Author: Laura Robinson
By Calum Muirhead Updated: 09:46 EDT, 29 October 2023 Moody’s latest downgrade of Warrington Council will have been noted by Matt Moulding, the perma-tanned founder of protein shake purveyor THG.The Labour-run authority has debts of £1.8 billion – ten times its annual income.It sought to offset Government-imposed budget cuts by investing in local projects that promised high returns, the biggest being a Manchester business park housing THG’s head office, which is owned by Moulding. Scrutiny: Moody’s latest downgrade of Warrington Council will have been noted by Matt Moulding (pictured)Warrington’s downgrade from the credit agency noted that the council’s ‘large capital…
By Sir Nigel Wilson Published: 19:01 EDT, 28 October 2023 | Updated: 19:06 EDT, 28 October 2023 More than a million people are on the waiting list for homes, yet British houses have millions of unused bedrooms. Too many properties are energy-inefficient and expensive to heat. Too many people have no home, or one that is not adequate for their needs.These are complex problems with no easy solutions.However, one positive step the Chancellor could take is to remove or reduce stamp duty for older people who want to downsize.That, too, would free up housing for younger generations.Moving is expensive and…
By Sam Brookes For Mailonline Published: 11:07 EDT, 28 October 2023 | Updated: 18:58 EDT, 28 October 2023 Advertisement Follow Mail Sport’s live blog for all the latest news and updates as Tyson Fury takes on Francis Ngannou in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia plus updates from the undercard.Round Four: Fury trying to battle backThis has been an unbelievable performance from Ngannou. He is not letting up as he continues to push forwards, but Fury has a better round here.4 – Caught again by the heavy handed Ngannou, Fury was having to clinch at times to keep him at bay. Although he…
Questions have been raised over the £116million black hole in bankrupt Birmingham City Council’s school taxi bills, as a spending chief appeared unable to account for the colossal sum at an audit committee meeting.Council records show the values for all 163 four-year school transport contracts are exactly £64,938.27, around £10.5million in total (plus £1.5m for recently published contracts), around ten times less than the £128million the council paid out from 2020 to July this year, according to MailOnline analysis of invoices data.Responding to questions after a MailOnline investigation revealed the identical contracts, procurement boss Mike Smith said the figure was an average…
By John Abiona Updated: 05:13 EDT, 28 October 2023 Investors piled in on oil stocks and safe-haven assets following US strikes on Iran-linked targets in Syria.Simmering tensions in the Middle East and supply concerns sent the price of Brent Crude up 2.4 per cent to reach more than $90 a barrel.It came as the US carried out air strikes on two weapons and storage facilities in eastern Syria in response to attacks on its own bases by targets linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.Israel has also ramped up its military presence in Gaza ahead of an expected ground invasion against…
It’s surely hard to upstage Madonna, a popstar who has been hell-bent on shocking audiences for decades.But on the opening night of her Celebration Tour in London this month, there were five performers who did steal the limelight from the 65-year-old icon.Two dancers delighted fans with their moves, while one musician accompanied Madonna on the piano and another strummed the guitar, bare-chested and wearing a cowboy hat.This backing group wasn’t, however, a troupe of hired professionals but her children. And, while one associate has rather sourly observed they are ‘more a cult of personality than a family’, there’s no doubting…
The RFU should be looking at the South African and New Zealand coaching boxes on Saturday night with envy but also with an eye on trying to entice one of them as director of rugby. I’ve long advocated for English rugby to employ someone of real stature, gravitas and quality to that role. For me, one of the fundamental reasons why the game in our country is still in such a precarious position is because the RFU lacks exactly that right now. Between Rassie Erasmus, Ian Foster and Joe Schmidt, there are some fascinating contenders. I’m sure all of them would covert the…
By Perkin Amalaraj and Elena Salvoni Published: 03:20 EDT, 27 October 2023 | Updated: 17:12 EDT, 27 October 2023 Advertisement Hamas welcomes UN General Assembly’s call for Gaza truceBoth Hamas and the rival Palestinian Authority welcomed a UN General Assembly resolution Friday calling for a humanitarian truce in Gaza, as Israel increased strikes on the territory over the October 7 attacks.’We demand its immediate application to allow the entry of fuel and humanitarian aid for civilians,’ read a Hamas statement. The Palestinian Authority’s foreign ministry said that as Israel’s campaign ‘reaches a new peak of brutality’, there was ‘a solid…
Bank is reportedly in talks with blue-chip investment fundsShare sale could value the digital bank at more than £3.5bn Monzo has 8.5m customers and launched in 2015By Daniel Fessahaye Updated: 13:36 EDT, 27 October 2023 Monzo is in talks to sell a stake in the business for £300million which would make it the most highly valued digital bank in Britain, despite never turning a profit. The bank is reportedly in talks with a pack of blue-chip investment funds about a share sale expected to value it at more than £3.5billion, according to Sky News.However, talks are yet to conclude and concrete details…
There are fears Italy’s three most powerful mafia groups may have formed a formidable alliance after images emerge of leading figures sharing a meal together. Senior members from the ‘Ndrangheta crime syndicate based in the peninsular region of Calabria, the Camorra of Naples and Cosa Nostra, which is based in Sicily, were allegedly caught on camera sharing a meal of pasta and wine together in a garden in April 2021. The meeting was reportedly one of many that police had under surveillance with prosecutors warning the emergence of a grand crime coalition in the affluent north of Italy.’This is Milan,’ one alleged Camorra mafia don…