Is your tech strategy good, or just AI theatre? October 15, 2025 Artificial intelligence has become the business world’s favourite performance recently. FTSE 100 earnings calls now mention AI more than inflation, and investor briefings increasingly resemble tech expos. Analysts report that AI references in UK company filings have tripled in the past year, yet the results aren’t matching the rhetoric. Markets are beginning to glance sideways. [...]
Obituary: Ian Barbour, Capital Access Group COO and City gent October 14, 2025 Ian Barbour, who died unexpectedly last week at the age of 60, was a rare example of a true old-school City gent.
Whisper it: British manufacturing has been a quiet Brexit success story October 14, 2025 It’s time Brexit Britain created a trade policy that focuses on its competitive advantages, says Daniel Dieppe Brexit was never meant to be an economic success. At least, according to the Treasury estimates, which predicted a year-long recession, a 500,000 increase in unemployment and a reduction in growth between three and six per cent. Yet [...]
AI bubble: Are we in the trough of disillusionment? October 14, 2025 As the term 'AI bubble' floats around the City, Susannah Streeter examines the outcomes of a potential dot.com-style boom and bust.
AI could take us back to the dark ages October 14, 2025 The AI revolution is pushing human thinking into reverse, says Lewis Liu Last weekend my wife and I were in Florence for an old family friend’s wedding. With a morning free, we visited the Uffizi, a solemn temple for a former professional artist and art major like me. The exhibit is curated chronologically, opening with [...]
What would a far-right leader in France mean for Europe? October 14, 2025 Despite growing economic strains and political turbulence in both countries, a potential alignment between Germany’s centre-right Chancellor Friedrich Merz and a far-right French president could temporarily steady Europe’s core — but deep fiscal and ideological divides between Paris and Berlin still threaten the long-term stability of the European Union and its single currency, says David [...]
Gabon president drops out of FT Africa Summit after City AM story October 13, 2025 Last week The Capitalist reported on the controversial opening speaker at the FT’s upcoming Africa Summit: the Gabonese President Brice Oligui Nguema, who stands accused of kidnapping and torturing the family of his predecessor. The FT press office brushed off our suggestion that hosting Nguema on 22 October might not align with the newspaper’s brand [...]
Margaret Thatcher would never have made a pact with Farage October 13, 2025 On the 100th birthday of Margaret Thatcher, Alys Denby reflects on what lessons she’s learned from the Iron Lady, and why her legacy remains relevant today… My mother tells me that when I was about three, I asked her if a woman could be a doctor. She replied: “darling, a woman is Prime Minister!”. It [...]
Don’t raise a glass to Starmer’s plan for pubs October 13, 2025 Keir Starmer claims he has a plan to save the struggling hospitality sector, but the detail is thin and all his other actions – like banning vapes and junkfood advertising – suggest his every impulse is to control people’s behaviour, says Eliot Wilson “Pubs and bars are the beating heart of our communities. Under our [...]
IMF annual meeting is high-stakes for the UK economy October 13, 2025 Amid global uncertainty, the UK economy needs a vote of confidence from the IMF at its annual meeting this week, writes Chris Hayward.