Business & Economy

Published: 06 October 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. British events company Informa has agreed to buy rival events organiser Clarion from private equity giant Blackstone in a deal valued at £2.24bn, bringing a wide range of major trade exhibitions, defence fairs, entertainment conventions and specialist gatherings under the FTSE 100 group's expanding global portfolio. The acquisition represents a significant expansion for Informa, which is seeking to...

Published: 06 October 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Scotland’s remote island communities are facing an intensifying cost-of-living squeeze as diesel prices climb to some of the highest levels in the United Kingdom, leaving residents with little choice but to absorb sharply rising transport costs in places where driving is often essential for work, healthcare, shopping and everyday life. While fuel prices have risen across Britain, people...

Published: 05 October 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. BT has agreed to acquire broadband provider TalkTalk and its wholesale division PlatformX Communications in a £400 million rescue deal designed to prevent the company from collapsing and protect around 900 jobs. The agreement will see BT purchase the businesses on a debt-free basis after TalkTalk entered administration, adding approximately 1.5 million retail broadband customers to BT’s already...

Published: 05 October 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. The United Kingdom is considering whether to introduce tariffs on Chinese-made cars as it seeks closer alignment with the European Union and attempts to secure a place in new European legislation aimed at protecting domestic manufacturing, according to reports. The potential policy shift could have significant consequences for Britain’s automotive sector, its relationship with China and the wider...

Published: 05 October 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Spain is heading for an early general election after Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced a snap vote following the defeat of his government’s emergency housing measures in parliament. The election will take place on 29 November, giving voters an opportunity to decide the country’s political direction at a time of growing anger over rents, evictions and the rising...

Published: 05 October 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Apple’s latest premium smartphone arrives with a familiar appearance but introduces several important improvements beneath the surface, making the iPhone 18 Pro a more capable device without fundamentally changing the experience established by last year’s model. The new handset focuses on the areas that matter most in everyday smartphone use: battery endurance, processing power, photography, artificial intelligence and...

Published: 05 October 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. Britain is facing growing risks to its food supply but lacks a comprehensive national plan for feeding the population during a major crisis, according to a warning from more than 150 academics, business leaders, community organisations and food-sector experts. The experts have urged the government to treat food security as a matter of national security, warning that climate...

Published: 05 October 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. A looming strike by more than 160 offshore oil workers in the North Sea could severely disrupt UK fuel supplies, according to the Unite union, which says industrial action has become unavoidable after pay negotiations with the US-based oil company Apache broke down. The potential dispute comes at an especially sensitive time for British consumers. Fuel prices have...

Published: 03 October 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online The Green Party has called for the immediate return of Thames Water and South East Water to public ownership, with deputy leader Rachel Millward saying the companies should be taken over before Christmas and without compensation for shareholders or creditors. Millward made the proposal during the Green Party's autumn conference in Brighton on Saturday, placing water ownership and...

Published: 03 October 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Concerns are growing in the UK over the potential impact of online prediction markets after thousands of dollars were placed on contracts asking whether major banks, including HSBC and Lloyds, could fail before the end of 2026. The activity has prompted calls for British authorities to examine how prediction platforms operate when their markets involve events that could...