Meet the lawyer that launched Mayer Brown into Space (law) October 1, 2025 Fifteen years ago, Rachael O’Grady, an arbitration lawyer, had a blown-up satellite operator case land on her desk, a case that would pique her interest and ultimately lead to the creation of a space practice at Mayer Brown. “Given my international law background, I started thinking about space and how that might interact with international [...]
Will the ‘Brit card’ ID redefine privacy in the UK? September 29, 2025 Just last week, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced plans for a new digital ID system, or so-called ‘Brit card’, aimed to provide UK citizens and legal residents with a smartphone-based identity card. By the end of the current parliament in 2029, digital ID is set to become mandatory for ‘right to work’ checks. The government [...]
How are ‘bankrupt’ France’s borrowing costs still lower than ours? September 29, 2025 Locked in a protracted political crisis over the extent of its indebtedness – and with its deficit running at over five per cent of GDP – France has earned itself the unwanted monikers of ‘the sick man of Europe’ and the ‘new Greece’. Despite these woes, its borrowing costs remain lower than the UK’s. Ali [...]
From McGregor to the final three: The battle for Ireland’s highest office September 29, 2025 In less than a month, voters across Ireland will head to the polls to choose their next President, as the current officeholder, Michael D. Higgins, completes his final term. Unlike in France or the United States, Ireland’s presidency is largely ceremonial. The President serves as the head of state, while the Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) [...]
The Pimco boss who thinks philanthropy has a PR problem September 24, 2025 John Studzinski may be one of the City’s most senior bankers, but he is arguably best known for his exploits beyond the Square Mile and Wall Street; namely in the space of philanthropy. Ali Lyon talks to him about his aims to reshape the way people think about ‘giving’, and why he doesn’t like the [...]
Converge AI: Meet the UK tech decarbonising concrete with AI September 24, 2025 Concrete is everywhere; It’s in the roads we drive on, the buildings we work in, and the infrastructure that shapes the UK’s cities. Yet despite its ubiquity, it’s also one of the hardest materials to make environmentally friendly. This is the challenge that British construction tech scale-up Converge AI, founded in 2014, is trying to [...]
Nvidia-OpenAI deal raises questions over how sustainable the AI boom is September 23, 2025 Nvidia and OpenAI have unveiled what they call the largest AI infrastructure project in history, a partnership to deploy 10 gigawatts of data centres powered by millions of Nvidia’s advanced chips. The deal could see Nvidia invest up to $100bn (£73.99bn) in Sam Altman’s company, even as OpenAI spends billions of dollars buying those very [...]
Floating in London would be my ‘signature achievement’, ClearScore CEO September 23, 2025 Floating credit score giant ClearScore on the London Stock Exchange would be “my signature achievement”, the company’s co-founder and chief executive has said. Speaking on an up-coming episode of City AM‘s Boardroom Uncovered show, Justin Basini opened up about the plans being drawn up to take ClearScore public in the next couple of years. He [...]
Surinder Arora: Heathrow could be the next Thames Water September 17, 2025 Surinder Arora is the man bidding to break a decades-old monopoly by winning the right to build Heathrow’s third runway. With the government’s first remarks on proposals expected this month, he sits down with Ali Lyon to discuss the merits of his proposal, the reasons behind it, and why he thinks that – without urgent [...]
Businesses are Reform-curious on eve of Birmingham conference September 4, 2025 Nigel Farage’s poll-topping party has attracted more businesses than ever to its annual conference this week. But, writes Ali Lyon, some corporations and industry bodies are still steering clear of the party, citing its unpredictability and the conference’s unorthodox format. With his party boasting a consistent poll lead, and a general election just weeks away, [...]