Revolut: Consumers splashed out on aquariums and antiques in February March 12, 2025 According to data from UK fintech Revolut, UK consumer spending increased in the month of February, with a notable uptick in home renovation purchases, takeaways, and indoor entertainment. New data from Revolut tracked 93m card payments last month, revealing how consumer habits shifted after the January spending lull. Home renovations Spending on home supply stores [...]
Financial watchdogs ditch DEI regulation and ‘name and shame’ plans March 12, 2025 The UK’s two main financial watchdogs have ditched plans to impose diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) targets on City institutions amid a government push to put Britain’s regulators on a growth footing. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) announced on Wednesday that in light of the “broad range” of feedback and [...]
Five years on, has Covid really changed the way we work? March 12, 2025 With this week marking five years since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Julia Turney asks whether the world of work has really changed.
Blackstone: Shakira’s songs stay, but ‘Hipgnosis’ name goes March 12, 2025 Blackstone has rebranded its $3bn (£2.32bn) music investment business to ‘Recognition’, letting go of its former name ‘Hipgnosis’, as it prepares for new acquisitions and consolidates its assets. This decision follows the company’s takeover of the Hipgnosis Songs Fund in 2023, which held the rights to songs by the likes of Shakira, Fleetwood Mac, and [...]
EU hits back at US with €26bn in retaliatory tariffs March 12, 2025 The EU has announced retaliatory “countermeasures” on €26bn worth of US goods, as the global trade war sparked by Trump’s package of tariffs continues to rage. Early on Wednesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that there will be a two-stage process to implement the tariffs, first allowing current measures to lapse before [...]
Drax secures capacity agreements in £43m deal March 12, 2025 Drax has secured agreements to provide 434 megawatts of capacity primarily from its pumped storage and hydro assets. The UK power firm said on Wednesday the deal had a value of around £24m and covers the period October 2028 to September 2029. It has also secured a provisional agreement to provide 24 megawatts of capacity [...]
Stocks and Shares ISA inspiration from the experts March 12, 2025 As part of City AM's series on ISAs, we asked Camilla Esmund, senior manager, interactive investor to gather some Stocks and Shares ISA inspiration from the experts.
PWC cuts partners and apprenticeships amid slow demand March 12, 2025 Consulting giant PWC UK has made record cuts to its partner ranks and paused its tech apprenticeship scheme to protect partner profits in the face of a sharp decline in consulting demand. According to corporate filings, 123 partners left the Big Four firm in 2024, more than double the annual average since 2002. Meanwhile, the [...]
OpenAI rivals Anthropic by simplifying AI agent development March 12, 2025 OpenAI has launched a set of new tools aimed at simplifying the process of building agents that can autonomously complete tasks on behalf of users, rivalling Anthropic’s launch of its new AI agent last month. “Building agents is harder than it needs to be”, said an OpenAI spokesperson. To streamline this process, the ChatGPT owner [...]
Regulator will drop plans to ‘name and shame’ UK companies March 12, 2025 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is set to announce that it will shelve plans to “name and shame” companies accused of falling foul of its rules. Following pressure to drop the controversial policy, the financial watchdog will U-turn on the new threshold for disclosing more public details on companies under investigation. Announced back in February [...]