Almost half UK firms cite AI skills shortage as barrier to growth April 22, 2026 Nearly half of UK businesses say a shortage of AI and digital skills is now the single biggest barrier to scaling AI, according to a new report, despite rapid growth in adoption across the economy. The Amazon Web Services (AWS) research found 49 per cent of UK organisations cite a lack of AI and digital [...]
McDonald’s targets jobless Gen Z with ‘UK’s largest work experience programme’ April 22, 2026 McDonald’s has launched the UK’s largest ever work experience programme in a major recruitment drive that will specifically target the ballooning number of young Brits that are neither working nor in full-time education. The fast-food chain will hand out some 2,500 paid placements to young workers over the age of 16 as part of a [...]
Alipay AI Pay Launches New Service Enabling OpenClaw-type AI Agents to Make Payments April 21, 2026 Alipay today launched a new AI Pay-powered payment service that enables OpenClaw-type AI agents to make purchases and complete payments based on user instructions. These autonomous AI tools, which execute tasks on a user’s behalf, have been nicknamed “lobsters” in China. The use of the new service requires no coding or complex setup, and includes [...]
Moody’s Advances Decision-Grade Credit Intelligence Across Enterprise AI Workflows, Powered by Microsoft 365 Copilot April 21, 2026 Moody’s decision-grade intelligence now available directly in the AI-powered tools where market participants work
Redslim expands its global footprint into Latin America April 21, 2026 Redslim, a specialist in end-to-end data management solutions and an Astorg portfolio company, today announced its expansion into the Latin America (LATAM) region, marking the next step in its growth strategy to support multinational brands and retailers across every major market. Following its recent expansion into APAC, this move reinforces Redslim’s momentum in building a [...]
GasEntec to Deliver Landmark Dakar LNG Terminal Supporting Senegal’s Energy Transition April 21, 2026 ELTON Logistics & Services’ jetty-based LNG regasification terminal to become West Africa’s flagship LNG import facility.
As private equity booms, law firm partner moves hit record high April 21, 2026 Partner moves in London’s private equity market are hitting a new high, according to a report that revealed last year’s numbers doubled those of 2024, marking a record for the City’s legal sector. New data from legal search boutique Macrae shows there were 50 movements of partners with practices in the private equity sector in [...]
Antler bets on the UK’s next generation of founders with its London-based residency April 21, 2026 Antler’s latest London residency opened this week with 80 founders in a single room, selected from roughly 10,000 applicants, each receiving a £500,000 commitment to build a company from scratch over eight weeks. Fewer than one in a hundred applicants make it through the selection process, which the early-stage investor weights heavily towards individual character, [...]
The mysterious media moguls behind London’s pink slime propaganda machine April 21, 2026 Private jets, council estates and links to the Kremlin: Steve Dinneen goes looking for the owners of a pink slime propaganda machine Standing outside a squat, residential tower block on the outskirts of Harlow on a grey winter afternoon, it seems hard to believe this is the headquarters of a media organisation with links to [...]
Barclays and Lloyds picked for City watchdog’s AI live testing April 21, 2026 Barclays has joined the second cohort of firms selected by the UK’s financial watchdog to get a safe run at testing AI as banking giants battle to bulk up their tech capacity. The FTSE 100 constituent will join its peer Lloyds Banking Group – which will be represented by its subsidiary Scottish Widows – as [...]