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What does tipping look like in the United Kingdom?

Sep 21, 2023
Free health care and a higher minimum wage in the U.K. means that there's less reliance on tips to make up workers' income.
In the U.K., the standard tip is roughly 10% at restaurants, though people won’t leave any extra if they think the service hasn’t been good enough.
Peter Summers/Getty Images

Thames Water, the UK’s biggest water company, struggles to plug a hole in its finances

Jul 6, 2023
Huge debts and raw sewage threaten the future of a major British utility.
Joan Fennelly, left, and Jo Robb of the Henley Mermaids swimming in the Thames — in spite of the sewage. “We’ve seen it all and it’s very upsetting.”
Mimisse Beard

Europe's seeing inflation fade. The UK still has it bad. In Japan, inflation is actually good news.

Jun 30, 2023
How some other big economies are handling rising prices.
Susannah Ireland/AFP via Getty Images

Inflation: Why is it so sticky in the UK?

Jun 13, 2023
A labor shortage and a relatively strong economy contribute to high prices. Some experts worry about inflationary expectations.
A food stall at an outdoor market in London. Food inflation recently hit a 45-year high in the U.K.
Susannah Ireland/AFP via Getty Images

New UK fiscal metric paints a rosier picture of the national debt

May 17, 2023
The U.K. has adopted an additional fiscal statistic that suggests public finances are not in such a bad shape after all.
The U.K.'s new “public sector net worth” measure offsets debt by including government-owned infrastructure, such as railways.
Carlos Jasso/AFP via Getty Images

A tale of two British coronations — and two very different economies

May 5, 2023
70 years and huge economic changes separate the crowning of the late Queen Elizabeth and of her son King Charles.
A man erects a life size cut-out of King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort on the Mall as preparations continue for the Coronation.
Ian Forsyth/Getty Images

A UK regulator has blocked the Microsoft-Activision merger. But don't blame it on Brexit.

Apr 26, 2023
Some experts say the decision is rooted in the U.K.'s efforts to develop its own tech industry.
The United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority said a merger of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard would hamper innovation and reduce choice for gamers.
Belinda Jiao/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

UK public sector workers battle for pay hikes that match inflation

Apr 25, 2023
Following a rash of strikes in the public sector, some British workers have settled their pay disputes, but more are taking further action. And the government is striking back.
Doctors striking for a 35% increase in pay.
Mimisse Beard

Will Britain’s new trade deal with the Pacific Rim make a success out of Brexit?

Apr 20, 2023
Some say U.K. membership of the Trans-Pacific Partnership will make up for any trade lost with the European Union after Brexit. But others have their doubts.
Above, signatories of CPTPP in 2018. Combined, the countries included are slated to account for 54% of global economic growth in the decades ahead.
Claudio Reyes/AFP via Getty Images

Hollywood on Thames: How the U.K. became the European home of the blockbuster

Apr 3, 2023
A generous tax break has attracted American moviemakers to the U.K., but the measure has its critics.
Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, is greeted by Chewbacca during a 2016 tour of the Star Wars sets at Pinewood studios in Iver Heath, west of London.
Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images