IBM: AI adoption stalls as UK businesses lack clear strategy Tech UK businesses are adopting AI at a pace, but many are still struggling to convert that momentum into real, meaningful financial returns. According to IBM’s Race for ROI study, 66 per cent of British enterprises report significant productivity improvements from AI, with 63 per cent of senior leaders citing noticeable efficiency gains post-adoption. There seems [...]
Starmer told Trump to be ‘practical’ amid Strait of Hormuz tax rumours Politics Sir Keir Starmer has said he spent most of a conversation with Donald Trump on Thursday night talking about a “practical plan” to secure the Strait of Hormuz, shortly after he said he was “fed up” of the US president’s impact on energy bills. Starmer said he spoke to Trump about the blocked strait, which [...]
Healey: Defence investment is Starmer’s ‘highest priority’ Politics Defence secretary John Healey has said defence investment is the Prime Minister’s “highest priority” as military officials wait for a long-awaited strategy paper on procurement and spending. At the London Defence Conference, Healey said Sir Keir Starmer has taken a “personal interest” in drafting the Defence Investment Plan, which was due to be published last [...]
The six reasons why startups fail (and only one is unavoidable) April 10, 2026 Why do so many startups fail? Dr Bernard Bulkin, who has worked in venture capital for 21 years, says there are six main reasons.
Miliband slammed for net zero sprint as high costs hamper businesses April 10, 2026 Labour-linked researchers have slammed Ed Miliband’s net zero drive as the UK’s sky-high energy costs have come under intense scrutiny due to oil trade disruptions from the war in Iran and OpenAI’s decision to put a landmark data centre project in the UK on. Researchers at the Tony Blair Institute blamed the UK government’s dithering [...]
Mahmood agenda bites: Migrant worker applications nearly halve in a year April 9, 2026 The number of applications for skilled worker visas has nearly halved in a year after home secretary Shabana Mahmood raised the barriers to entry for migrants. Official data released by the Home Office showed that there were 34,700 skilled worker visa applications in the year to March. This was a 44 per cent decrease from [...]
Taxpayers brace for a financial hit after personal allowance rule change April 9, 2026 British taxpayers are bracing for a fresh financial hit as changes to the personal allowance creeps closer. While the personal allowance itself is not changing, remaining frozen at £12,570 until 2031, a subtle change will take effect from the next tax year, as the government places a new lock onto how it is applied, affecting [...]
Rolls-Royce boss ‘Turbo Tufan’ gets backing for £18m pay packet April 9, 2026 The boss of Rolls-Royce looks to have secured the shareholder backing for a multi-million pound pay bump. Tufan Erginbilgic, who took charge of the firm at the start of 2023, is set to win approval for a £18m pay packet, which will see his annual bonus entitlement increase from two to three times his base [...]
Fuel shortages, hunger, inflation spiral: IMF fears ‘scarring’ harm from Iran war April 9, 2026 Several fuel shortages, hunger and spiralling inflation will be some of the consequences of the Iran war as the head of the International Monetary Fund said that it would leave “scarring effects” on the global economy. In a speech by Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF’s managing director, global policymakers were warned that trade disruption across the [...]
Iran war sparks sharp reversal in European ETF rally April 9, 2026 European ETF flows ran out of road in March, as the Iran war pared back market gains from the first two months of the year and investors returned to the sidelines. The European exchange-traded fund (ETF) and exchange-traded commodities (ETC) market saw a sharp decline in investment during March, gathering only €9.4bn (£8.1bn), according to [...]