Greene King selling 150 pubs over ‘unprecedented costs’, boss says May 4, 2026 Greene King’s decision to put 150 pubs up for sale was a reaction to the “unprecedented” costs facing hospitality, its boss has said. The pub chain, one of the UK’s largest, revealed plans to put as many as 150 pubs on the chopping block in March and chief executive Nick Mackenzie told City AM this [...]
Geopolitical risks upend gold’s glittering demand dynamics April 29, 2026 Gold’s glittering run has upended demand dynamics, as rising prices amid the Iran war led investors to plough into a diversified range of assets. Total gold demand in the first financial quarter hit 1,231 tonnes, a modest two per cent year on year increase from 2025. But the humble increase coupled with gold’s staggering price [...]
Regulator fines PwC £95m over Chinese Evergrande audit April 23, 2026 The Hong Kong regulator fined PwC Hong Kong a landmark HK$1bn (£95m) for its role as auditor for the now-liquidated property giant, China Evergrande Group. Back in Janaury 2023, PwC resigned as Evergrande’s auditor following a series of disagreements with the heavily-indebted property developer over its audit of the firm’s 2021 accounts. This came after [...]
Tesla leans on AI and robotics as earnings fail to woo investors April 23, 2026 Tesla delivered a mixed first quarter update on Wednesday evening, beating profit expectations but missing on revenue as its core car business continued to come under pressure. The electric vehicle maker reported earnings of 41 cents per share, ahead of the 37 cents expected. Meanwhile, revenue came in at $22.39bn (£16.6bn), dipping slightly below forecasts [...]
Sainsbury’s warns of Iran war hit to customers, share price dips April 23, 2026 Sainsbury’s has warned that the Iran war “will impact both our customers and our business,” as the supermarket giant saw its share price fall. The FTSE 100 grocer’s underlying retail profit fell by more than one per cent to £1bn, which Sainsbury’s said was due to “significant operating cost inflation,” as total sales grew by [...]
AI governance for boards: A short practical guide April 22, 2026 The boards hoping AI won’t change their world are already failing their fiduciary duty. So here’s what they need to do, according to Lewis Liu When I was building Eigen, my previous AI company, I used to roll my eyes (privately) whenever someone asked me about AI bias. Eigen digitised complex financial and legal documents [...]
Sainsbury’s to deliver food inflation update as Argos future could be settled April 21, 2026 After Tesco hit back against fears of double-digit food inflation last week, supermarket rival Sainsbury’s is set to update the market this week. From the Iran war to the future of Argos, Felix Armstrong looks ahead to a landmark set of results due on Thursday. Sainsbury’s spooked shoppers last week when it threatened people caught swapping [...]
The government is about to find out you can’t please the people and the bond markets April 14, 2026 In the next phase of the Iran crisis, investors will demand fiscal discipline; electorates will demand intervention. In a supply-driven stagflationary environment, it may be impossible to satisfy both, says Helen Thomas A severe physical supply shock is rippling through the global economy and unlike recent crises, this is not one policymakers can easily offset. [...]
Gucci, BYD, Netflix: Who replaces gambling on Premier League shirts? April 8, 2026 The end of the Premier League season is in sight, and for some clubs it could spell a financial nightmare. Not because they’ll inevitably part with millions of pounds to bring in the world’s top talent, but because a key revenue stream could be left vacant come the start of next season. Premier League clubs [...]
US AI firms team up to avoid another Deepseek moment April 7, 2026 US artificial intelligence (AI) heavyweights are together stepping up to protect their commercial edge, as Chinese rivals increasingly chip away at their pricing power. Google, Anthropic and OpenAI have begun sharing information on rivals trying to replicate their models through distillation, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. The united effort has been coordinated through an industry non-profit, [...]