6:47 am, January 5, 2026
UK manufacturing recovery picked up pace in December as demand grew
The UK’s manufacturing sector grew at the fastest pace in 15 months in December, as the impact of uncertainty about the autumn Budget and the Jaguar Land Rover cyber attack began to fade, a new survey shows.
The S&P Global UK manufacturing PMI survey, watched closely by economists, showed a reading of 50.6 in December, up from 50.2 in November.
Manufacturing output increased for the third month in a row and the level of new orders for firms rose for the first time since September 2024. Some businesses benefited from conditions improving at the turn of the year having come under pressure from challenges in parts of the market.
Office workers flocked to travel hubs closer to home in 2025, data shows
Office workers flocked to transport hubs as demand for workspaces closer to home ballooned in 2025, data shows.
Professionals are increasingly shifting away from the traditional daily commute in favour of more convenient working arrangements, according to one of the world’s biggest workspace firms.
Data from International Workplace Group (IWG) shows an average 33% rise in visits to transport-linked locations in 2025, compared with the previous year. This spike was most prominent within some of the UK’s busiest motorway corridors, including the M25, M4, M3 and M5.
Alpine prices up new SUV
Alpine has revealed its new Porsche Macan rival, the A390, will be priced from £61,330 when order books open soon.
GT models get 395bhp from a tri-motor set-up and feature 20-inch wheels, matrix headlights, Alpine sports seats trimmed in two-tone Alcantara and Nappa upholstery, and a 12.3-inch touchscreen and 12-inch multimedia display with Google built-in.
Premiere Edition (limited to 390 cars) and GTS cars get 464bhp and are priced from £65,390 and £69,390 respectively, and get sportier Sabelt seats, upgraded audio, and telemetrics tech.
The markets
Blue chips began 2026 in positive fashion on Friday, although the FTSE 100 closed well below early highs which saw the index cross 10,000 for the first time.
The FTSE 100 index closed on Friday up 19.76 points, 0.2%, at 9,951.14 – it had earlier traded as high as 10,046.25, a record intraday level. The FTSE 250 index ended up 61.17 points, 0.3%, at 22,409.21, and the Aim All-Share index closed up 2.44 points, 0.3%, at 768.83.
Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: ‘Breaking through the 10,000 level is the best new year’s present Chancellor Rachel Reeves could want…It also proves to cynics that the UK market is not stuck in the mud, and that the US stock market is not the only place to make money.’
UK prepared to get closer to EU single market, Starmer says
The UK is prepared to align even more closely with the EU single market if the move is in the national interest, Sir Keir Starmer has said.
The prime minister insisted Britain should ‘go further’ in strengthening post-Brexit ties with Brussels following a trade deal agreed earlier this year.
But he appeared to pour cold water on suggestions the UK should re-join a customs union with the bloc after his health secretary Wes Streeting said the arrangement had ‘enormous economic benefits’.
New Venezuelan leader invites US to ‘collaborate’ after Maduro’s removal
Venezuela’s interim leader has expressed willingness to collaborate with US president Donald Trump as the UK government continued to advocate for a swift transition of power following the removal of Nicolas Maduro.
Maduro is expected to appear before a New York court on Monday when the UN Security Council, of which the UK is a member, is expected to meet on Monday.
The UK, which has a historically deep intelligence-sharing relationship with the US, was not informed of the operation that saw Maduro and his wife captured and flown to New York before it was carried out.
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Used car dealer Cinch losses top £100m AGAIN after another punishing year
Used car retailer Cinch clocked up another £100m loss before tax after revenues topped £1bn last year.
Weather
Today brings cold, bright conditions across the UK, reports BBC Weather. Snow showers affect Northern Ireland, northern Scotland and northern England, becoming more isolated later. Tonight stays dry, clear and cold for many, with cloud increasing in Northern Ireland and Scotland, patchy Scottish snow, and isolated showers in west Wales and eastern England.
