They include David Staziker of the Development Bank of Wales who joins its boar

Welsh Water has made two senior appointments. Mick Jeavons has been made an executive director and chief financial officer, while David Staziker joins the board as a non-executive director.

Mr Jeavons was appointed interim chief financial officer in May last year and will now join the board with responsibility for the company’s finance and business performance, regulatory oversight, procurement and digital systems. Before joining Welsh Water he held a number of senior finance roles, most recently as group chief financial officer at International Distribution Services plc.

Mr Staziker is chief financial officer at the Development Bank of Wales, where he leads the organisation’s finance and ICT teams. He joined the development bank in 2002 and has held a number of senior roles across the business, including on the investment side, before being appointed chief financial officer in 2018. Prior to this, he worked at PwC and Gambit Corporate Finance.

Chair of Glas Cymru, the parent company of Welsh Water, Jane Hanson said: “We are delighted to confirm Mick’s appointment to our Board as Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer. He brings a wealth of financial leadership experience and a strong track record of supporting long-term investment and transformation programmes.

“I am also pleased to welcome David Staziker to the board as a non-executive director. His extensive financial, investment and governance experience, together with his deep understanding of the Welsh business landscape, will be a valuable addition as we continue to deliver for customers and communities across Wales.”

Welsh Water chief executive Roch Cheroux added: “Mick’s appointment comes at a crucial time for the business as we continue to deliver one of the largest investment programmes in our history, focused on improving services for customers, enhancing environmental performance and building resilience for the future.

“We are also very pleased to welcome David Staziker to the board His extensive background in supporting and developing the Welsh business sector will bring additional strength and perspective to board discussions and support our long-term ambitions for Welsh Water.”

Mr Staziker said: “I am delighted to be joining the board of Glas Cymru at such an important time for the organisation and the sector. Welsh Water plays a vital role in delivering essential services to communities across Wales, and its not-for-profit model provides a strong foundation for long-term, sustainable investment.

“I look forward to working with the board and executive team to support the delivery of its ambitious plans and continued focus on customers, communities and the environment.”

Both appointments will be put forward for election by Glas Cymru members at the company’s forthcoming annual general meeting.

NEW YORK — Taylor Swift, Alanis Morissette, John Fogerty, members of KISS and other influential songwriters were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame on Thursday night in a ceremony that blended emotional tributes, career-spanning performances and candid reflections on the craft of songwriting.

The event at the Marriott Marquis honored a diverse class of creators whose work has shaped popular music across generations. Swift’s induction marked a historic milestone as the first recipient of the organization’s Hal David Starlight Award to advance to full membership in the Hall of Fame. The night featured memorable performances, heartfelt speeches and a celebration of the collaborative spirit behind some of music’s most enduring hits.

Taylor Swift‘s Historic Induction

Taylor Swift capped the evening as one of the night’s most anticipated inductees. Despite a hoarse voice from cheering at a New York Knicks game the previous night, she delivered a thoughtful 23-minute speech that reflected on her songwriting journey. The pop superstar, who received the Hal David Starlight Award in 2010, expressed gratitude for the recognition and highlighted the communal nature of music creation.

Swift brought an impressive group of friends and collaborators to support her, creating one of the evening’s most talked-about moments. Her presence underscored the event’s blend of contemporary stardom and songwriting legacy. The audience responded with enthusiasm as she reflected on the personal and artistic growth that has defined her career.

John Fogerty’s Memorable Speech

Creedence Clearwater Revival founder John Fogerty, recipient of the Johnny Mercer Award, delivered one of the night’s most compelling speeches. The 81-year-old traced his musical life from childhood influences to his landmark hits, pulling out a 1967 notebook containing early lyrics for “Proud Mary.”

Fogerty shared stories of his career highs and challenges, including battles over publishing rights. He expressed delight at finally gaining control of his Creedence Clearwater Revival catalog in 2023. Joined by his sons Shane and Tyler, he performed a robust medley including “Proud Mary,” “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” and “The Old Man Down the Road.”

Steve Miller, who inducted Fogerty, praised him as “one of America’s most gifted and enduring songwriters” and highlighted his advocacy for artists’ rights.

Alanis Morissette’s Powerful Performance

Brandi Carlile paid tribute to Alanis Morissette with a haunting rendition of “Uninvited,” accompanied by Sista Strings. Carlile described Morissette as a “singular, once-in-a-lifetime voice” who inspired her as a young listener.

Morissette accepted the honor with a speech focused on songwriting as a survival strategy. She spoke about the emotional catharsis of writing and advocated for arts education in schools. She then delivered an intimate acoustic performance of “Mary Jane” and “You Oughta Know,” showcasing the enduring power of her voice and songcraft.

KISS Members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley Honored

Billy Corgan and Johnny Rzeznik performed KISS classics “Rock and Roll All Nite” and “Shout It Out Loud” in tribute to Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. Corgan hailed their “gloom and glam” and 50-year partnership.

Paul Stanley accepted on behalf of the duo, noting Simmons’ absence due to a family emergency. Stanley expressed humility at joining such an eclectic group of songwriters and thanked fans for their support while he was “still kicking.”

Other Notable Inductions and Moments

Christopher “Tricky” Stewart was inducted with assistance from Tamar Braxton, who performed Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies.” Stewart traced his path from Chicago session singers in his family to producing major hits like Rihanna’s “Umbrella” and Mariah Carey’s “Touch My Body.”

Terry Britten and Graham Lyle received tributes for their work with Tina Turner, including “What’s Love Got to Do With It.” Jane Seymour introduced the duo, who reflected on their songwriting partnership despite jet lag.

Walter Afanasieff was inducted with performances of his hits for Mariah Carey and others. He spoke of his early inspiration from the Beatles and his collaborations with legends like Barbra Streisand and Celine Dion.

RAYE received the Hal David Starlight Award, delivering an emotional speech about her journey and advocating for better master royalty points for songwriters.

The Evening’s Significance

The Songwriters Hall of Fame ceremony remains one of the music industry’s most prestigious nights, honoring the craft behind the hits rather than commercial success alone. Nile Rodgers, chairman of the organization, helped guide the evening’s tributes.

The 2026 class represented a broad spectrum of genres and eras, from rock anthems to pop hits and R&B classics. The performances and speeches emphasized songwriting as both a personal expression and a collaborative art form.

Industry Context

The event highlighted ongoing discussions about recognition for songwriters in an industry increasingly focused on streaming metrics and viral moments. Inductees stressed the importance of preserving the art of composition amid technological changes.

For Swift, the induction added another milestone to her record-breaking career. Her speech and presence underscored the connection between songwriting and cultural impact.

Looking Ahead

The 2026 Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony celebrated the enduring power of great songs and the writers who create them. As the music industry evolves, events like this reinforce the foundational role of songcraft in connecting artists with audiences across generations.

The night’s mix of established legends and rising talents demonstrated the Hall’s commitment to honoring both historical contributions and contemporary excellence. Attendees left with renewed appreciation for the collaborative spirit and emotional depth that define exceptional songwriting.

The 2026 class will join previous inductees in the organization’s permanent legacy, ensuring their contributions continue to inspire future generations of musicians and songwriters. The ceremony’s memorable moments — from Fogerty’s heartfelt reflections to Swift’s star power — provided a fitting tribute to the art of songwriting in all its forms.

As the music community looks toward the future, the Songwriters Hall of Fame remains a vital institution celebrating the creators whose words and melodies shape culture and memory. The 2026 inductees exemplified the talent, perseverance and creativity that define the highest standards of the craft.

The region registered the strongest expansion for the first time since December 2024

North East businesses top the UK rankings for activity growth in a key survey, with figures showing a marked rise in activity despite increased price pressures. The latest findings from the NatWest Growth Tracker for the North East – a seasonally adjusted index that measures the month-on-month change in the combined output of the region’s manufacturing and service sectors – dipped from 55.0 in April to 53.8 in May.

The numbers point to a softer but still marked increase in business activity, while also representing the fifth upturn in consecutive months. Only three of the 12 monitored UK regions and nations recorded a rise in output, with the North East registering the strongest expansion for the first time since December 2024.

Private sector firms also recorded a softer increase in new business intakes in May. Regional firms noted the impact of higher prices on both sales and output, as cost pressures remained historically elevated. That said, business confidence regarding the year-ahead outlook strengthened for the first time since the start of the year.

Last month saw regional businesses mark a sixth successive expansion in new business. However, the pace of growth slowed from April’s 17-month high. Where sales rose, firms linked this to strength in underlying demand, as well as clients placing additional orders to protect against future supply shortages and price increases.

The rise in sales in the North East compared with a decline at the UK level and was second only to London in the regional rankings. The degree of optimism in the North East was below the long-run series trend and among the weakest of the 12 monitored UK areas, however.

Anecdotal evidence suggested confidence was underpinned by new product launches and capacity expansion plans – and the non-replacement of voluntary leavers and business restructuring pushed firms to lower staffing numbers in the North East. Concurrently, the rate of increase in local output charges eased slightly on the month but remained historically elevated.

Anecdotal evidence suggested that higher cost burdens were partially passed through to clients. Only Northern Ireland and the West Midlands saw a faster rise in selling prices than the North East in May.

Malcolm Buchanan, chair of the NatWest North regional board, said: “North East-based companies were buoyed by stronger optimism during May, and saw growth of both activity and new order inflows enter a fifth and sixth successive month respectively.

“Firms often noted that the region had strong underlying demand for private sector goods and services. That said, anecdotal evidence also suggested that some customers placed additional orders in order to protect against future price hikes and supply disruption, partly in response to the ongoing impact of the conflict in the Middle East.

“Cost pressures remained notably acute in the latest survey month, easing only slightly from the 41-month high seen during April, and were still well above the historical average. Companies often looked to pass on higher input costs to clients through a sustained and marked increase in selling prices.

“Employment also fell for the second successive month, with some firms attributing this to efforts to cut costs. Despite the reduction in headcounts and rising order inflows, the volume of outstanding business – a bellwether for near-term activity – fell for the second month running, albeit only marginally.

“Looking ahead, however, the overall degree of confidence improved for the first time since January, though local firms were among the least optimistic of the 12 monitored UK areas.”

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Billionaire hedge fund CEO and owner Ken Griffin is making good on his promise to “double down” on Miami after publicly feuding with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani over New York’s new tax on expensive second homes.

Griffin, who runs hedge fund Citadel, plans to add a 300-unit apartment building and a 1,400+ space parking garage to the site of Citadel’s future headquarters in Miami’s financial district Brickell, recent filings show.

Citadel also acquired every unit in a 22-story condominium tower across the street from the Brickell building with plans to demolish it to expand the Miami campus.

“We are focusing this part of our development at 1201 Brickell solely on commercial office space. Miami is open for business, and the unparalleled quality of our development will drive the tenancy of leading global firms, including Citadel and Citadel Securities,” a Citadel spokesperson told FOX Business.

On April 15 (Tax Day), NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani posted a video outside Ken Griffin’s Manhattan penthouse promoting a new “tax-the-rich” policy. (Spencer Platt/Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg/Getty Images / Getty Images)

The Miami push follows a protracted feud between Griffin and Mamdani, stemming from a video Mamdani made specifically targeting Griffin’s Park Avenue penthouse in an explainer for his new city tax on expensive second homes. 

DESANTIS BLASTS NYC’S ‘BALLISTIC PODIATRY’ AFTER ZOHRAN MAMDANI WINS MAYOR’S RACE AND FLORIDA EXPECTS EXODUS

“When I ran for mayor, I said I was going to tax the rich. Well, today we’re taxing the rich… This is an annual fee on luxury properties worth more than $5 million whose owners do not live full-time in the city — like this penthouse, which hedge fund CEO Ken Griffin bought for $238 million,” Mamdani said in his April 15 video while standing in front of Griffin’s penthouse. 

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani stands outside of Citadel CEO Ken Griffin’s Park Avenue penthouse in an April 15, 2026, video. (NYC Mayor’s Office / Unknown)

Griffin responded, calling the personal attack “creepy and weird,” worrying that it put him in harm’s way and demonstrated “a profound lack of judgment,” on Mamdani’s part. 

Griffin’s Citadel executives then suggested that a new Citadel office space in Midtown could become a casualty of Mamdani’s not-so-business-friendly policies.

MAMDANI’S CLASH WITH BILLIONAIRE PUTS NYC STREET FOOD VENDORS IN THE CROSSHAIRS

“We are about to commence the redevelopment of 350 Park Avenue, creating 6,000 highly paid construction jobs and supporting the creation of more than 15,000 permanent jobs in Midtown New York,” Citadel COO Gerald Beeson wrote in an April 23 memo to employees. 

Citadel is building its future headquarters in Miami’s financial district Brickell. (Getty Images / Getty Images)

“The project – if we move forward – will entail more than $6 billion dollars of spending,” he also wrote.

Mamdani eventually softened his rhetoric, thanking Griffin for his contributions to the city.

Citadel already moved its headquarters from Chicago to Miami in 2022, and the Brickell acquisitions further grow the hedge fund’s South Florida footprint.

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FOX Business contacted Mayor Mamdani’s office for additional comment. 

FOX Business’ Madison Alworth and Matthew Kazin contributed to this report. 

Venue will spill out from car park into Sir Tony Lloyd Square

A new food hub and events space for Stretford has been given the green light by councillors.

Street food specialist GRUB’s latest venture will be moving into the multi-storey car park in Stretford town centre. The venue will spill out into Sir Tony Lloyd Square, plans show.

By day, it will be home to a bakery, coffee shop and pop-up bottle store before transforming into a larger-scale evening destination with several street food traders and live entertainment from Thursday through to Sunday.

The ambition is to be a place where all of the Stretford community can come together for food, events and family activities, those behind the plans say. It forms part of Trafford council’s vision for the regeneration of the town which has seen widespread transformation over recent years. This has included the demolition of much of Stretford mall to create a new shopping parade.

Local residents have expressed excitement over the new hub, with many hoping it will be just the thing to bring the town centre back to life.

Conor Kelly, 34, previously told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he thinks the venue will be ‘brill’, adding: “It’s a bit of a disused space at the minute. We’ve got the new town centre and it’s just going to bring lots of people here, new businesses, new food places.”

He is looking forward to ‘just having something’ in the town. He continued: “Since the mall closed down, there’s not been a huge amount going on.”

Zoe Sincock, also 34, added: “There’s not that many places to go out to eat around here. So it’ll be nice to be able to go out for something to eat.

Trafford councillors seem to agree, ruling to approve the plans at the planning committee meeting on Thursday, June 11.

Liberal Democrat councillor Ulrich Savary said: “I’m very happy to support it. It’s going to be a great addition for Stretford. I don’t think there’s going to be any negative impact for local residents, so very happy for this to go ahead.”

A temporary ‘scaffold wall’ will be erected around the food hall to ‘provide some level of enclosure’, planning officers said. The design and details of this are still to be agreed with the council.

However, officers do not think this would be an ‘appropriate long-term solution’ for the front of the unit. As such, they recommended that approval for the hub be granted on a temporary basis of 19 months. This also ‘reflects’ the length of GRUB’s lease for the site, they said.

Some concerns were also raised over potential noise from the new events space. Newly elected Green councillor Gareth Twose asked: “If residents feel there is excessive noise coming from the site on a regular, repeated basis, what action can be taken under the noise management plan?”

Officers said there was a noise management plan for the site and, if there were breaches of those conditions, enforcement action could be taken to ensure they comply.

The scheme was first announced around three weeks ago, with the statutory consultation period ending only the day before the committee meeting. Trafford council said it had brought the scheme to this month’s meeting as GRUB wanted the hub open in time for the football World Cup.

Consent is given for the food hall use on a temporary basis of 19 months, in line with GRUB’s expected lease for the site.

Opening hours will be from 8am to 11pm, with extended hours expected for home games. Alcohol will be served from midday, with live music potentially taking place between midday and 10pm.

To find all the planning applications, traffic diversions, road layout changes, alcohol licence applications and more in your community, visit the Public Notices Portal.