Is Microsoft becoming the new Vodafone? December 11, 2025 America’s biggest tech firms – Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Google – have thrown the kitchen sink at becoming leaders in AI. They have forked out whatever is necessary to get to the front of the race. The four firms spent a combined $16bn on capex in the first quarter of 2020. Fast-forward to the third quarter [...]
Labour rail pledge in doubt after £3bn private contract to run London Overground December 11, 2025 London Mayor Said Khan has caused a row within the Labour party after First Group was awarded a £3bn deal to operate the London Overground, a move which seemingly flies in the face of Labour’s manifesto commitment to bring railways back into public ownership. On Tuesday the London-listed transport group revealed that it would begin [...]
Panasonic sees slump in UK microwave sales amid air fryer boom December 10, 2025 Panasonic’s UK arm has seen a slump in sales of microwaves as consumers increasingly turn to air fryers to sate their home cooking needs. The Cardiff-based business, which manufactures microwaves as well as medical devices, said it saw a 10 per cent fall in revenue from its microwave oven division to £44.8m in the year [...]
Time to get relaxed about high executive pay December 10, 2025 This week Anglo American walked back on a plan that would have seen its chief executive handed a tasty bonus for the completion of its merger with Teck after investor backlash. Shareholders may have had well-reasoned objections to a scheme that would have dealt boss Duncan Wanblad an award amounting to almost two-thirds of his [...]
Auditor MHA resigns from Sanjeev Gupta-owned engineering firm December 9, 2025 MHA has resigned as auditor for a subsidiary of the beleaguered metals group controlled by tycoon Sanjeev Gupta, City AM can reveal. The London-listed accounting firm has stepped down as auditor of Wolverhampton-based Clydesdale Engineering, an automotive and defence manufacturer owned by Gupta’s Liberty Steel Group, part of his GFG Alliance conglomerate. MHA declined to [...]
Goalhanger profit soars as Gary Lineker-owned podcast firm attracts global audience December 9, 2025 Profit at Gary Lineker-owned production group Goalhanger has soared as the media group continued to build up a global audience for its portfolio of podcasts. The group’s retained earnings, a measure of the total profit accumulated since the firm was founded, more than tripled to £4.6m in the seven months to the end of December [...]
Relief for fintech startups as government plans new short-term FCA licences December 4, 2025 Fintech startups could be about to start trading much sooner after the government signalled plans to issue temporary licences in advance of getting full accreditation. Startups often suffer delays of months or even over a year as they wait for regulators at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to grant them authorisation, during which they burn [...]
Equity fund outflows hit fresh record as Budget uncertainty triggered UK selloff December 4, 2025 Equity funds have suffered their deepest and most prolonged bout of outflows on record with investors pulling more than £10bn in the past six months, fresh figures have revealed. UK-focused funds were the hardest-hit in November after haemorrhaging almost £847m, according to data compiled by global funds network Calastone, with analysts pointing to protracted Budget [...]
How to keep the wheels on private rail? Bring back first class service December 4, 2025 The era of rail renationalisation is an opportunity for the remaining open access operators to compete with a luxury offering, says Simon Hunt Amid all the Budget chaos last week, one big government announcement was drowned out: the transport department is freezing rail fares. Most commuters would gladly favour a freeze over a repeat of [...]
Powervault: London Mayor-backed Tesla battery rival collapses December 3, 2025 Battery storage firm Powervault, which had been tipped to become the UK rival to Tesla, has collapsed into administration, City AM can reveal. The London-based company, which had been backed by the Mayor of London’s Greater London Investment Fund as well as the British Business Bank, has appointed administrators Menzies to oversee its wind-down, according [...]
