Bet365 boss receives at least £280m in pay and dividends despite profit slump
Denise Coates, the billionaire boss of Bet365, a self-described “ultimate gambler” and Britain’s highest-paid woman, took home at least £280m in pay and dividends in 2025 despite a slump in pre-tax profits.Coates’s Stoke-based gambling empire recorded turnover of £4bn in the year to March 2025, up from £3.7bn the year before. Pre-tax profits fell to £349m, from £627m in the previous year.Bet365 incurred a £325m increase in expenses as it reshaped its global footprint, expanding its presence in the US and South America while giving up its sometimes controversial presence in China, where online betting is illegal
US economic growth surges to fastest rate in two years; Tesla’s European sales drop again – as it happened
Newsflash: US economic growth accelerated in the third quarter of this year, to the fastest rate in two years.US real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annualised rate of 4.3% in the July-September period, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis reports, up from 3.8% in April-June.That beats Wall Street forecasts that growth would slow to 3
CDs return to Christmas shopping lists as gen Z embrace ‘retro renaissance’
Forget the vinyl revival. CD players and compact discs are back on Christmas lists this year amid a wave of 90s nostalgia and coveted “deluxe” releases from big acts such as Taylor Swift and Pink Floyd.Demand for compact discs peaked in the mid-00s and many households ditched their systems and libraries as digital music took off. But the distinctive whirr is returning to bedrooms around the country, with retailers and marketplaces experiencing an uptick in appetite for vintage tech and music to play on it.John Lewis has upped its range of CD players to meet resurgent demand and says sales are up 74% in the last year
US economy grew strongly in third quarter, GDP report says
The US economy surged over the summer, the commerce department announced on Tuesday in one of the final snapshots of the nation’s finances to be released in 2025.Gross domestic product (GDP) – a broad measure of the value of goods and services – rose at an annualized rate of 4.3% over the third quarter, far higher than expected and its fastest rate in two years.The surprisingly strong growth “reflected increases in consumer spending, exports, and government spending that were partly offset by a decrease in investment”, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.Economists had been expecting the growth rate to slow to 3
Ryanair fined €256m over ‘abusive strategy’ to limit ticket sales by online travel agencies
Ryanair has been fined €256m (£223m) by Italy’s competition authority for abusing its dominant market position to limit sales of tickets by online travel agents.The authority said Europe’s largest airline had “implemented an abusive strategy to hinder travel agencies” via an “elaborate strategy” of technical obstacles for agents and passengers to make it difficult for online travel agents to sell Ryanair tickets and instead force sales through its own website.The fine related to Ryanair’s conduct between April 2023 and at least until April 2025, the authority said on Tuesday. It said Ryanair had prevented online travel agents from selling tickets on its flights in combination with other airlines and services, weakening competition.Ryanair said it would immediately appeal against the “legally flawed” ruling
Four-day week may be considered a sign of failure, England councils told
The secretary for local government has written to all councils to warn that adopting a four-day week for staff puts them at risk of being declared a failing authority, according to reports.Twenty-five councils have discussed a four-day week policy and one, South Cambridgeshire district council, has already moved to the pattern.While councils are free to set their own policies, the government has the power to take control if an authority is deemed to be failing.In a letter to councils seen by the Daily Telegraph, Steve Reed said that staff doing “part-time work for full-time pay” could be an indicator of “failure”.He said: “The provision the current guidance makes in relation to the four-day week remains in force … I take this issue very seriously, in particular that ‘council staff undertaking part-time work for full-time pay without compelling justification’ would be considered an indicator, among a wide range of factors, of potential failure
Ministers raise inheritance tax threshold for farms after backlash
Deputy leader Lucy Powell says Labour must ‘stick to manifesto’ over EU customs union, in implicit rebuke to Streeting – as it happened
Reform council’s plan to shut eight care homes ‘a betrayal of local people’
Reform plan to cap aid at £1bn would damage UK’s international influence, critics warn
Keir Starmer told closer EU trade ties ‘strategic necessity’ for UK firms
Labour calls to rejoin EU customs union will become harder for Starmer to resist