Overseas games: Will World Cup success force Fifa’s hand over divisive issue? July 29, 2026 Fifa’s staging of the World Cup in North America may have been a massive commercial win, but it might also have ramped up the pressure on world football’s governing body to make a decisive call on one of the game’s most contentious issues: domestic leagues taking matches to more lucrative overseas locations. The biggest ever [...]
‘Nasty’ chip stock rout plunges Nasdaq into correction territory July 29, 2026 A global rout in chip stocks plunged the Nasdaq into correction territory on Tuesday just hours after South Korea’s bourse was forced to halt trading, in a sharp change of fortunes for what has been one of the year’s top performing exchanges. New York’s tech-heavy index fell nearly two per cent at the US market [...]
‘Scale is survival’: UK broadcasters race to merge as streaming giants squeeze revenues July 29, 2026 British broadcasters are turning to mergers as television revenues come under pressure from streaming services, YouTube and online ads, according to Ofcom. The media regulator’s annual Media Nations report found commercial broadcaster revenues fell from £4.98bn to £4.83bn in 2025, despite the wider TV and online video market growing seven per cent to £18.4bn. Growth [...]
Healey faces £24bn spending squeeze as inflation puts tax rises in play July 29, 2026 Chancellor John Healey is facing a £24bn real terms squeeze on the public purse due to higher inflation and will be forced to hike takes to fund the government’s spending plans, a top think tank has warned. Price growth will peak at 3.8 per cent early next year before a slow return to the Bank [...]
Lloyd’s of London allows staff to work from home as heatwave hits the capital July 28, 2026 Lloyd’s of London is allowing its staff to stay away from the historic City building as yet another heatwave threatens to hit London. The home of the world’s leading specialist insurance and reinsurance marketplace has told staff they are able to use their judgement and work from home this week with temperatures in the Square [...]
Uefa blasts Fifa over Infantino plan to ‘sell football’s soul’ for $4bn July 28, 2026 Uefa has accused Fifa of “selling football’s soul” after the world governing body revealed plans to raise more than $4bn by selling stakes in a new subsidiary that would manage the commercial rights to the World Cup and Club World Cup. The new company, Fifa Forward Enterprise, would consolidate the media rights, sponsorship, ticketing and [...]
Nobel Peace Prize maker’s UK arm seeks administrator July 28, 2026 The London Mint Office, one of the largest numismatic distributors, is lining up administrators after 20 years in business. Founded in 2006, the company is part of Europe’s largest coin company, the Samlerhuset Group, based in the Netherlands. The UK entity acts as a major retailer for collectors, including specially minted items celebrating British royalty [...]
Next and Frasers go head to head for control of Harvey Nichols July 28, 2026 Retail giants Next and Frasers are set to go head to head for control of ailing department store Harvey Nichols when the Hong Kong-owned firm takes bids from British suitors later on Tuesday. The Knightsbridge-headquartered department store chain was put up for sale last month by its owner, Hong Kong billionaire Sir Dickson Poon, and [...]
Grant Thornton partners pocket £35m from private equity deal July 28, 2026 Equity partners at professional services giant Grant Thornton’s UK arm received a £35.2m payout after a large stake in the firm was bought by private equity-backer Cinven. According to Companies House filings, as seen by City AM, a considerable one-time payout of £35.2m was made to “certain individuals” who are equity partners at the firm. [...]
Real Madrid break world record for sports team with £1bn revenue July 28, 2026 Real Madrid have claimed the highest operating revenue of any sports team in history after reporting income of more than €1.2bn for last season. The figure declared, €1.221bn, equates to £1.04bn and $1.36bn at current exchange rates and is a three per cent increase on the 2024-25 campaign. As such it surpasses the $1.23bn reported [...]