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Richard Wells and Neil Debenham charged with conspiracy to defraud over collapse of Safe Hands pre-paid schemeTwo men have been charged after a fraud investigation at a pre-paid funeral firm that left tens of thousands of people “out of pocket” when it collapsed.About 46,000 customers lost the money they had saved up to pay for their funeral when Safe Hands went bust in 2022. Continue reading......

Celebrity chef warns UK government's plans for higher business rates from April 'simply will not work'The celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has accused the government of cooking up a kitchen nightmare at restaurants across the country with tax changes that he says will make hospitality businesses “lambs to the slaughter”.Ramsay, whose company operates 34 restaurants in the UK including Bread Street Kitchen, Pétrus and Lucky Cat, said the industry was “facing a bloodbath”. He said restaurants were closing every day as a result of rising business rates, which came on top of higher energy, staffing and ingredient costs and little growth in consumer spending. Continue reading......

Video game publisher to cancel Prince of Persia remake and close studios after several difficult yearsThe video game publisher behind the Assassin's Creed series has cancelled six projects including a remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time as it fights to stay competitive in the global gaming market.Ubisoft announced a sweeping reorganisation and said it would cancel six games, sending its shares to their lowest level in more than a decade on Thursday. Continue reading......

US president alleges JPMorgan stopped offering him banking services in wake of January 6 Capitol riotDonald Trump has reportedly sued JPMorgan Chase and its CEO, Jamie Dimon, for at least $5bn after accusing America's largest bank of “debanking” him.The US president alleged that JPMorgan stopped offering him banking services in the wake of the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. Earlier this month, he claimed it had “incorrectly and inappropriately” discriminated against him. Continue reading......

Gains come after US president says he will not use military force to acquire territory and cites 'framework deal' European markets rose on Thursday after Donald Trump cancelled plans to impose fresh tariffs on eight European countries, in what analysts said was a return of the “Trump Always Chickens Out” (Taco) trade.Germany's Dax and France's Cac were up 1.3%. The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 1.2% and the UK's FTSE 100 rose 0.2%. Continue reading......

Union is demanding better safety standards for workers and passengers after two collisions this week killed 44Spain's largest train drivers' union has called a three-day nationwide strike to demand measures to guarantee the safety of rail workers and passengers after two deadly crashes this week killed at least 44 people, including two drivers.At least 43 people died and dozens more were injured after two trains collided on Sunday near the town of Adamuz, in the Córdoba province in Andalucía. Two days later, a driver was killed and 37 people were injured when a train was derailed by the collapse of a retaining wall near Gelida in Catalonia. Continue reading......

Hundreds of writers, musicians and performers urge licensing deals instead of scraping creative workScarlett Johansson, Cate Blanchett, REM and Jodi Picoult are among hundreds of Hollywood stars, musicians and authors backing a new campaign accusing AI companies of “theft” of their work.The “Stealing Isn't Innovation” drive launched on Thursday with the support of approximately 800 creative professionals and bands. The campaign includes a statement accusing tech firms of using American creators' work to “build AI platforms without authorisation or regard for copyright law”. Continue reading......

Regulator says thousands of UK's most vulnerable households missed rebate for months amid soaring costsOvo Energy will pay a penalty of over £2.7m after failing to pass on government support payments for winter energy bills to thousands of vulnerable customers during the energy cost crisis.The regulator found that Ovo, set up by Tory donor Stephen Fitzpatrick, was almost two years late in passing on the warm home discount (WHD) payments to almost 12,000 customers by the deadline on March 2024. Continue reading......

The president's scramble to win back voter affection after negative polls has led him to spew incoherent proposals“A vote for Trump means your groceries will be cheaper,” Donald Trump promised Americans on the eve of the presidential election. During the US president's first year back in office, however, food prices rose faster than they did during Joe Biden's last.Facing negative poll numbers, Trump is taking a tack that few Republicans have dared contemplate before: spewing out a rain of often incoherent proposals to signal he feels voters' pain, in order to recapture their affection. Continue reading......

As the band prepares to tour, economists say pent-up global demand could reshape how concerts boost city economiesMove over, Taylor Swift. Her Eras tour was the highest grossing in history, sparking an estimated $5bn in direct consumer spending across the US. But now another musical phenomenon is preparing to sweep through North America – and economists expect it will generate tens of billions of dollars in economic activity along the way.K-pop sensation BTS will embark this year on their largest tour yet, spanning 34 regions across five continents, ending a hiatus due to mandatory military service that lasted almost four years. Continue reading......

Trump expected to face tough reception from European leaders in Davos over threat to seize GreenlandBusiness live – latest updatesEurope live – latest updatesCarney emerging as unflinching realist ready to tackle Trump Donald Trump has landed in Switzerland for the Davos global gathering as Nato's secretary general said “thoughtful diplomacy” was the only way to deal with growing transatlantic tensions, remarks that came shortly after the US treasury secretary had dismissed Denmark as an irrelevance.The US president's threats to seize Greenland, a largely self-governing part of Denmark, risk tearing the transatlantic alliance apart, while his promise to impose tariffs on European nations who oppose him could trigger a trade war with the EU. Continue reading......

Retailers report weaker sales over festive period amid 'subdued consumer confidence'The discount retailer B&M cut its profit forecast, while the value books and crafts chain The Works reported a fall in sales, highlighting a difficult Christmas trading period for British stores.B&M's UK sales fell by 0.6% on a like-for-like basis in its third quarter to 27 December, though it said sales improved in December after it reduced prices. Continue reading......

Official figures better than expected after stronger receipts than a year earlierBusiness live – latest updatesThe UK government borrowed less than expected in December, official figures show, after stronger receipts than a year earlier.Public sector net borrowing – the difference between spending and income – was £11.6bn last month, the Office for National Statistics said, compared with £18.7bn in the same month a year earlier. Continue reading......

Rolling coverage of the world economic forum in DavosTrump declaration of Greenland framework deal met with scepticism as doubts persistLarry Fink tells Davos that we are meeting at a moment when Ukrain's resilience is no longer in question.The question before us is how the resilience translates into renewal, and how the international community can support a pathway to lasting peace, Fink adds. Continue reading......

OpenAI, Anthropic, SpaceX and Stripe are rumoured to be among ten of the biggest companies considering IPOsYou've probably heard of “unicorns” – technology startups valued at more than $1bn – but 2026 is shaping up to be the year of the “hectocorn”, with several US and European companies potentially floating on stock markets at valuations over $100bn (£75bn).OpenAI, Anthropic, SpaceX and Stripe are among the big names said to be considering an initial public offering (IPO) this year. Continue reading......

Manual for building design aims to encourage low-carbon construction as alternative to steel and concreteAn airport made of bamboo? A tower reaching 20 metres high? For many years, bamboo has been mostly known as the favourite food of giant pandas, but a group of engineers say it's time we took it seriously as a building material, too.This week the Institution of Structural Engineers called for architects to be “bamboo-ready” as they published a manual for designing permanent buildings made of the material, in an effort to encourage low-carbon construction and position bamboo as a proper alternative to steel and concrete. Continue reading......

Researchers say event described as 'major tipping point' for clean energy in era of destabilised politicsWind and solar overtook fossil fuels in the European Union's power generation last year, a report has found, in a “major tipping point” for clean energy.Turbines spinning in the wind and photovoltaic panels lit up by the sun generated 30% of the EU's electricity in 2025, according to an annual review. Power plants burning coal, oil and gas generated 29%. Continue reading......

US president claims 'framework' of agreement in the works after 'very productive' meeting with Nato secretary generalDonald Trump has walked back his threat to impose sweeping US tariffs on eight European countries, claiming he had agreed “the framework of a future deal” on Greenland.Four days after vowing to introduce steep import duties on a string of US allies over their support for Greenland's continued status as an autonomous Danish territory, the president backed down. Continue reading......

The president's fixation on 'piece of ice' Greenland carries an echo of Vladimir Putin's claims about CrimeaThe good news headline from Donald Trump's trip to Davos was that he seemed to rule out force for now in his urgent quest to acquire Greenland. The bad news: he started talking about Iceland as well.What might have been a big reveal about the next step in Trump's imperial ambitions was more likely a slip, though all speculation about the workings of the presidential brain is by now a guess at best. Continue reading......

The global economic system doesn't even benefit its US and European creators any more – let alone indebted nations or emerging giantsDonald Trump represents everything that the Davos crowd hates – and it is unlikely they are any more well-disposed towards him after being forced to listen to more than an hour of the president's rambling speech today. He is a protectionist, not a free trader. He thinks the climate crisis is a hoax and is suspicious of multilateral organisations. He prefers power plays to dialogue and he doesn't have any time for the “woke” capitalism that Davos has been keen to promote, with its focus on gender equality and ethical investment. The shindig's organisers, the World Economic Forum (WEF), had to agree to sideline those issues in order to secure Trump's appearance.For decades, anti-globalisation protesters have sought to shut down the WEF. Thanks to Trump's threat to take over Greenland, their prayers may soon be answered. In today's world, Davos is an irrelevance ...