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The steel-and-glass towers which stand proud in the city centre are a symbol of Greater Manchester’s economy.

Inflation in the UK has dropped to the lowest level in more than two years, official figures show. The latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that February's Consumer Prices Index inflation stood at 3.4 percent - down from 4 percent in January.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief China’s social media, games and video giant Tencent saw 2023 revenues advance by 10% to $84.6 billion (RMB609 billion). But its net profits slid to $16.3 billion (RMB118 billion), down from $26.3 billion a year earlier. The group is directly affected by weakness in the mainland Chinese economy, which has recovered only slowly since the end of the COVID pandemic, and by ongoing regulatory concerns.

A rule change designed to stop a repeat of rows like Night & Day’s court battle could be on the books for Greater Manchester.

Manchester Airport can 'play a prominent role in closing the economic gap' between the north and south if it's linked properly with strategic regional road and rail connections, according to a new report.

The expansion of a Perthshire caravan site has been refused largely due to its design and layout.

Millions of workers across the UK will get a boost to their wages worth hundreds in less than a month.

If you were out in the city centre over the weekend, chances are you’ll have found yourself at the centre of a huge police operation, even if you didn’t know it.

Every Friday, as lights go out in Manchester's offices, thousands spill into pubs and bars ready to start their weekend. It may be the end of the working week for most, but for Greater Manchester Police it signals the start of a vitally important operation.

The U.S. economy continued its robust pace of job growth in February, adding 275,000 jobs while unemployment rose to 3.9%.

Politics London in which she claimed that “we are a truly 24-hour city”.The Night Czar said she could “point to the successes” of her role – after being tasked with “ensuring London thrives as a 24-hour city” in 2016 – including saving Fabric nightclub, opening Drumsheds in a former Ikea in Tottenham and funding grassroots live music venues.London is leading the world in its 24-hour policy with other global cities looking to us for inspiration.London's Night Czar spoke earlier about her role, championing the nighttime economy and representing 1.3m workers.

Perth and Kinross Council's (PKC) Conservative group has panned the SNP administration for its decision to close public toilets in Auchterarder, Blairgowrie, Crieff and Perth.

Jeremy Hunt has announced a cut in National Insurance in his Spring Budget. The Chancellor has announced a cut of two percentage points for employee National Insurance from April 6 - down from 10 per cent to eight per cent.

Portfolio management is a huge factor in every successful business.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will deliver his Spring Budget later today (March 6).

, but her March 4 Instagram grid post sparked a particularly loud backlash, even for her. The reality star uploaded a picture of her private jet parked right behind her Tesla Cybertruck, which , with only emoji of an alien and a purple alien monster in the caption.

The former Northern Quarter textile warehouse that is now a quirky pub and boutique hotel loved by Christopher Eccleston and Shaun Ryder

Christopher Vourlias As South Africa marks three decades since its first democratic elections, a historic moment that dismantled the apartheid system and ushered in Black-majority rule, the country is at a crossroads. Inequality is rife. Crippling blackouts have pushed the economy to a tipping point.

Air rifles, luxury jewellery, designer clothes and £10k in cash was seized by police in a major organised crime crackdown across Greater Manchester on Thursday (February 29).

MTV's decision to host this year's EMAs in Manchester has been welcomed by city leaders who say it will bring a "multi-million pound boost" to the city. MTV bosses announced earlier today that its European Music Awards will be hosted in Manchester for the first time on November 10.

UK Music, which is the collective voice of the UK music industry, has urged Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to cut VAT in the spring Budget to throw the sector a “vital lifeline” and save venues that are threatened by closure.Tom Kiehl, UK Music’s Interim Chief Executive, has asked Hunt to use his Budget next Wednesday (March 6) to lower the current 20 per cent VAT rate on tickets to 10 per cent as a “boost for consumers, music professionals and venues”.The request to slash VAT is among the recommendations that UK Music has made to the Government in its Budget submission, which outlines the support the sector needs to grow (read it in full here).Currently, music fans in the UK must pay 20 per cent VAT on their tickets – almost double the EU average (10.3 per cent) and around triple the rate in countries like Belgium (six per cent) and Germany (seven per cent). ‌ The 20 per cent rate is the third highest rate of cultural ticketing in Europe. Gig-goers pay more tax on UK tickets than anywhere else in Europe, except Denmark and Lithuania.The calls come amid growing concerns for the future of grassroots venues.

Sony is set to shut its London studio as part of cutting around 900 jobs in its PlayStation sector.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Japan will next month open the first round of film and TV production funding under its previously-teased location incentive scheme. The scheme offers reimbursement of up to 50% of qualifying expenditure in Japan, with an upper limit of JPY1 billion ($6.66 million) on each disbursement. Targeting larger-scale productions, the scheme is open to: film, TV or streaming projects that have minimum direct production spending in Japan of $3.3 million; or have budgets greater than $6.66 million and spend a fifth of that (JPY200 million or $1.33 million) in Japan; or, in the case of other projects distributed in ten or more countries, have Japanese production spend higher than $1.33 million.

Kevin Costner has released the first trailer for his new project!

The Star Wars franchise is coming to shoot in California for the first time with The Mandalorian & Grogu movie, and the Golden State is paying out its weight in tax incentive gold to have the bounty hunter saga made within state lines.

William Earl The upcoming Lucasfilm theatrical release “The Mandalorian & Grogu” is one of 15 films to secure an estimated $61 million in 2024 production tax incentives through California’s Film and Television Tax Credit Program. The California Film Commission touted Disney’s “Mandalorian & Grogu” as the biggest-budget movie to ever qualify for state’s tax program, which distributes $330 million annually in state tax credits to TV and film productions.

Scotland’s economy secretary Mairi McAllan is expecting her first baby and has vowed to balance being a mum with her top government job.

A row between Manchester’s largest venues has intensified, with the AO Arena suggesting Co-op Live’s licence application is ‘simply unlawful’.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music One of the saddest ironies in the music world is the fact that songwriters are at the very bottom of the streaming economy. While there’s no question that streaming, and Spotify in particular, saved the music business after 15 years of financial freefall, the jury is still out on who exactly was saved. Major music companies are enjoying record profits, as are many superstar artists — but many others further down the income scale, and especially songwriters, have been left behind by the streaming payment model.

An MSP is demanding the rollout of reusable nappy schemes across Scotland which could save new parents up to £500.