Author: Loveworld UK

The FTSE 100 has registered a new record high – signalling some cheer for UK pension funds as the economy stagnates. London’s premier share index closed Thursday’s session at 7787 points – a rise of 53 on the previous day as utility and retail stocks made some ground.It beat the previous record close of 7778, which was recorded in January before a stock market wobble.Values sank across the world amid fears of a US-inspired trade war, that pushed the FTSE below the 7000-point barrier at one stage in March.Its fortunes have been largely governed by the pound since the Brexit…

Mothercare has confirmed that it plans to close 50 stores as part of a rescue plan for the beleaguered babycare retailer. The shake-up aimed at restoring the fortunes of the chain – details of which were first reported by Sky News – are likely to result in hundreds of job losses.It will also see the return of chief executive Mark Newton-Jones just 36 days after he unexpectedly left the company.Mothercare plans cuts to its UK store estate under a company voluntary arrangement (CVA), a plan which must be approved by creditors which would also see rent reductions at 21 further…

The government plans to reduce the maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals to £2. Culture Secretary Matt Hancock said ministers had decided to “take a stand” despite warnings from the betting industry – which reacted to the announcement by saying 21,000 people were expected to lose their jobs as a result.A review by the Gambling Commission in March had recommended a maximum stake of £30 or less for so-called non-slot machines such as roulette – by far the most popular FOBT game – but the Government decided to go further.Users can currently gamble away up to £100 every 20 seconds…

Stories of chaos, courage and compassion have been revealed in police reports made public seven months after the mass shooting at a Las Vegas music festival. Some 1,200 pages of reports were made public by Las Vegas police following a US court order.They described the experiences of witnesses and victims on 1 October last year, when Stephen Paddock opened fire from the 32nd floor of a hotel, killing 58 people and injuring more than 800.Paddock later killed himself before he could be arrested. Image: Some 22,000 people were at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival About 22,000 people were…

Concerns over the way armed police officers are often treated in the aftermath of a police shooting are hampering recruitment efforts. A planned increase in the number of elite counter-terrorist firearms officers has yet to hit its target, partly due to the difficulties in getting enough volunteers.Police chiefs revealed a 70% increase in the ranks of the most highly trained armed officers over the last two years, but the pool of counter-terrorist specialist firearms officers (CTSFOs) still needs about 100 recruits.The government made an additional £143m available to increase the overall number of armed officers in the wake of the…

The combustible insulation and cladding that burned on Grenfell Tower will not be banned if the government accepts the findings of the official review into building regulations and fire safety in England. Dame Judith Hackitt’s report, being published on Thursday morning, will criticise what she calls systematic flaws in how buildings are planned, built and managed which she believes are putting people’s lives at risk.But according to a source briefed on the findings, her report stops short of calling for significant changes to the existing regulations. 2:35 Video: Step by step recreation of a survivor’s escape Instead she is expected…

Donald Trump has thrown fresh doubt over a planned US summit with North Korea next month, saying “we’ll have to see”. The US President’s comments came after North Korea threatened to pull out of the first ever summit with the US, planned for 12 June in Singapore.The North said it has no interest in a summit based on “one-sided” demands to give up its nuclear weapons.Mr Trump said whatever happens, he will still insist on the denuclearisation of North Korea.Speaking at the White House at a meeting with the president of Uzbekistan, he said the US has not “heard anything”…

Deliveroo, the food delivery service which is a leading member of Britain’s ‘gig economy’, is to hand staff a £10m share pot in a move towards an eventual public listing. Sky News has learnt that Will Shu, Deliveroo’s founder, told employees last week that permanent workers would be handed stock options worth an average of £5,000 during the coming months.Deliveroo’s army of delivery riders, who are classed as self-employed contractors rather than permanent employees, will not share in the windfall.A source said the company’s nearly 2,000 staff would be allowed to redeem their options “when it goes public or in…

North Korea has said it has no interest in meeting the US if their summit is based on “one-sided” demands to give up nuclear weapons. First vice foreign minister Kim Kye Gwan said that if the US “corners us and unilaterally demands we give up nuclear weapons we will no longer have an interest in talks and will have to reconsider whether we will accept the upcoming DPRK-US summit”.The US-North Korea summit, a historic meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, is scheduled for 12 June in Singapore.But it now looks to be under threat,…

People who have their body clock disrupted by being awake at night risk developing mood disorders and depression. That is the finding from a study of more than 90,000 people by scientists at the University of Glasgow.The scientists examined people’s circadian rhythms, which control functions such as sleep patterns, immune systems and the release of hormones, to measure daily rest-activity rhythms, also known as relative amplitude.People with lower relative amplitude were at greater risk of mental health problems such as depression and bipolar disorder.They are also likely to feel less happy and more lonely, the study found.Dr Laura Lyall, the…