hosts
674
Bloomsbury Publishing sees sales surge thanks to 'BookTok' and fantasy fiction
Bloomsbury Publishing has seen a surge in sales thanks to the 'BookTok' trend and the popularity of fantasy fiction, with author Sarah J Maas leading the way
1246
HMRC issues new warning about fraudsters offering bogus tax rebate offers
People who completed their tax return for the 2022-23 tax year by the January 31 deadline may be taken in by an email, phone call or text message offering a bogus tax rebate
763
Sunak says 'economy has turned the corner' as he meets with business leaders
The Prime Minister convened the first meeting of his 2024 Business Council in Downing Street on Wednesday morning
805
House prices fall £4k, but dip 'marginal' compared to £285k typical cost of home
The typical house price in December 2023 was £285,000, marking a 1.4% decline over 12 months, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said
1042
Virgin Money agrees to buy Abrdn's £20m stake in shared investment platform
The bank launched Virgin Money Investments with Abrdn in 2019
689
Sony's profit soars 13% on growing sales for music, movies and video games
Japanese electronics and entertainment company Sony sees strong sales across diverse business
1130
United Utilities upbeat about financial outlook despite hit from storms
The business said that the exceptionally high rainfall would take a £25 million chunk out of the amount of incentive payments that it will receive for the financial year
640
How the inflation rate is changing for food and drink items in your weekly shop
The average price of coffee rose by just 0.8% in the year to January 2024 compared with a jump of 11.9% in the year to December 2023
1328
Victims being asked to buy gold in new impersonation scam twist, HSBC says
Criminals may also pose as police officers, claiming a fraud has taken place on someone's account
1220
Shoppers who avoid ultra-processed foods may be missing out on healthy options
Over half (55%) of the food and drink items included in the final analysis were ultra-processed, 33% were minimally processed, 10% were classed as processed while 2% were deemed to have "processed culinary ingredients"
686
Housing stock value fell £27bn last year, but it's still worth £8.6tn - Savills
The total value of all homes across the UK stands at £8.678 trillion
615
Shoplifting cost at record high as abuse against staff soars, BRC survey shows
The British Retail Consortium's annual survey found that violence and abuse against shop workers spiked last year with about 1,300 incidents a day
780
Tui shareholders vote to quit London listing in favour of German Stock Exchange
The move deals another heavy blow to London's languishing stock markets
1320
Dunelm shrugs off 'difficult' trading conditions to notch up higher profits
The chain posted a 4.8% rise in pre-tax profits to £123 million for the six months to December 30 after sales lifted 4.5%
1188
The Body Shop: Where did it all go wrong for the pioneering beauty brand?
The announcement threatens the future of the brand in the UK, its more than 200 shops and thousands of workers
1160
Cost of motoring driven up as Government ends double cab pick-up tax break
The change will make double cab pick-ups significantly more expensive to run
1168
Rosey outlook unlikely on Valentine's Day as inflation set to rise again to 4.2%
Economists expect the figures will show that Consumer Prices Index inflation - a measure of the costs that households face - rose from 4.0% in December to 4.2% in January
1225
Judge orders Musk to testify again as part of Twitter purchase investigation
A judge has ordered Elon Musk to testify for a third time as part of the Securities and Exchange Commission's investigation into his $44 billion (£35 billion) purchase of Twitter, now called X
742
More than five million working days lost in 19 months of UK industrial action
The number of working days lost since the current period of strike action began has passed five million, new figures show
1309
Chancellor urged to act as a record 2.8m are off work on long-term sickness
The Office for National Statistics revealed 9.3 million were classed as economically inactive in the jobs market in the final quarter of last year, up 1.3% year-on-year
1275
Yodel rescued at the last-minute by a consortium led by rival operator Shift
The parcel delivery giant, which had been owned by the Barclay family, secured the deal amid reports last week it was lining up potential administrators in case a takeover could not be agreed
1014
Parents who don't pay child support will face new crackdown in six weeks
The Government is set to announce a crackdown on parents who refuse to pay child maintenance, with enforcement times being slashed from six months to six weeks