Digital investment nearly doubles since 2019 yet AI’s growth contributions questioned August 24, 2026 Investment in digital infrastructure has nearly doubled in the space of just five years official data has shown even as economists question whether recent gains in productivity are down to artificial intelligence. A revision of how digital infrastructure spending is calculated by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has suggested that business investment in digital [...]
John Caudwell and Stuart Rose blast ‘tax creep’ August 24, 2026 Billionaire political donor John Caudwell and retail bigwig Lord Stuart Rose have hit out at the “creep of taxes” hitting businesses across the country. The influential business veterans have joined a campaign led by entrepreneur group Helm calling on the government to “stop the creep of taxes on wealth creators”. A letter, which has been [...]
As it happened: Stocks rally; US to unveil ‘economic D-Day’ Iran sanctions August 24, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The FTSE 100 rallied on Monday afternoon following a brief slump in the early afternoon. Wier, Airtel Africa and Intercontinental Hotels Group led the index’s risers while Autotrader and Melrose Industries dragged on the index. The attention of investors is trained on the other side of the Atlantic, [...]
Billions in pensions go missing: JP Morgan and Standard Life reconnect Brits with lost wealth August 24, 2026 Over £2bn in lost wealth was returned to savers in the first six months of the year, by firms including JP Morgan and Standard Life who want to reconnect Brits with lost money. The initiative, dubbed ‘Billions 4 Millions, returned £2.5bn in lost and uncliamed financial assets to consumers, spanning pensions, investments, savings and financial [...]
Treasury launches business rates review for pubs and hotels August 24, 2026 The Treasury has launched a review into how business rates are calculated for pubs and hotels in the government’s latest bid to boost businesses operating in town centres. Launched on Monday, the government said the review will “look at improving fairness for businesses” and will aim “to ensure the system is fair and transparent, and [...]
Lord O’Neill declines job in Burnham government August 21, 2026 Former Goldman Sachs executive and Tory Treasury minister Lord Jim O’Neill has declined a job in Andy Burnham’s government, in a blow to the Prime Minister as he looks to woo business ahead of the Budget. O’Neill served as an informal economic adviser to Burnham before his election as Labour leader and had been in [...]
Nationwide warns returns from corporate AI are still hard to measure August 21, 2026 Nationwide has warned that the financial returns from workplace AI remain difficult to quantify, even as the building society rolls out the technology to around 16,000 staff. Around 1,000 employees across the combined Nationwide and Virgin Money finance team now have premium Microsoft 365 Copilot licences, while some 2,500 engineers are using Github Copilot. Paul [...]
UK economy’s rebound fails to stem two years of mass job losses August 21, 2026 A rebound in the UK economy over August has failed to turn around the country’s flagging labour market after nearly two years of job losses, new estimates have shown. Data tracked by S&P Global suggested the UK’s private sector grew at the fastest pace in four months in August despite concerns around business costs and [...]
Burnham predicted to raise taxes for ‘fundamental’ cost of living support August 21, 2026 Andy Burnham will struggle to deliver “fundamental” cost of living support without raising taxes, economists have warned, after a spike in government bond yields in recent weeks. Higher than expected government borrowing in July has deepened problems for the UK’s public finances, narrowing the range of extra cost of living measures that could be adopted [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 climbs as markets digest Bessent buyback August 21, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The FTSE 100 has closed 0.6 per cent higher after fresh research showed consumer confidence has risen to its highest level in nearly two years. The GfK consumer confidence index – which polls households on the way they view their finances and economic outlook – jumped three points [...]