‘Bond market tantrum risks’: Gilt traders brace for Labour leftward pivot as Starmer future uncertain
Billion-dollar regulatory fines fail to dent Big Tech January 29, 2026 For the world’s biggest tech firms, regulatory penalties are no longer a consequential financial event. Alphabet, Apple, Meta and Amazon were fined a combined $7.8bn (£6.2bn) in 2025 for breaches of competition and privacy rules, according to a new Proton report. And while that sounds like a hefty number, in practice, it would have taken [...]
Meta, Apple, Microsoft, Tesla: Big Tech earnings set to test AI bets January 27, 2026 This week marks one of the most consequential stretches of tech earnings season, with results due from Meta, Microsoft, Tesla and Apple, four giants that sit at the heart of both the market rally and the debate over whether Big Tech’s vast AI spending will ultimately pay off. It is the second-busiest week of the fourth-quarter earnings season, with 103 [...]
The Magnificent 7 in 2025 – and the survival of the richest December 31, 2025 In the spirit of end-of-year round-ups, it is worth scrutinising the fortunes of the so-called Magnificent Seven: Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Nvidia, and Tesla and their dominance of global equity markets, which shows no signs of abating. Yet 2025 was a year that highlighted both the extraordinary influence and the vulnerabilities of these mega-cap [...]
Why Apple’s Formula 1 deal is setting the trends into 2026 December 29, 2025 In late 2025 streaming player Apple announced it would be ditching its Stateside MLS deal early. The platform confirmed, however, that it would pick up the rights to Formula 1 in the United States. The deal could be worth $140m a year, but what does it mean for sport? On first appraisal, the new agreement [...]
AI bubble fears: Which of the Magnificent Seven will pop? November 17, 2025 The spectacle of the so-called Magnificent Seven – Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Tesla, Meta, Microsoft, and Nvidia – has been the defining market story of this generation. Synonymous with the AI boom, their collective valuation, now commanding a fifth of global markets, is underpinned by the fervent belief that they alone will win the AI arms [...]
When companies can outspend countries, they set the political agenda November 5, 2025 When Nvidia is bigger than the GDP of Germany, the implications for national sovereignty are deeply uncomfortable, says Steve Rigby We like to imagine that the great contests of innovation are fought between nations: the US versus China; Europe versus Asia; governments vying for technological leadership. That framing is already outdated. The real race is [...]
AI bubble fears dismissed as sector bets on lasting tech boom October 31, 2025 Federal reserve chair Jerome Powell recently poured cold water on mounting fears that the AI boom is heading for a spectacular bust, arguing that the current surge in investment bears little resemblance to the dot-com frenzy that ended in tears two decades ago. In a press conference following the Fed’s latest rate decision this week, [...]
Apple and Amazon defy Wall Street gloom on iPhone and cloud sales October 31, 2025 Tech behemoths Apple and Amazon have defied expectations with results that outshone Wall Street forecasts, rounding off a big week of earnings from the world’s most powerful firms. Both companies posted double-digit revenue growth and upbeat outlooks, calming investor nerves after a rocky few days for the wider tech sector. While Apple reported a surge [...]
Nvidia hits historic $5tn market cap October 29, 2025 AI and chips behemoth Nvidia has smashed another record valuation, with its $5tn market cap that puts it well clear of the GDP of Germany – the fourth biggest economy in the world. Shares in Nvidia jumped up 3.5 per cent in premarket trading, amid a surge in investor enthusiasm for AI. Nvidia’s surge followed [...]
Apple and Microsoft to join Nvidia in $4tn club amid AI market boom October 28, 2025 Apple and Microsoft are each within touching distance of a $4tn (£3.01tn) market valuation, setting the stage for a big week of earnings on Wall Street as investor confidence in AI continues to propel Big Tech stocks to new heights. Both tech heavyweights’ shares rose on Monday, leaving them less than two per cent away [...]