Business

The Birmingham bins dispute is deadlocked one year after Unite members began strike action on January 6 last year; the council is proceeding with waste-service reforms while Unite says the changes will cut pay and agency staff have also staged walkouts.

A school bus on the A28 at Chilmington Green, Ashford, left the road shortly after 08:00 GMT after reportedly slipping on black ice; officers and paramedics helped passengers from the vehicle and no-one was injured.

Adem Savas, described by authorities as Britain's most wanted man for supplying small boats and outboard engines used in English Channel crossings, has been convicted in Belgium and sentenced to 11 years in prison.

S&P Global’s UK construction PMI was 40.1 in December, signaling a twelfth consecutive month of contraction and the deepest housebuilding slump since early Covid; civil engineering remained the weakest category while some firms noted cautious optimism linked to infrastructure spending.

A judge ordered Aimee Bock to forfeit a Porsche, jewelry, designer bags and more than $3.6 million tied to her nonprofit; she was convicted in March on federal fraud and bribery charges and is jailed awaiting sentence.

Donald Trump said Venezuela would hand over about $2bn in crude to the United States; Venezuelan government officials and state oil company PDVSA did not provide comment, the article reports.

At a press conference President Trump emphasised Venezuelan oil and said it had been "stolen"; legal experts say the US has no clear legal claim to Venezuela's reserves.

Shares in Topps Tiles rose about 3.7% after a trading update that reported record 2025 revenues and rising online sales, which made up 19.7% of group revenue in the quarter.

Citizens reiterated a Market Outperform rating on Compass Therapeutics after the company reported pipeline progress and top-line tovecimig monotherapy results in metastatic colorectal cancer.

India's civil aviation authority has asked IndiGo, Air India, Air India Express, SpiceJet and Akasa to provide average fares for routes between Dec. 1–15 as the competition regulator investigates disruptions linked to IndiGo in December.

IKEA will close seven stores in China from Feb. 2 and said it will move from scale expansion to a more selective approach, planning over ten small stores in the next two years with new openings expected in Dongguan and Beijing in the first half of 2026.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said Valero will import gasoline into Northern California after the Benicia refinery shuts in April 2026, using existing inventories and imports, and that Valero's Wilmington operations remain unchanged.

A worker at Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority reported losing a work smartphone with confidential data while passing through security at Shanghai airport in November; the NRA has notified Japan's Personal Information Protection Commission and warned staff against taking work phones abroad.

The Pound to Euro rate traded around 1.1547 after the pound refreshed a three-month high while the euro weakened amid renewed US comments on Greenland and lower-than-expected Eurozone PMI revisions.

Network Rail has scheduled weekend engineering works on the Brighton Main Line for 17–18 and 24–25 January, and said buses will replace trains on several sections during those dates.

A Channel 4 episode features the search of an Essex landfill for the body of Cumali Turhan, who was killed in Chelmsford in November 2024. Detectives are still seeking a man who left via Stansted and flew to Turkey on the day he was reported missing.

Reuters reports Chevron and private equity firm Quantum Energy Partners are teaming up to bid for Lukoil's international assets, which the Financial Times values at $22 billion.

The Palisades and Eaton fires on Jan. 7, 2025 were reported to have killed 31 people and destroyed about 13,000 homes and other properties; fewer than a dozen homes have been rebuilt and Los Angeles County has opened a civil investigation into State Farm's practices.

Turkey's car and light commercial vehicle market reached a record 1.37 million units in 2025, and fully electric car sales rose about 90% to roughly 190,000 units, taking about 17% of the passenger car market.

Japan's government has pledged a crackdown on undocumented workers as many Vietnamese technical interns — reported to be just under half of about 450,000 trainees — face visa overstays and difficult conditions.

Thyssenkrupp is exploring a phased sale of its steel division TKSE to Jindal Steel International, with Jindal carrying out due diligence since October and a technical visit to Germany planned for January.

Chip stocks surged on renewed AI optimism and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record high; Moderna also rallied, according to a report by Lisa Bernhard.

China generates far more electricity than the United States and industrial power costs are lower, but Reuters reports that transmission bottlenecks, underused data centres and limits on high-end chips mean the power advantage has not yet produced clear AI leadership.

Bayer filed patent lawsuits against Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna alleging use of Monsanto-developed mRNA stability technology, and brought a separate suit against Johnson & Johnson.

A Daily Mail probe reported that up to one in 15 cars may carry 'ghost' number plates, and the government has announced plans including tougher MOT checks, stronger DVLA supplier checks and consultations on penalty points and vehicle seizure.

The article reports the U.S. capture and arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and notes Venezuela's reported oil reserves of about 300 billion barrels, a focal point in discussion about the petrodollar.

NS&I reduced rates on several fixed-rate bonds, with the one-year Guaranteed Income Bond down to 4.00% and the one-year Guaranteed Growth Bond at 4.07%. Other providers have also trimmed rates and a few one-year deals still pay above 4%.

Lawyers for Pamela Smart filed habeas corpus petitions in New York and New Hampshire seeking to overturn her conviction in her husband’s 1990 death; state officials say her trial was fair and the convictions were upheld on appeal. Undetermined at this time.

LSEG data shows Goldman Sachs advised on $1.48 trillion of deals in 2025 and topped M&A fee revenue, while 68 transactions of $10 billion or more helped make 2025 a strong year for mega deals.

Petrobras said a leak in two auxiliary lines halted drilling in the Foz do Amazonas Basin; the company reported the fluid was contained, is biodegradable, and the lines will be recovered for evaluation and repair. No timeline was provided for when drilling will resume.