Retail vacancy space across Richmond is half of the national average, with new shops opening in recent months.

Just 7 per cent of the borough’s main high streets are unoccupied, while nationally the figure stands at 14 percent

Richmond High Street has seen a number of new businesses open recently, including the Canvas Gallery and Anthropologie, both in Golden Court, off George Street.

Apple reported a net profit of $18bn (£11.8bn) in its fiscal first quarter, which tops the $15.9bn made by ExxonMobil in the second quarter of 2012, according to Standard and Poor’s.

Record sales of iPhones were behind the surge in profits.

Apple sold 74.5 million iPhones in the three months to 27 December – well ahead of most analysts’ expectations.

In a conference call with financial analysts Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook said that demand for phones was “staggering”.

However, sales of the iPad continued to disappoint, falling by 22% in 2014 from a year earlier.

The number of people out of work in the UK fell by 58,000 to 1.91 million, its lowest level for more than six years, in the three months to November, official figures indicate.

However, there were signs that growth in employment is easing, with the fall in unemployment its smallest since the three months to September 2013.

The number of jobless 16 to 24-year-olds also increased by 30,000 to 764,000 – the first quarterly rise since June to August 2013. 

Customers who went outside of the EU and used internet data between October 2012 and October 2014 are affected about 0.5% of EE’s total customers. The company told the BBC the money “was never EE’s” and that the overcharge, blamed on a system-configuration error, went directly to Revenue & Customs. Refunds will range from about £2 to £80 per customer.

A record 5,500 plus accountancy graduates will be recruited by the big 4 accountancy firms this year KPMG has confirmed that it is hiring around 1,000 graduates, a 30% increase on 2013. the firm is also hiring around 150 school leavers. Deloitte recruited some 1,658 students into entry level jobs in 2013, and it confirmed it is expecting to sign up similar number of graduates this year. Meanwhile , PWC a record 1,532 graduates and 143 school leaver. this is up from 1,220 recruits in 2013. EY was planning to recruit thousands more people to deal with the growing demand for business advice. Of the 3,700 new recruits, some 1,350 were trainees last month it added 500 jobs in belfast alone.