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☆ 'Mr Bates vs the Post Office' — the TV drama that shook Britain — comes to PBS
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-07 | by ( Chris Johnston | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

"Mr Bates vs the Post Office" had a remarkable impact after airing in Britain and now comes to PBS. Jo Hamilton, who ran the Village Shop and Post Office in South Warnborough, Hampshire, was wrongly convicted of theft in the Post Office Horizon scandal. ITVThe program focused on Alan Bates, who along with his partner invested in a post office store in Wales in 1998. Why did the Post Office — which has been owned by the government since 2012 – continue to prosecute people when there were doubts about the software? Advertisement"Mr Bates vs the Post Office" is being broadcast on PBS weekly from Sunday April 7.

Persons: Mr Bates, —, Rishi Sunak, Seema Misra, Peter Huxham, Martin Griffiths, Julian Wilson, Jo Hamilton, Adrian Dennis, Toby Jones, who's, Harry Potter, Alan Bates, Bates, wasn't, John Beer of, –, Kevin Hollinrake, Gwyneth Hughes, Innocent, Paula Vennells, Vennells, it's, James Strong, we'd, Polly Hill Organizations: PBS, Service, ITV, of, Post, Japan's Fujitsu, Office, Getty, Journalists, Computer, BBC, Post Office, Guardian, Fujitsu, Financial Times, subpostmasters, Channel Locations: Britain, Ellesmere Port, Liverpool, South Warnborough, Hampshire, AFP, Wales, John Beer of Farnham, Surrey

☆ Suicides, jail, and wrongful convictions — but it took the TV drama 'Mr Bates vs the Post Office' to bring them justice
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-13 | by ( Chris Johnston | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Martin Griffiths, 59, jumped in front of a bus in 2013 after being falsely accused of theft at his post office branch in Ellesmere Port, near Liverpool. Jo Hamilton, who ran the Village Shop and Post Office in South Warnborough, Hampshire, was wrongly convicted of theft in the Post Office Horizon scandal. ITVThe program focused on Alan Bates, who along with his partner invested in a post office store in Wales in 1998. Why did the Post Office — which has been owned by the government since 2012 – continue to prosecute people when there were doubts about the software? "Mr Bates vs the Post Office" is available in the UK on ITVX.

Persons: It's, Mr Bates, Rishi Sunak, Seema Misra, Peter Huxham, Martin Griffiths, Julian Wilson, Jo Hamilton, Adrian Dennis, Toby Jones, who's, Harry Potter, Alan Bates, Bates, wasn't, John Beer of, —, –, Kevin Hollinrake, Gwyneth Hughes, Innocent, Paula Vennells, Vennells, it's, James Strong, we'd, Polly Hill Organizations: Service, Business, ITV, Post, of, Japan's Fujitsu, Office, Getty, Journalists, Computer, BBC, Post Office, Guardian, Fujitsu, Financial Times, subpostmasters Locations: Britain, Ellesmere Port, Liverpool, South Warnborough, Hampshire, AFP, Wales, John Beer of Farnham, Surrey

LONDON (AP) — Britain's polar research ship has crossed paths with the largest iceberg in the world — a “lucky” encounter that enabled scientists to collect seawater samples around the colossal berg as it drifts out of Antarctic waters, the British Antarctic Survey said Monday. It began drifting in recent months, and has now moved into the Southern Ocean, helped by wind and ocean currents. Scientists say it is now likely to be swept along into “iceberg alley” — a common route for icebergs to float toward the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia. What we don’t know is what difference particular icebergs, their scale, and their origins can make to that process," she said. The British Antarctic Survey said its findings will help improve understanding of how climate change is affecting the Southern Ocean and the organisms that live there.

Persons: Sir David Attenborough, London —, ”, Andrew Meijers, “, A23a hasn’t, berg, Laura Taylor Organizations: British Antarctic Survey Locations: Antarctica, New York City, London, Weddell, South Georgia, British

LONDON (AP) — Britain's Conservative government will try to win favor with voters by cutting taxes but avoiding worsening inflation in a budget statement Wednesday, coming ahead of a likely national election next year that opinion polls suggest it will lose. Sunak said Monday that his government would “cut tax and reward hard work” but would “avoid doing anything that puts at risk our progress in controlling inflation." Political Cartoons View All 1262 Images“Now that inflation is halved and our growth is stronger — meaning revenues are higher — we can begin the next phase and turn our attention to cutting tax,” he said. The election must be held by January 2025, with speculation focusing on May or sometime next fall. Arguably, cutting personal taxes will make that “journey” more difficult because it would likely raise consumer spending, thereby ratcheting up price pressures.

Persons: —, Rishi Sunak, Sunak, Jeremy Hunt's, ”, “, ” Sunak, Liz Truss, Hunt, There's, hasn't, “ Hunt, Kallum Pickering, Andrew Bailey Organizations: Conservative, Conservative Party, Labour Party, Bank of, Bank of England Locations: Ukraine, Berenberg

LONDON (AP) — Britain's government was too late in taking action against the coronavirus during the first wave of the pandemic in 2020, the U.K.'s chief medical adviser said Tuesday. “With the benefit of hindsight, we went a bit too late on the first wave," Whitty conceded. Whitty, who remains the U.K.'s top medical official, was the latest to give testimony to the independent COVID-19 inquiry. The probe was ordered by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2021 to scrutinize and learn lessons from the U.K.'s response to the pandemic. Whitty became a household name during the pandemic, when he often appeared alongside Johnson and senior officials at daily televised government briefings on COVID-19.

Persons: —, Chris Whitty, Whitty, Keith, “ overreacting, Rather, ” Whitty, Boris Johnson, Johnson, Rishi Sunak Organizations: Treasury Locations: Europe, France, Spain, Italy

LONDON (AP) — Britain's medicines regulator has authorized the world's first gene therapy treatment for sickle cell disease, in a move that could offer relief to thousands of people with the crippling disease in the U.K. The agency approved the treatment for patients with sickle cell disease and thalassemia who are 12 years old and over. Casgevy is currently being reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; the agency is expected to make a decision early next month, before considering another sickle cell gene therapy. Millions of people around the world, including about 100,000 in the U.S., have sickle cell disease. Scientists believe being a carrier of the sickle cell trait helps protect against severe malaria.

Persons: ”, Helen O'Neill Organizations: Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, CRISPR Therapeutics, Helen O'Neill of University College London, Medicines, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: Europe, CRISPR, South Asian, Britain, U.S, Africa, India, Eastern

SINGAPORE (AP) — Britain's Prince William took to the waters in Singapore for a morning of dragon boating Monday, ahead of activities for the annual Earthshot Prize awards aimed at promoting solutions for the planet’s environmental threats. Working in pairs, William and the other 19 paddlers rowed vigorously to the steady beat of a drummer standing in the bow. His boat triumphed in a brief race with another boat captained by British High Commissioner Kara Owen. Dragon boat racing, originating from China, can be traced back nearly 2,000 years before it became a modern international sport in 1976. That inspired the prince and his partners to set a similar goal for finding solutions to environmental problems by 2030.

Persons: — Britain's Prince William, Prince, Wales, William, Kara Owen, Kate, Princess, “, Laura Greenwood, Hannah Waddingham, Sterling K, Brown, Robert Irwin, Oscar, Cate Blanchett, Lana Condor, John F, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Lee Hsien Loong Organizations: SINGAPORE, British Dragons, British High, Royal Foundation, Sterling, Singapore, United, Wildlife Locations: Singapore, Kallang, Wales, Canada, China, British, Asia, London, Boston, Kensington, Southeast Asia

☆ Worried about a slowdown? One asset management firm shares a way to hedge — and names 10 global stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Amala Balakrishner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

They define that form of value as "combined yield, a blend of dividend yield, free cashflow yield and net buyback yield." "Combined yield has been the best performing of the long-short European factors that we track, year-to-date," the analysts said. Stock screen AllianceBernstein performed a screen of "High Combined Yield Stocks" in Europe for the final quarter of the year. Equinor is listed on both the Oslo Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, while BP is traded on the London Stock Exchange and Frankfurt Stock Exchange. BP is also traded on the New York Stock Exchange in the form of American depositary shares.

Persons: it's, AllianceBernstein, France's, Norway's, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Tesco, BP, Oslo Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, London Stock Exchange, Frankfurt Stock Exchange, New York Stock Exchange, Systems, Deutsche Post Locations: Europe, Belgian, British, Swiss

☆ UK opposition Labour announces sweeping economic reforms in promise to 'rebuild Britain'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

LIVERPOOL, England — Britain's main opposition Labour party on Monday vowed to "rebuild Britain" if it wins the 2024 General Election, as Shadow Finance Minister Rachel Reeves announced a host of new economic pledges aimed at stimulating growth. The lifeblood of a growing economy is business investment," Reeves said, further cementing the party's recalibration in recent years as a centrist, pro-business alternative to the ruling Conservatives. Truss and then-Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng opted not to seek an independent appraisal from the OBR, breaking with traditional norms of economic policy. Labour holds around a 20-point lead over the Conservatives across most major polling, with the ruling party damaged by a string of scandals and the fallout from Sunak's predecessor Liz Truss's "mini-budget." In order to catalyze and de-risk business investment, Labour would create a new national wealth fund, Reeves also announced.

Persons: Rachel Reeves, Jeremy Hunt, Reeves, Liz Truss, Kwasi Kwarteng, Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss's Organizations: Labour, Shadow, Conservative Party Locations: LIVERPOOL, England, Britain, Liverpool, France, Germany, America

Tens of thousands of so-called junior doctors walked off the job for the sixth time since last December in an escalation of their increasingly bitter pay dispute with the British government. Consultants are to return to work on Thursday, while junior doctors are to stay out until Saturday. Political Cartoons View All 1169 ImagesIt is the first time in the 75-year history of the NHS that both consultants and junior doctors have walked off at the same time. The British Medical Association, which represents the approximately 75,000 junior doctors, has been asking for a 35% pay increase to return to 2008 levels after inflation is taken into account. The government is offering junior doctors an average increase of 8.8% and consultants 6% plus improvements in their pensions.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Damian Tolan, ” Organizations: —, National Health Service, British Medical Association, stoke Locations: — Britain's, England, Britain, Leeds, Europe, United Kingdom

☆ Ukraine says it can shoot down Ka-52 attack helicopters but Russia needs to be stopped from making new ones
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Ukraine has found recent success in shooting down formidable Russian Ka-52 attack helicopters. His comments come as Ukraine appears to be finding ways to defeat the Ka-52 helicopters, which would mark a notable achievement for Kyiv's forces that have struggled against these assets. A Russian Ka-52 military attack helicopter during practice flights at Chernigovka air base in Russia. But Ukrainian forces have seen recent success in shooting downing the aircraft, indicating an improved air-defense capability among front-line forces. Meanwhile, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed in a Thursday Facebook update that it "intercepted" the two helicopters Yermak referred to in his Telegram commentary.

Persons: Andriy Yermak, Yermak, Sergey Pivovarov, Ukraine's Organizations: Russian, Service, NATO, CNN, REUTERS, Kyiv, Russian Defense Ministry, Ukraine's, Staff of, Armed Forces, Facebook Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Ukrainian, Wall, Silicon, Russia, Donetsk, Asia, Russia’s Rostov, Moscow, North Korea, Iran, France, Bakhmut

☆ Telecoms giant BT Group appoints Allison Kirkby as CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Kirby has previously served as president and CEO of Swedish telecoms provider Telia, with experience at Virgin Media and Denmark's TDC. She has been a member of the BT Group board for the past four years. His legacy includes BT's push to build a national fibre network, offering discounted wholesale fibre pricing to major broadband providers in exchange for shifting customers to the grid. U.K. telecoms regulator Ofcom in May ruled that BT subsidiary Openreach's Equinox 2 wholesale pricing scheme was allowed. "Based on the evidence available to us, we don't consider Openreach's new pricing discounts to be anti-competitive," Ofcom said at the time.

Persons: Allison Kirkby, Philip Jansen, Kirby, Jansen Organizations: BT Group, Telia, Virgin Media, TDC, BT, Ofcom, Openreach's

☆ Britain's richest man says Brexit was 'not good for the UK,' backs PM Sunak's economic plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON — Britain's wealthiest man, Gopichand Hinduja, condemned the U.K.'s departure from the European Union, but threw his backing behind Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's ability to revive the country's ailing economy. "The step taken of Brexit was not good for the U.K.," Hinduja told CNBC's Tanvir Gill in London on Monday. Britain voted to leave the European Union in 2016 and formally exited the bloc at the end of Jan. 2020. None of those partnerships will be more valuable to the U.K. than its forthcoming free trade arrangement (FTA) with India, according to Hinduja. "The biggest help the U.K. can get is from India, because India's economy, by 2027, will be the third largest in the world," he said.

Persons: Gopichand Hinduja, Rishi Sunak's, Brexit, Hinduja, CNBC's Tanvir Gill, — Organizations: U.K, European Union, Hinduja, Trans, Pacific Locations: Britain, London, India

☆ Britain signs deal to join £12 trillion Indo-Pacific trade bloc
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Matt Clinch | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade, Minister for Women and Equalities Kemi Badenoch leaves 10 Downing Street. LONDON — Britain's Kemi Badenoch, the business and trade secretary, formally signed a treaty confirming accession to the vast Indo-Pacific CPTPP bloc, the country's largest post-Brexit trade deal to date. The U.K. would be the first European nation to join the bloc, which the government says would unlock trade to a region with a total GDP of £12 trillion ($15.7 trillion). Badenoch said Sunday that Britain was using its status as an independent trading nation to join an "exciting, growing, forward-looking trade bloc." One in every 100 workers in Britain was employed by a business headquartered in a CPTPP nation, according to the government citing 2019 data.

Persons: Badenoch, Kemi Organizations: State for International Trade, of Trade, Women, Equalities, CPTPP, Trans, Pacific Partnership Locations: Kemi Badenoch, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Australia, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Britain

☆ One of Britain's most progressive newspapers investigated itself and found it was financed by the slave trade
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( Katie Hawkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

They also discovered nine original investors in the newspaper profited from the slavery economy. The Guardian is more than 200 years old and one of Britain's most progressive newspapers. The Guardian — Britain's most prominent progressive newspaper — was founded by men who profited off the transatlantic slavery economy, researchers commissioned by the outlet found. She also found that nine of the outlet's original investors had ties to transatlantic slavery in the early 19th Century, according to her report. Gooptar said a crucial part of her research involved pinpointing the identities of more than 300 enslaved people in both the Sea Islands and Jamaica.

Persons: John Edward Taylor, Cassandra Gooptar, —, Maya Wolfe, Robinson, Gooptar Organizations: Guardian, Morning, New York Times, The Guardian Locations: Jamaica, Manchester

☆ How to trade Deutsche Bank and Barclays quarterly results based on history
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Two of Europe's largest banks — Britain's Barclays and Germany's Deutsche Bank — are set to announce their first-quarter earnings later on Thursday. In such a scenario, CNBC Pro's analysis found that shares, on average, outperformed the FTSE 100 index by 2.7 percentage points on the day. The stock also beat the benchmark by 2.5 percentage points over a week since the results, and 13.9 percentage points a month out. BARC-GB 1Y line Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank shares have more often than not performed poorly compared to the DAX index , according to CNBC Pro's analysis. Deutsche Bank shares were trading at 9.52 euros per share ($11.87) on Wednesday afternoon.

An Activision Blizzard's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare video game is inserted into the Microsoft's Xbox One video game console arranged in Denver, Colorado, on Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022. LONDON — Britain's top competition regulator on Wednesday moved to block Microsoft 's acquisition of video game publisher Activision Blizzard . Microsoft announced its intention to acquire Activision Blizzard in January 2022 for $69 billion, in one of the biggest deals the video game industry has seen to date. Sony , in particular, has voiced concern with Microsoft's Activision purchase. The Japanese gaming giant fears that Microsoft could make Call of Duty exclusive to its Xbox consoles in the long run.

☆ British supermarkets are rationing fruit and vegetables as shortages bite
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON — Britain's biggest supermarkets are limiting purchases of certain fruit and vegetables as supply shortages lead to empty shelves. It said the move was due to poor weather conditions overseas and was working with suppliers to "get things back to normal." The U.K. government has not stated Brexit as a factor, blaming weather conditions. EU member Ireland is also experiencing fruit and vegetable shortages. U.K. Food Minister Mark Spencer said Monday he had spoken to retailers about how they are responding to shortages and asked them to build preparedness for future incidents.

☆ ‘Boring is the new sexy’ as UK's stock index closes above 8,000 for the first time
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

An employee views a FTSE share index board in the atrium of the London Stock Exchange Group Plc's offices in London, U.K., on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020. LONDON — Britain's FTSE 100 index closed above 8,000 points for the first time on Thursday, with one analyst suggesting the reason behind demand for U.K. stocks is that "boring is the new sexy." Despite the U.K. facing the weakest economic growth outlook among all of the world's major economies, including Russia, the country's blue chip index hit record highs this week and closed at 8,012.53 on Thursday. The U.K.'s annual headline inflation dipped for a third straight month in January to 10.1%, though it remains well above the Bank of England's 2% target while the labor market remains unusually tight. Euro zone headline inflation also fell for a third consecutive month to 8.5% in January, coming back to earth at a slightly faster rate than in the U.K.

☆ Analysts love these stocks that are flush with cash — giving one over 75% upside
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

"We prefer companies generating cash rather than those that need capital to grow. The higher the free cash flow yield, the better a company's position to meet its debt obligations. A company with a high free cash flow is also able to access cash more quickly in the event of an emergency or opportunity. Using FactSet data, CNBC Pro screened for stocks that boast lots of cash and could be well positioned for a rocky year. U.S.-listed Chesapeake Energy Corporation was the only energy stock to appear on the screen, with its free cash flow yield at nearly 14%.

☆ Police fine U.K. PM Rishi Sunak for failing to wear a seatbelt in Instagram video
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Leila Sackur | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON — Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was fined by police Friday, for failing to wear a seatbelt whilst filming a clip for social media in a moving vehicle. It is also the second fixed penalty notice Sunak has received in less a year. His lack of seatbelt was quickly spotted by eagle-eyed viewers and Lancashire Constabulary said Friday it was fining Sunak. A spokesperson for Sunak described this as a “a brief error of judgment,” according to Reuters. “Of course it shouldn’t have happened,” Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab told British broadcaster Sky News Saturday.

☆ A historic house, listed as the 'most remote' property in England, is going on sale for around $11.9 million
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A shooting lodge in the Lake District has been listed as the "most remote" property in England. Skiddaw House and its 3,000 acres of land are now on sale for $11.9 million, The Guardian reported. The property is not accessible by car, and the nearest village is around four miles away by foot. Skiddaw House is located in the middle of the Lake District National Park in northwest England. Mitchell's Land Agency does not list an exact price for the house on their website, but The Guardian said the price tag is in the region of £10 million ($11.9 million).

☆ Britain's new PM is almost a billionaire — with a net worth twice that of King Charles
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty have an estimated combined wealth of £730 million ($800 million). Dan Kitwood | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesLONDON — Britain's new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made history as the country's first leader of color and its youngest in recent centuries, taking office aged just 42. He also breaks the record for being the wealthiest-ever occupant of Downing Street — with a fortune estimated to exceed that of King Charles III. A net worth of $844 millionTogether, the couple has an estimated fortune of £730 million ($844 million), according to the Sunday Times Rich List. King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, London, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government.

☆ Sterling dips after Truss resigns, fragile yen weakens past 150 level
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Japanese yen and U.S. dollar banknotes are arranged for a photograph in Tokyo, Japan. The U.S. dollar pushed to a fresh two-decade high versus major peers on Thursday, propelled by the Federal Reserve's hawkish outlook for interest rates. The euro fell 0.15% to $0.97725, after tracking the move in sterling to an overnight high of $0.98455. Meanwhile, the yen last bought 150.20 per dollar, after hitting a fresh 32-year low of 150.29 overnight. U.S. Treasury yields extended their climb overnight, with the two-year Treasury yield hitting a 15-year high of 4.623%, while the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield peaked at 4.243%, its highest level since June 2008.

LONDON — Britain's Queen Elizabeth II died of old age, according to her death certificate released Thursday. The certificate says that Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor died at 3.10 p.m. (10.10 a.m. The queen's death certificate released by the National Records office of Scotland. The queen's death wasn't announced until 6.30 p.m. (1.30 p.m. Queen Elizabeth was succeeded upon her death by her eldest son Charles, 73, the former Prince of Wales who now reigns as King Charles III.

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