Sir Martin Sorrell: Clients ‘cautious’ as S4 Capital’s income tumbles May 8, 2025 S4 Capital, Sir Martin Sorrell’s advertising giant, recorded a sharp drop in revenue in its first-quarter trading update as geopolitical tensions weighed. The firm posted a 11.4 per cent slump in net revenue to £148.3m, which it said reflected the “continuing technology client caution” and headwinds from one “key client”. Takings from marketing services reduced [...]
FD Technologies shares surge on US takeover offer May 7, 2025 Shares in Newry-based tech firm FD Technologies rocketed on Wednesday as its odds of a US takeover increased. The AIM-listed company’s board of directors issued a statement on Wednesday addressing offers of a takeover from US private equity firm TA Associates. The most recent proposal from TA related to “a possible cash offer” of 2,450p [...]
FTSE 100’s record run ends as pharma stocks slide on new Trump appointment May 7, 2025 The FTSE 100’s record run came to an end on Wednesday as pharma stocks slumped on the back of a controversial US regulatory appointment. The blue-chip index spent the entire session in the red and closed off 0.4 per cent. Drugmakers GSK and Astrazeneca were among the top fallers, at nearly five per cent and [...]
Magnificent Seven magic is ‘dead’, says top tech investor May 6, 2025 For years, investors have relied on the Magnificent Seven to provide massive returns. Now, one of its biggest beneficiaries has said that strategy is “mostly dead”. The small group of giant tech stocks has seen a tripling of its total weight in the S&P 500 over the last decade, and now makes up around a [...]
Microsoft shares jump after AI bets pay off May 1, 2025 Microsoft shares surged over six per cent in after hours trading on Wednesday after the tech giant delivered another quarter of better than expected earnings, driven by its booming cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) businesses. The company posted revenue of $70.1bn (£52.5bn) for the quarter ending in March, up 13 per cent year on year, [...]
Apple slammed for App Store violations in Fortnite case May 1, 2025 A US federal judge has found Apple in a wilful violation of a court order requiring it to ease restrictions on app developers, marking a major development in the long-running legal battle with Fortnite creator, Epic Games. The ruling paves the way for the return of Fortnite to the iOS App Store in the US. [...]
The Co-op fights attempted hack as M&S cyber attack rages on April 30, 2025 The Co-op has been forced to shut off parts of its IT systems after it was confronted with an attempted hack. The Manchester-headquartered group has confirmed some of its back office and call centre services have been impacted. However, it added that all its stores, including grocery and funeral homes are trading as usual. A [...]
Ladbrokes owner Entain appoints new top boss April 29, 2025 Ladbrokes and Coral owner Entain has named Stella David as its permanent chief executive, effective immediately. David, who had twice served as interim CEO, steps into the role on a full-time basis as the company seeks to ‘stabilise leadership and accelerate strategic growth’. Pierre Bouchut, interim chair of the global sports betting and gaming group, [...]
Dolls, brands and biases: How businesses are using AI image generation April 26, 2025 In recent weeks, a viral trend has emerged, where people use AI to create their own personalised barbie-like dolls, using platforms like ChatGPT. What started as a fun, self-expression experiment soon gained popularity, giving rise to a phenomenon now dubbed “barbification”. The trend allowed users to transform themselves into digital dolls, creating hyper-realised versions of [...]
Don’t let Black Mirror spook you. The future of tech is cause for optimism April 25, 2025 Black Mirror may feel close to reality, but the reality of the AI revolution should give us more optimism, writes Naji El-Afiri.