It’s only taken the best part of 10 months and two attempts, but the England and Wales Cricket Board’s search for a new chair has at last come up with the outcome that the counties identified for it from the off. 

Richard Thompson, until now chair at Surrey, is clearly the best person for the job. What a shambolic process though, one in which Thompson’s two competitors in the final round were laughably both existing ECB board members.

Just how hard this organisation must have been trying to resist the overhaul that the leader of the most successful county threatens. 

“Thank God for that! He will save English cricket,” was the response of one Surrey member, who added that Thompson’s first action should be to sack Sir Andrew Strauss, currently leading the ECB’s high performance review. And there in a nutshell is Thompson’s challenge. 

His wide spread of supporters will all have different perspectives on what needs to be done to...

High street staples including Tesco, Aldi and Primark have signed a letter urging police commissioners to prioritise tackling crimes against shop staff. 

Some 105 retailers have written to police and crime commissioners in England and Wales, calling for more help with increasing violence and anti-social behaviour towards workers.

Reports of abuse towards shop staff have sky-rocketed since the onset of the Covid pandemic, with the British Retail Consortium (BRC) claiming there were 1,300 incidents every single day for the period April 2020 to March 2021.

“We are increasingly concerned about reports of rising levels of violence, abuse, and anti-social behaviour which is partly linked to tackling shoplifting,” the letter, organised by the BRC, states.

Earlier this year, an amendment to a new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 introduced tougher sentences for those convicted of violence and abuse against retail workers.

Four?million Russians are set to lose their jobs due to the impacts of Western sanctions, according to new research from the Kyiv School of Economics.

The sanctions are set to see Russia’s economy contract by up to 9.5 per cent this year, the study shows.

High oil and gas prices have shielded Russia from the worst impacts of sanctions so far as the country’s economy has been buoyed up by its energy industry.?

However, Russia’s energy exports are set to decline in coming months, as Europe strengthens its oil and gas embargoes.

The drop in?Russia’s energy export revenues will in turn lead to widespread cuts in public spending, as funding is instead redirected towards bailing out Russia’s banks and bankrolling the country’s military.  

Russia is already selling its oil at discounted prices of $80 per barrel, the study says, as it notes the $35 per barrel discount has cost Russia $20bn in the past quarter alone.

The sanctions...

OUR great city works well because we Londoners muddle through together without too much friction. “Live and let live”’ has a claim to be the defining London motto. 

But there have been times where that harmony has shattered. I remember the shock of Tottenham and Croydon burning in August 2011 and of shops being boarded up all over London in 1981 as Brixton erupted. At those times London suddenly felt vulnerable, and society fractured. 

Many of the causes of similar civil unrest are developing again. The right actions now can reduce the chance of reaching boiling point in London.

Academics agree that the most common causes of civil unrest are economic hardship (especially rises in food and fuel prices) plus a sense of social or political injustice.  

Economic hardship is with us and getting worse. Food inflation has been at 9.8 per cent in recent months, energy prices have risen and have been predicted by consultancy...

This will not be for everyone. But tomorrow is 12 August, the Glorious Twelfth, which signals the beginning of the shooting season. Thousands will head to the moors to begin the annual assault on red grouse and the air will ring with the crack of shotguns, with tufts of smoke drifting across the heather.

Hunting has always been an aristocratic sport: several clauses of the Magna Carta deal with access to mediaeval England’s rich forests and heaths. But, as with so many pastimes, the Victorians oversaw its growth and popularity, with regular train services allowing access to the hunting grounds and breech-loading shotguns making the activity less labour-intensive. The 19th century also went a long way to codifying the sartorial traditions of the grouse moor, and hard-wearing tweeds are now a staple of British couture.

If you shoot, then, or have always wanted to give it a try, what do you need to wear? The customary outfits are muted brown and green-based...

With temperatures set to soar across Europe this week, cities are once again facing the urban heat island effect – a common problem in metropolitan areas where the air temperature is significantly higher than in suburban areas. Citizens, city planners and government officials must prioritise finding cost-effective and efficient ways to keep our cities cool. 

Urban planners need to rethink our cities from the ground up; this often is at a great public expense. The solutions available to make our cities greener – and cooler – have to compete with investment, human resources and physical space with other infrastructure projects. Councils are under pressure to demonstrate their limited resources are invested well in the short term, making it hard to put in long-term plans. But there are a wide array of options.

The most obvious one is to create more green spaces – everything from street trees and parks to green roofs and vertical gardens. A 10 per cent...

NAIROBI – Millions of Kenyans are nervously awaiting the results of Tuesday’s presidential election, as day three of vote counting across the country gets underway.

Since Tuesday evening an extremely close race has unfolded between the two main candidates for the presidency.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga, who is backed by the outgoing president and seen as the establishment candidate, faces deputy president William Ruto, who styles himself as an outsider and a “hustler”.

Both Odinga and Ruto are polling close to 50 per cent of the vote, but according to most media, the ‘hustler’ is taking a slight lead at 49.99 per cent of the vote, versus Odinga at 48.63 per cent, as of 5 a.m. UK time on Thursday morning (7 a.m. in Kenya).

Either Odinga or Ruto will replace outgoing President Jomo Kenyatta leaving government after a decade at the helm.

NAIROBI – Millions of Kenyans are nervously awaiting the results of Tuesday’s presidential election, as day three of vote counting across the country gets underway.

Since Tuesday evening an extremely close race has unfolded between the two main candidates for the presidency.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga, who is backed by the outgoing president and seen as the establishment candidate, faces deputy president William Ruto, who styles himself as an outsider and a “hustler”.

Both Odinga and Ruto are polling close to 50 per cent of the vote, but according to most media, the ‘hustler’ is taking a slight lead at 49.99 per cent of the vote, versus Odinga at 48.63 per cent, as of 5 a.m. UK time on Thursday morning (7 a.m. in Kenya).

Either Odinga or Ruto will replace outgoing President Jomo Kenyatta leaving government after a decade at the helm.

This has already been one of the most congested track and field seasons in recent history – and now it’s about to get even busier.

On the back of an impressive World Championships and a superbly attended Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the athletics circus is rolling into Munich for the European Championships, which officially start today.

Although this multi-sport extravaganza – essentially several different European Championships, also including cycling, rowing and artistic gymnastics, stitched together – was introduced four years ago, this is the first time all the action will be in one place.

The athletics begins at the Olympiastadion in the southern suburbs of Germany’s third largest city on Monday. Here are five athletes to watch.

Japanese investment giant SoftBank said it would book a $34.1bn gain by cutting its stake in Alibaba today as it looks to shore up its balance book after a bruising first half of the year.

The firm’s tech-heavy portfolio has been hit by nearly $50bn losses after a turbulent six months on global markets and is now accelerating sales to bolster its cash reserves.

It said this morning it will reduce its stake in Alibaba to 14.6 per cent from 23.7 per cent by settling prepaid forward contracts. By settling the Alibaba share contracts, SoftBank “will be able to eliminate concerns about future cash outflows, and furthermore, reduce costs associated with these prepaid forward contracts,” it said in a filing.

“These will further strengthen our defence against the severe market environment,” the firm said.

SoftBank chief Masayoshi Son bought into Alibaba for $20m in 2000 and the Chinese firm has since swelled into one of the world’s biggest...

Four?million Russians are set to lose their jobs due to the impacts of Western sanctions, according to new research from the Kyiv School of Economics.

The sanctions are set to see Russia’s economy contract by up to 9.5 per cent this year, the study shows.

High oil and gas prices have shielded Russia from the worst impacts of sanctions so far as the country’s economy has been buoyed up by its energy industry.?

However, Russia’s energy exports are set to decline in coming months, as Europe strengthens its oil and gas embargoes.

The drop in?Russia’s energy export revenues will in turn lead to widespread cuts in public spending, as funding is instead redirected towards bailing out Russia’s banks and bankrolling the country’s military.  

Russia is already selling its oil at discounted prices of $80 per barrel, the study says, as it notes the $35 per barrel discount has cost Russia $20bn in the past quarter alone.

The sanctions...

One in four shop workers are skipping meals each month to meet bill payments, according to research from a trade union.

This figure has leapt from 1 in 20 last year, as Britain’s lowest paid workers struggle amid the throes of cost of living crunch, according to a survey by Usdaw union.

Inflation is anticipated to soar past 13 per cent this autumn, according to predictions from the Bank of England.

The survey of more than 5,500 retail staff has revealed how the surging prices of petrol prices and other household costs have hit workers.

Nearly half of respondents said their ability to travel to their workplace had been impacted by heightened petrol prices and travel costs.

What’s more, seven in 10 retail workers said they had been reliant on insecure borrowing with six in 10 finding difficulties with making repayments.

“Many respondents talked of how increased fuel prices were leading them to cut down on shifts, to ask for a...

Energy bosses will meet with Government tomorrow, to discuss how they can ease pressure on consumers facing record household bills.

Downing Street confirmed the meeting will feature electricity producers and suppliers, including renewable generators and utility companies.

This will include discussions on how energy companies can mitigate soaring wholesale costs and also voice their views on energy market reforms.

A Government spokesperson told City A.M.: “We are engaging with the electricity sector to drive forward reforms and to ensure the market delivers better results for people across the UK. In the meantime, and as we announced in May, the government continues to evaluate the extraordinary profits seen in certain parts of the electricity generation sector and the appropriate and proportionate steps to take.”

Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng are also expected to attend.

While media reports initially...

Director Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost, who brought superheroes to streaming with Netflix’s Project Power, do the same for Paramount+ with family adventure Secret Headquarters.

Walker Scobell stars as Charlie, a teenager struggling to connect with his father Jack (Owen Wilson), who is always away for work. While staying home alone at his house, Charlie discovers his father is The Guardian, a superhero powered by alien technology. The discovery alerts villains who attack the base, forcing Charlie and his friends to defend it in order to save the world. 

Borrowing elements of Spy Kids, and the 2000s Thunderbirds film, it unfolds like a kid-friendly Marvel entry. The Guardian’s suit is clearly Iron Man-inspired, and Wilson himself has an MCU connection thanks to TV show Loki.

London law firm Clyde & Co today said its partners will see their pay packages drop by sums of £7,000 after the addition of 44 new partners diluted its profit-per-equity-partner ratios.

Clyde & Co’s 480 partners will see their payouts drop from sums of £715,000 last year to £708,000 for the financial year 2022, the law firm said in its annual results.

The law firm’s lower profit-per-equity-partner (PEP) payouts came after Clyde & Co’s overall profits jumped four per cent to £159m, in an increase that marks the firm’s 24th year of consecutive growth.

First set up as a shipping and insurance law firm in early 20th century, Clyde & Co has expanded significantly over the previous two decades to become one of the City of London’s major firms.

Clyde & Co’s higher profits came on the back of a 2.6 per cent uptick in the law firm’s revenues that saw it post total sales of £650m for the year ending on 30 April 2022.

Clyde...

England’s Annabel Dimmock has been playing golf for 17 of her 25 years so when injury kept her off the course late last year it hit her hard.

Shortly after one of her best weeks on the Ladies European Tour, when she shared in a tie for third with good friend Charley Hull at the Aramco Team Series New York in October, Dimmock was forced to take almost five months out with a wrist problem.

“It was the first time in my life that I’d had months and months when I couldn’t go to the gym and I couldn’t do a thing that I’d been doing since I was eight years old. And I completely lost myself,” she tells City A.M.

“It sounds very dramatic but I didn’t have an identity that I had had since I was so young.

“My wrist has been affecting for about a year and a half now, but I had injections on it and tried to play through it. 

“I didn’t do smart things for my body and I paid for it. I couldn’t swing a club for six months. I couldn’t even go and walk...

There have been a spate of animations in recent years that can deliver heart-breaking stories with the lightest of touches – think 2017’s The Breadwinner, or 2006 Oscar nominee Waltz With Bashir. The director of the latter, Ari Folman, returns to tell one of history’s best-known stories with a new twist. 

Where Is Anne Frank is set in modern-day Amsterdam. It imagines the arrival of Kitty (Ruby Stokes), the imaginary friend Frank wrote to in her diary, who has come to life and wonders where her creator has gone. Over the course of a few days, she discovers just what happened, and the legacy she left behind. 

Gloriously animated, the story works in two parts. The first is a retelling of Frank’s journey, hiding with her family from The Nazis, and the various trials she underwent. It paints a picture of the young girl who loved movies, was irritated by those she stayed with, and fearful for the future. The second part links to the modern day, where...

Liz Truss has been accused of performing another policy U-turn, after her campaign today hinted she was open to giving households cash payments to ease the cost of living crisis.

Sources on her campaign today said “there is work going on in government on what more can be done” to help people cope with spiralling energy bills and broader inflation and that “Liz has been consistently clear that she will do all that she can to help those struggling with the cost of living”.

It comes after the Tory leadership candidate last week said she preferred tax cuts to help Brits facing cost of living pressures over “handouts”.

Her allies have rowed back on this in the days since and today’s statements appear to show that she is open to giving households more emergency payments amid new predictions that the energy price cap will reach £4,200 by January.

She refused three times today during a GB News people’s forum to rule out giving direct payments to...

As she prepares to defend her individual crown at the Aramco Team Series Sotogrande this month, Alison Lee could hardly be happier with her form.

The US Solheim Cup player, 27, is enjoying the best season of her career since her early days on the LPGA Tour, already topping $500,000 in prize money.

For the first time Lee has made the cut in all five women’s majors, finishing in a share of 15th in the Women’s Open at Muirfield last weekend.

“I would say I’m really happy with how this season’s gone so far, given where I was three or four years ago when I had to go back to Q-school,” she said. 

“I feel like I’ve been playing really consistent. Do I feel like I can play a little better? Yes, but I feel like my game is really close and I’m really close to having a good week. I just need a little bit of magic for that one week for everything to fall on place together and for it to work. 

“Obviously there are things I need to work on but...

Lamborghini has announced record half-year results, with operating profit up 69.6 percent to £356 million on a turnover of £1.12 billion.

The Italian supercar manufacturer earned more profit in the first six months of 2022 than in the whole of 2021.

Speaking exclusively to City A.M., Chairman and CEO Stephan Winkelmann hailed the company’s “best six months ever”, attributing its performance to a better product mix, favourable euro-to-dollar exchange rate and the high proportion of Lamborghini customers – more than 50 percent – who opted for extra-cost customisation. 

There is no shortage of star quality in the field for next week’s Aramco Team Series Sotogrande, but top billing will go to the Korda sisters.

Olympic champion, major winner and world No3 Nelly Korda is set to be the highest ranked player in the field at La Reserva Club.

“I’m so excited to be heading to play in Spain for the first time,” said Nelly. “The golf course at La Reserva looks incredible too, so it should be a great week.

“Jess and I both played in the Aramco Team Series event in New York last year and loved the format. It’s something different having the separate team-individual formats going on at the same time which is fun. 

“With the Solheim Cup taking place just round the corner from Sotogrande next year, this will also be the perfect opportunity for me and some of the other Americans in the field to get a bit of a lay of the land and a feel for playing in Spain.”

Also making her first appearance in Spain is elder...

There’s nothing like cool, crushable rum cocktails to take the edge off the suffocating sultriness of summer, but with another heat-health alert in place, who has the energy to mix anything?

British rum-makers Dead Man’s Fingers have you covered though, with three new thirstquenching cocktails in a can. These ready to drink beverages (RTDs) come in three flavours: Spiced Rum and Cola; Spiced Rum and Ginger Beer; and Passion Fruit Rum and Lemonade.

The first two are classic rum highball combinations, while the other will appeal to fans of the ubiquitous Pornstar Martini. They are balanced, and not overly sweet, but the 5% alcohol by volume is dangerously well concealed, and could sneak up on you.

Dead Man’s Fingers Rum was founded in Cornwall in 2015, growing out of The Rum & Crab Shack, a specialist rum bar and seafood restaurant on the St. Ives waterfront. Despite the skull logo and the vaguely Treasure Island-sounding name, the brand...

Coinbase – one of the world’s most popular cryptocurrency exchanges – has revealed it suffered a massive $1.1 billion net loss in Q2 2022.

The crypto behemoth – believed to be used by around 60 per cent of UK cryptocurrency investors – says it is pointing the finger at a ‘fast and furious’ downturn in digital assets which has seen a huge fall in transactions.

Its announcement marks not only the exchange’s second consecutive quarterly loss, but also the biggest loss since Coinbase listed on the Nasdaq 15 months ago.

“The current downturn came fast and furious, and we are seeing customer behaviour mirror that of past down markets,” the bulletin noted.

“Q2 was a tough quarter, with trading volume and transaction revenue each down by 30% and 35% sequentially, respectively. Both metrics were influenced by a shift in customer and market activity, driven by macroeconomic and crypto credit factors alike.”

In the face of enormous revenue...

Half of UK investors have either made alternative investments this year or are considering doing so by the end of 2023 as they seek inflation-beating options.

They primarily focus on investments in assets such infrastructure, real estate but also private equity and commodities.

Two in five investors are more likely to consider alternative investments as a result of the high-inflation environment, the research by investment platform Shojin found, shared exclusively with City A.M. today.

Inflation hit a 40-year high of 9.1 per cent in May and the Bank of England expects it to reach 13 per cent in late 2022.

“With inflation topping 9 per cent and likely to rise further in the months to come, many investors are evidently weighing up their strategies carefully,” explained Jatin Ondhia, CEO of Shojin.

“This will be an interesting trend to monitor,” he added.

“Indeed, investors of all shapes and sizes will currently be...