BP faces calls for new strategy to end period of turbulence

BP will face pressure from shareholders to prove it can leave a turbulent period in the past as it prepares to reveal its full-year results this week.The company is expected to follow industry rivals by reporting weaker annual profits after global oil prices fell for a third consecutive year in 2025, in the steepest decline recorded since the Covid pandemic.City analysts forecast BP profits of about $7.5bn (£5.5bn), down from almost $9bn in 2024, following an expected slump in fourth-quarter earnings after crude prices fell below $60 a barrel for the first time in almost five years

‘It has to be amazing’: Liberty links with Bridgerton as it capitalises on maximalist trend

On a damp Thursday in central London, shoppers have fled the rain to indulge in some Bridgerton-themed escapism at upmarket department store Liberty, which has dedicated its fourth floor to the raunchy period drama.“When customers come to Liberty they want the discovery of new brands or something a bit different,” says Lydia King, Liberty’s new retail managing director.King, who took up the role last month, has just returned from New York, where she has been negotiating with potential new labels before the main fashion week shows.She says Liberty is catering for a “design focused” shopper who comes with “the mindset that they might find something wonderful rather than looking for a logo-ed product. Not being able to find it elsewhere – that point of difference – is the most important thing

Water bosses in England exploiting bonus loophole face crackdown

The government is to close loopholes which allow bosses of failing water companies to continue to receive large bonuses despite a ban passed last year, it can be revealed.Bosses of companies that illegally dumped sewage into England’s rivers and seas and presided over water shortages which left thousands of people in misery have still been paid millions in bonuses despite the ban.The previous environment secretary Steve Reed attempted to ban failing water companies from paying bonuses to chief executives and chief financial officers. However, the legislation passed in the Water (Special Measures) Act last year only referred to “performance-related” bonuses from specific regulated companies.MPs have said the loopholes allowed companies to get around the bonus ban by labelling payments differently or paying bosses through linked companies

Modern Milkman to collect unwanted electronics and toys with deliveries

A UK dairy delivery business is to begin collecting unwanted or broken toys, mobile phones and laptops while dropping off milk, orange juice and butter in its latest attempt to expand.The Modern Milkman was founded by entrepreneur Simon Mellin in Burnley, north-west England, in 2019 and delivers groceries to more than 100,000 households across the UK.The business will now start collecting electronic goods and toys to give to recycling specialist EMR Group, which will repurpose or recycle the items. Consumers pay £2.50 a time for a collection bag

‘We need to accept the cost’: future of British Steel unclear as bills for government build up

British Steel was losing £700,000 a day last year when its Chinese owner announced plans to shut the steelworks at Scunthorpe. After Jingye rejected support to buy raw materials, the UK government stepped in with emergency legislation to take control of the plant.But that was not the end of the crisis. The cost to the government of propping up British Steel is now more than £1.2m a day

UK trade policy: time to stop the secret deals and get systematic

Trade can be a dirty business. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was tolerated as a “special representative for trade and investment” in the noughties despite allegations that he kept convicted gun smugglers for friends, while Peter Mandelson’s ability to schmooze the rich and famous repeatedly overruled concerns about his probity.To close a deal, there are always compromises to be made, and sometimes the terms are unsavoury.Britain is at the forefront of international deal making. It has been a trading nation for as long as it has existed