Mark Kleinman: Frasers’ touchiness shows importance of Harvey Nicks swoop for Ashley Business Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City editor and the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his City AM column. Touched a raw nerve? Michael Murray, the chief executive of Frasers Group, was forthright in comments to City AM last month when it was put to him that some luxury brands had expressed concerns about Harvey Nichols [...]
Amazon says it buys books in bulk to ‘improve products’ Tech Amazon has said it buys books through commercial channels to develop its products after an investigation traced a bulk order of rare books to a facility where workers reportedly destroy and scan physical copies. “Amazon purchases books through commercial channels to help develop and improve the products and services our customers use,” an Amazon spokesperson [...]
Is £5bn now the entry ticket into Premier League football? Sport Business It may have taken 34 years but the Premier League has at last clawed its way into the financial big time. The reported £5.5bn valuation placed on Liverpool FC by a consortium of new investors that includes Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos – aka the world’s third richest man – has the whiff of an NFL [...]
Jeff Bezos closes in on Liverpool FC stake as FSG sale deal nears August 10, 2026 Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos is set to buy shares in Liverpool FC as Fenway Sports Group plans a significant minority sale. A consortium featuring Bezos, as well as Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, is led by the son-in-law of steel billionaire Lakshmi Mittal and former Queens Park Rangers shareholder Amit Bhatia and is nearing a deal [...]
Warehouse tax could threaten high street businesses, Burnham warned July 20, 2026 Andy Burnham‘s plans to hike taxes on warehouses to pay for business rates cuts for pubs and shops could backfire and raise costs for high street businesses, industry figures have warned. The UK Warehousing Association (UKWA), a trade body representing retailers including Amazon, Co-op and John Lewis, has written to the new Prime Minister urging [...]
Big Tech faces earnings test after AI spending spree July 18, 2026 Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon will report earnings over the next two weeks as investors look for evidence that years of record spending on AI are beginning to generate stronger revenue growth. The three companies have led the AI investment boom, committing billions of dollars to data centres, chips and software. Their latest results are expected [...]
Why even gilts are outperforming the once unstoppable Magnificent 7 this year July 8, 2026 Plagued by sticky inflation and spendthrift politicians, the UK government’s bonds have spent years as an unloved asset class. But six months into 2026 and they have, so far, outperformed the Magnificent 7. Ali Lyon examines what has gone wrong for the so-called hyperscalers even as AI hype is greater than ever. Since the Bank [...]
UK firms ‘bracing for change’ as Trump revives tariff threat over Big Tech tax June 29, 2026 Donald Trump’s latest threat to impose 100 per cent tariffs on countries with digital services taxes has renewed concerns among British exporters, with business groups warning that a trade dispute over Big Tech could end up costing manufacturers billions. The US president said on Friday that any country imposing a digital services tax on American [...]
Oracle slashes 21,000 jobs amid AI embrace as tech sell-off rocks Asia June 23, 2026 Software giant Oracle axed around 21,000 roles in the last year as the US tech giant turbocharged its AI adoption plans – even as markets continue to question the rapid acceleration of the tech boom. The computing firm – which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange – said in its annual report the [...]
Big Tech’s AI capex splurge can’t go on forever June 17, 2026 The eye-watering capital expenditure plans of Big Tech has been one of the year’s biggest stories. Google, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft have all splurged to secure a podium spot in the race to build out the infrastructure which will run the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. Total capex by these four firms is expected to reach $750bn [...]