New planning rules ‘could blight high streets with empty pubs’ August 18, 2026 Angela Rayner’s attempt to stop pubs being redeveloped into offices and housing could “blight high streets” with empty venues, property experts have warned. The housing secretary has unveiled reforms to planning rules which mean that developers can only turn a pub into housing or an office if there is no reasonable prospect that it can [...]
Diageo boss ‘drastic’ Dave Lewis eyes £20m pay deal as 2,000 jobs slashed August 18, 2026 Diageo boss Sir Dave Lewis could take home as much as £20m in pay for the next year, it has emerged, while the drinks giant sheds 2,000 staff. The chief executive of the Guinness and Smirnoff maker could make as much as £20m in the year to June 2027, though he is more likely to [...]
Even Claude says AI watermarking is no ‘silver bullet’ August 18, 2026 Claude has questioned whether watermarking AI-generated text can ever provide a foolproof way to identify machine-written material, just days after its maker, Anthropic, began embedding invisible marks into the chatbot’s own output. Asked by City AM whether AI-generated content should be watermarked, Claude warned that simple marks can be “cropped, screenshotted, or edited out”, while [...]
Five tracks that could host Formula 1 in coming years August 18, 2026 Any country that is any country wants to be part of a coveted club, to be a host of a Formula 1 race weekend. The 2026 season would have seen 21 countries sharing 24 races – altered to 23 races in 20 countries due to the conflict in Iran – meaning a smidge over 10 [...]
Law firm at centre of BHP mammoth lawsuit sued by its own funder August 18, 2026 City law firm Pogust Goodhead is facing an £84m lawsuit from its own funder over a dispute related to its high-profile case: the record-breaking group action against mining giant BHP. The firm, formerly known as PGMBM, recently secured a major victory in one of the largest legal actions ever heard in the English courts. Last [...]
Asda credit card firm Jaja faces 15 per cent loan interest as debt pile swells August 18, 2026 The company behind the Asda credit card has added to its debt pile after posting a widening loss. Jaja Finance, which operates the supermarket’s card alongside its own credit card services, has drawn down nearly £50m from a debt facility since March, for which it pays an eye-watering 15 per cent annual interest rate. That’s [...]
Space X-linked Marex in £25m Nottingham Forest front-of-shirt deal August 18, 2026 Space X-linked global services platform Marex have become Nottingham Forest’s front-of-shirt partner ahead of the Premier League’s return on Friday. The multi-year deal sees the brand replace Bally’s as the Premier League ushers in a voluntary ban on gambling and casino brands being on the front of player shirts. Marex Financial was the firm that [...]
Klarna cuts revenue target as it forecasts softer European volumes August 18, 2026 Klarna has downgraded its revenue target for the year following unfavourable currency shifts and reduced activity from softer European volumes. The Swedish fintech unicorn said it expects to make between $4.08bn and $4.16bn for the current financial year, down from its previous forecast of over $4.34bn (£3.21bn). This came alongside a reduction in predicted gross [...]
Meta trial risks reputational damage that ‘dwarfs’ financial hit August 18, 2026 Meta faces a reputational hit that could “dwarf” even the potentially colossal financial penalties if it loses a landmark US trial over claims it deliberately made Instagram and Facebook addictive to children. The tech giant goes to trial in California today in one of the biggest legal tests yet of the way social media platforms [...]
UK’s largest wealth firms tighten their hold on the market August 18, 2026 The ten largest wealth firms in the UK have expanded their grip on the market, serving nearly the entirety of the country’s client base. The firms served up to 89 per cent of the discretionary client base in the previous tax year, according to the latest wealth management survey from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). [...]