Serena Williams has announced her imminent retirement from tennis, announcing that she plans to call time on one of the great sporting careers after this month’s US Open.

The 23-time Grand Slam singles winner told Vogue magazine that she is “evolving away from tennis” to spend more time being a mother and running her venture capital fund.

“I have never liked the word retirement. It doesn’t feel like a modern word to me,” said Williams, who turns 41 later this month. 

“I’ve been thinking of this as a transition, but I want to be sensitive about how I use that word, which means something very specific and important to a community of people. Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution. 

“I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me. A few years ago I quietly started Serena Ventures, a venture capital firm. Soon after that, I started a family. I want to grow that...

A scorching set of new US inflation numbers released tomorrow could force the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates by the steepest amount in recent history, Wall Street analysts are betting.

Fed chief Jerome Powell and co have already had to hike the world’s most important interest rate by 225 basis points since March, the fastest tightening cycle since the early 1980s, to tame rising prices.

An upside shock in tomorrow’s inflation figures may seal the deal for a jumbo-sized move.

“We would not be too surprised by a 100 basis point hike if core inflation comes in stronger than expected,” analysts at investment bank Citi said. The bank’s base case is a 75 basis point lift.

The Fed has never raised borrowing costs by a full percentage point since it started announcing moves in its key interest rate in 1994.

Crypto exchanges Binance, Kraken, and others have been hit with a £10bn lawsuit in a competition dispute by the former chair of the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority.

Lord David Currie filed the claim against the two crypto giants as well as exchanges Bittylicious and ShapeShift for delisting the BSV cryptocurrency from their platforms, Financial News London reported.

The lawsuit was filed at the Competition Appeal Tribunal, which will decide if it goes to trial, on behalf of about 250,000 BSV investors.

Lord Currie set up a company called BSV Claims to launch the case, which is the first crypto competition claim in the UK. 

Lord Currie said BSV investors lost about £9.9bn in 2019 due to alleged “anti-competitive behaviour” by the four exchanges and said the lawsuit was “an opportunity to demonstrate that competition law applies in the sphere of crypto assets in the same way that it does to other economic activities”, according to...

An events start-up that has received funding from the taxpayer-backed Future Fund is on the verge of collapse just months after it bagged a $150m funding injection, according to reports today.

Pollen, which has sold travel experience with Justin Bieber and Duran Duran, has been searching for rescue cash but could call in administrators as soon as Wednesday, Sky News reported today.

Goldman Sachs has previously been called in to help find a buyer, but hopes have reportedly faded in recent days. 

The firm has reportedly failed to pay staff and bosses have now lined up restructuring firm Kroll to oversee the prospective insolvency.

It comes just four months after Pollen raised $150m in a series C funding round in a move it said would allow it to expand.

Pollen is also backed by the Future Fund launched by then-chancellor Rishi Sunak during the pandemic. 

A collapse of the firm will add to the woes of the Future Fund...

Thames Water plans to bring in a hosepipe ban in the coming weeks, following the driest July since 1935 and the prospect of another heatwave this month.

The ban would be the third implemented in England this year, following Southern Water’s ban which began last Friday in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and South East Water announcing restrictions in Kent and Sussex from 12 August.

The utilities group is the UK’s largest water provider, home to over 15 million customers across London and southern England.

This includes Surrey, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire and Kent.

A spokesperson said: “Given the long term forecast of dry weather and another forecast of very hot temperatures coming this week we are planning to announce a temporary use ban in the coming weeks.”

Temperatures are set to reach up to 35C in some parts of the country this week and the Met Office has issued a four-day amber heat warning which applies to...

A new campaign to press the Government to do more to tackle the cost-of-living crisis is backed by more than 150,000 people.

Union leaders said the fact so many people signed up to the Enough is Enough campaign on its first day on Monday shows the popularity of the initiative.

Dave Ward, general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, said: “You must be living under a rock if you’re shocked at 150,000 people joining Enough is Enough in its first day.

“The depth of desperation that exists in working-class communities across this country has been unrepresented in British politics for far too long.

“Enough is Enough are going to turn today’s war on workers into a conflict against every piss-taking boss, parasite landlord and corrupt politician in this country.”

Rail, Maritime and Transport union assistant general secretary Eddie Dempsey added: “It should worry the political class and the chief executives of this country that this...

British defence technology giant Qinetiq has snagged a $45m (£37.1m) contract with the US military to provide cyber, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance services.

The London-listed science and engineering firm, which will also provide communications, control and computers, over a one-year base period, with the option to extend by four more one-year terms.

It comes just a day after the company announced it would buy US defence firm Avantus Federal for $590m (£487m), which forms part of boss Steve Wadey’s planned takeover spree of US and Australian firms in a bid to grow the business by 75 per cent in five years.

The deal will double the size of the FTSE 250 firm’s US business, and has been touted as an outlier in the growing trend of US companies taking over British aerospace and defence firms, such as Cobham, Ultra and Meggitt.

Qinetiq is the latest British technology firm to have caught the eyes of the US Army, the largest...

Campaigners at Shelter have warned that Londoners are faced with “increasingly unaffordable” rents. 

“We are hearing from people every day who are battling increasingly unaffordable private rents, who are struggling to find somewhere to live,” the charity’s policy manager Ruth Ehrlich told the Financial Times’ personal finance podcast, Money Clinic, today. 

 “And when they do, they’re being forced to jump through really extreme barriers just to access that home.”

The hoops people have to jump through include competing in bidding processes and paying a year’s rent in advance. 

According to data from Zoopla, during the first quarter of 2022 rents in London increased by 20 per cent – 18 per cent up on 2019 levels. 

The situation is slightly better in outer London, where rents have gone up by 10 per cent.

“I have never seen anything like this for the 20 years that I’ve been in the business,” added Gregory...

It’s D-Day in Kenya as the country is holding its biggest election in years today.

Polls opened at 7am this morning for more than 22m registered voters, who will today endorse their favourite candidates in 46,232 polling stations across the country.

All eyes are on the top job, with outgoing President Jomo Kenyatta leaving government after a decade at the helm. His most likely successors will either be current deputy president William Ruto or political veteran Raila Odinga.

But it’s not just the presidency that is up for grabs.

Across towns and cities in Kenya – by far East Africa’s healthiest democracy – would-be senators, councillors, governors and MPs are eagerly waiting whether months of intense campaigning has paid off.

Esther Muthoni Passaris is no exception. The fiery, energetic Nairobi County woman representative has worked overtime in recent weeks to secure re-election.

Joining Passaris on the campaign...

Just under £300bn has been wiped off the value of UK corporate bonds since the start of this year following a major sell-off in the bond market in what is considered the biggest collapse in two decades.

In the first six months of this year, the total outstanding value of UK corporate bonds has fallen by 13.3% from £2.237 trillion to £1.940 trillion, a fall of £297.5 billion.

This compares to a fall of 3% for the FTSE100 over the same period, digital asset manager Collidr told City A.M. this morning.

Bond prices have been hit by rising interest rates and rising inflation since the start of the year, in response to central banks tightening monetary policy to control inflation.

Collidr’s research shows that £283.8bn has also been wiped off the value of Gilts (UK government bonds) since the start of the year.

Gilts have fallen by 14.8%, the biggest drop since the 1980s.

The collapse in bond prices has been a major challenge for...

The Bank of England’s decision to further raise interest rates from 1.25 per cent to 1.75 per cent and its two-year predictions means bad news for investors and UK residents alike.

And the pain is far from over. A top City analyst expects this to further rise to 2.25 per cent in September.

Other than adjusting the interest rates to the accurate level to keep abreast of import inflation, the economic projections for the UK paint a bleak outlook for the next two years.

The Bank explained that the rise in interest rates was necessary due to external pressures which are expected to persist.

This means that British firms and residents will continue to feel this weight reflected in rising domestic prices, wages outpaced by soaring inflation, and even higher mortgage repayments, despite the Bank’s attempt to widen the borrowing pool through less restrictive mortgage rules.

Although historic, the Bank’s decision was not a surprise for...

Shares in Abrdn plunged today after the asset manager reported a £320m loss and a sharp slide in assets under administration in the first six months of the year, after a turbulent period on markets.

In its half year trading update today, the FTSE 100 investor swung to a loss before tax of after it reported a profit of £113m in the same period last year.

Nervous investors pulled cash from the firm as wild swings rocked equity markets, with total net outflows totalling £35.9bn. The volatility has also hammered the value of Abrdn’s total assets under management which slid to £508bn at the end of the first half, well below a company-compiled analyst poll consensus of £522bn and down from £542bn at the end of last year.

Boss Stephen Bird said the firm had weathered a turbulent start to the year..

“The half year Group results largely reflect the challenging global economic environment and market turbulence,” he said in a statement.

“When I...

Rishi Sunak has launched a stunning attack on Liz Truss today, with his campaign team labelling the Tory leadership frontrunner as “divorced from reality”.

A Sunak campaign spokesperson said Truss has refused “five times” to say if she will promise to hand out emergency payments to combat spiralling energy bills and that her plan to cut taxes “will not touch the sides for the majority of British families”.

“Under her plans Liz will get £1800 of support whilst hard working families will get as little as £60, while facing the same rises in bills,” they said.

“It seems she is divorced from reality, something that even her own supporters including Sajid Javid agree with.”

Javid today told The i newspaper that “more needs to be done” to help struggling families as new estimates from Cornwall Insight today predict the energy price cap will hit £4,200 by January – more than double what it was at the start of this year.

Truss said over the...

The Bank of England will have to build on the biggest rate rise in nearly 30 years to sweep inflation out of the UK, a senior official at the monetary authority said today.

Dave Ramsden, deputy governor at the Bank, told Reuters “it’s more likely than not that we will have to raise Bank Rate further”.

Ramsden added he will monitor incoming data before deciding whether to vote for another rate rise at the Bank’s next meeting on 15 September.

Threadneedle Street has embarked on a rapid interest rate hike cycle in response to inflation surging to historic highs.

Since last December, it has lifted borrowing costs 165 basis points, including a 50 basis point rise last week, the steepest move in the Bank’s 25 years of independence.

Rates are now 1.75 per cent, the highest in 14 years, but still low by historical standards.

Governor Andrew Bailey and co also released a damning set of forecasts last week – characterised by Wall Street...

Life science debt investor Biopharma Credit has snagged a more than £30m windfall thanks to Pfizer’s latest billion-dollar deal.

Pfizer, the US pharmaceutical giant behind one of the world’s most successful Covid-19 vaccines, confirmed yesterday that it has bought Global Blood Therapeutics for $5.4bn (£4.4bn), as the US pharmaceutical giant continues its Covid-19 cash spending spree.

UK-based Biopharma has $132.5m (£109.3m) in a senior secured loan to Global Blood Therapeutics and now expects to receive an around $38m (£31.3m) paydown this autumn, the trust’s investment manager confirmed today.

The global pharmaceutical and life science sectors have been among the pandemic’s biggest winners, having seen strong flows of investment.

Pfizer, now flush with pandemic cash, expects to finance the latest transaction with “existing cash on hand”, having secured $27.7bn (£22.8bn) in revenue in the second quarter of this year, driven primarily by its...

The abrupt departure of Carlyle group chief Kewsong Lee may be a case of the “empire striking back”, analysts have suggested, as co-founder Bill Conway steps back in as interim chief executive.

The Washington-based private equity outfit announced abruptly on Sunday that Lee would be departing the firm after five years, with Carlyle co-founder Conway temporarily taking the reins as it hunts for a new chief.

Sources told Reuters yesterday that the exit was triggered by negotiations on a new contract over which he clashed with Carlyle’s board.

Lee had been brought on by Conway from rival Warburg Pincus, and Oppenheimer analyst Chris Kotowski said the move may be a case of the founders reasserting control

“It is, in our mind, most likely a case of the empire striking back,” Kotowski said. 

“All the other private equity managers that we cover have had internal, homegrown talent lead their transition from the founders, and that is...

The iconic Chloe Kelly goal celebration, the record attendance for a final, success on home soil; England Women’s Euro 2022 victory felt like a watershed moment for women’s sport.

But in a few years’ time England will be doing it all over again. This time, however, it will be with the oval ball.

It was confirmed this year that England would host the next women’s Rugby World Cup in 2025, so what better blueprint can there be than the Lionesses to show the Red Roses just how it can, and should, be done?

“We know that the appetite is there, both from a fan and participation point of view,” the Rugby Football Union’s head of women’s game Alex Teasdale told City A.M. 

“The issue that the Euros and tournaments such as the women’s Cricket World Cup in 2017 is helping to unlock is that accessing women’s sport hasn’t been as easy as it should be.

“The broadcast partnerships that have been in place for the Euros and Women’s Super League...

Germany’s economy will lose over £220bn (€260bn) in added value by the end of the decade, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and skyrocketing energy prices – revealing negative effects for the country’s labour market.

According to a study from the Institute of Employment Research (IAB), Germany’s price-adjusted gross domestic product will be 1.7 per cent lower next year in comparison with expectations with a peaceful Europe,

The study revealed there will be about 240,000 fewer people employed across the country, with no increase in employments levels until at least 2026.

At this point, financial measures will gradually begin to outweigh the negative effects and lead to a plus of about 60,000 employed by 2030.

Engineering firm WSP has snatched environmental consulting group RPS for £591m, at 117p per share. 

Agreed by both parties today, the offer sent RPS shares surging by 74.36 per cent as it represents a premium of 76 per cent on yesterday’s price.

The group’s board accepted the offer, considering the terms of the agreement to “be fair and reasonable.”

“This is a compelling offer from WSP which fully values the business and its future prospects,” said RPS chairman Ken Lever. 

“It represents a highly attractive premium to recent trading levels and provides certain value in cash today for RPS Shareholders.”

For its part, Montreal-based WSP said the takeover was “strategically compelling” and allowed it to “provide a broader range of complementary services.”

The news comes as RPS posted its half-year results today, which exceeded board expectations. 

Profit before tax went up to £11.1m, 56 per cent up on last...

Rupert Murdoch’s publishing giant News Corporation has almost doubled its profit to reach a record $760m. 

The buoyant results come after a boom in online advertising sales and subscriptions for the owner of titles including The Wall Street Journal, The Australian, The Sun and The Times.

Revenue shot up 11 per cent to $9.36bn in the year to the end of June, while net income increased by 95 per cent.

Yearly sales within the company’s news media arm increased by 10 per cent to $2.42bn. 

Digital subscriber growth and cover price increases helped to drive circulation and subscription revenues.

The group’s book publishing division saw sales increase by 10 per cent to $2.19bn, thanks to publishing house Harper Collins and the newly acquired publishing firm Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 

“Our provenance and principles endure at News Corporation, but the business has been fundamentally transformed,” according to News Corp’s...

British Gas owner Centrica has signed a mega US deal to ramp up its supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG) processed in a floating export facility 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana.

It has unveiled a £7bn deal with Delfin Midstream (Delfin) to buy a million tonnes of LNG on an annual basis, over a 15-year window.

This will help shore up the UK’s supply security during the transition to net zero and global volatility with stable flows of gas.

The agreement will see the British Gas owner purchase supplies from extracted and processed from the Delfin Deepwater Port.

Delfin is planning to develop the first floating LNG export facility in the US by the end of this year, which will operate within the port and convert natural gas.

The deal with Centrica provides Delfin with another key foundation customer for its final investment decision, with operations expected to commence in 2026.

Supply security has been a key concern for...

Rishi Sunak has launched a stunning attack on Liz Truss today, with his campaign team labelling the Tory leadership frontrunner as “divorced from reality”.

A Sunak campaign spokesperson said Truss has refused “five times” to say if she will promise to hand out emergency payments to combat spiralling energy bills and that her plan to cut taxes “will not touch the sides for the majority of British families”.

“Under her plans Liz will get £1800 of support whilst hard working families will get as little as £60, while facing the same rises in bills,” they said.

“It seems she is divorced from reality, something that even her own supporters including Sajid Javid agree with.”

Javid today told The i newspaper that “more needs to be done” to help struggling families as new estimates from Cornwall Insight today predict the energy price cap will hit £4,200 by January – more than double what it was at the start of this year.

Truss said over the...

Shares in Abrdn plunged today after the asset manager reported a £320m loss and a sharp slide in assets under administration in the first six months of the year, after a turbulent period on markets.

In its half year trading update today, the FTSE 100 investor swung to a loss before tax of after it reported a profit of £113m in the same period last year.

Nervous investors pulled cash from the firm as wild swings rocked equity markets, with total net outflows totalling £35.9bn. The volatility has also hammered the value of Abrdn’s total assets under management which slid to £508bn at the end of the first half, well below a company-compiled analyst poll consensus of £522bn and down from £542bn at the end of last year.

Boss Stephen Bird said the firm had weathered a turbulent start to the year..

“The half year Group results largely reflect the challenging global economic environment and market turbulence,” he said in a statement.

“When I...