Economics

Published: 17 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online British fashion and homeware retailer Next has raised its full-year profit forecast for the fourth time this year after stronger-than-expected sales during the first half, with unusually warm weather helping drive demand for summer clothing. The FTSE 100-listed retailer increased its forecast for full-year pre-tax profit by £12m to £1.26bn after reporting a stronger first-half performance than it...

Published: 16 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Entain, the owner of Ladbrokes, Coral and BetMGM, is preparing to cut around 400 customer-care jobs in the UK, just weeks after the gambling group reported stronger-than-expected financial performance for the first half of 2026. The company has begun a consultation process that could affect roughly one in five of its 2,000 customer-care positions. The proposed reductions come...

Published: 16 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Young people across Britain face sharply different employment prospects depending on where they live, with a new analysis highlighting a sixfold gap in the number of online job vacancies available relative to the local youth population. The research, produced by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), places Rotherham at the bottom of its Local Youth Opportunity Index,...

Published: 16 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online The European Union has opened discussions on a potentially new form of partnership with Canada, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposing that the country become the bloc’s first associate member. The proposal was made during von der Leyen’s annual State of the Union address in Strasbourg on Wednesday, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney attending...

Published: 16 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company behind the Claude AI model, has signed an agreement to use a major proposed data centre project in western Queensland, marking the company’s first major data-centre commitment in Australia. The proposed Western Downs Digital Park, near Dalby in Queensland’s Western Downs region, has an estimated value of about A$31.9 billion and is planned...

Published: 16 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Mayors and other local political leaders could be given greater powers to oversee water companies under proposals being considered by the UK government, potentially giving regional authorities a stronger role in decisions about investment, customer bills and environmental performance. The proposals form part of a wider debate about how the water industry should be governed and regulated, following...

Published: 16 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Mayors and other local leaders could be given greater powers to oversee water companies under proposals being considered by the UK government as part of efforts to increase public control and accountability across the water industry. The plans could allow regional authorities to influence certain company spending decisions and provide greater scrutiny of executives over household bills, infrastructure...

Published: 16 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. Young people across Britain face sharply different prospects when searching for work, with a new analysis showing that the availability of suitable job vacancies varies dramatically between local areas. The research, produced by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), found that Rotherham in South Yorkshire had one of the lowest levels of online job opportunities relative to...

Published: 16 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. UK inflation has climbed back above 3%, adding to the financial pressure facing households and businesses as higher energy and fuel costs feed through the economy. The latest figures arrive at a particularly sensitive moment, with the Bank of England preparing to decide whether to change interest rates and financial markets reacting sharply to rising oil prices and...

Published: 15 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. Economists are urging the UK government to press the Bank of England to slow or temporarily halt its programme of selling government bonds, arguing that the policy is adding to borrowing costs at a time when the Treasury is already facing mounting financial pressure. The issue is set to come under renewed scrutiny this week as the Bank’s...