Watch: Spotlight turns on Reeves – and the state of our economy February 26, 2026 We haven’t heard much from Rachel Reeves so far this year – probably a deliberate strategy – but is the Chancellor set to make waves next week at the Spring Statement? Rachel Reeves didn’t have a great 2025. UK quarterly GDP growth peaked in Q1 at 0.7 per cent as firms front-loaded their activity to [...]
How HSBC and Standard Chartered are riding high on Asia’s wealth February 26, 2026 London’s banking giants are circling the UK’s wealth management pie. But two other top lenders could be carving out a feast 6,000 miles away. HSBC and Standard Chartered posted hefty bumps to their wealth divisions, driven by a strategic focus on Asia and the Middle East. In financial results shared on Wednesday, HSBC revealed bank-wide [...]
LSEG unveils biggest-ever buyback as firm fends off Elliott and AI threat February 26, 2026 The operator of the London Stock Exchange has unveiled its biggest-ever buyback as the company fends off the dual threats of activist investor pressure and shareholder fears over the rise of AI. LSEG said it would buy back at least £3bn of shares over the next twelve months, adding to the £2.1bn buyback carried out [...]
Ocado shares tumble as boss warns of job cuts February 26, 2026 The boss of online retailer Ocado has warned of “significant” job cuts after US retail giant Kroger pulled out of its automated warehouse partnerships, prompting shares to tumble. The group confirmed it has closed several warehouses in North America and warned that further job losses are to come as Ocado continues to “simplify” its model. [...]
Allianz Achieves Record Operating Profit of 17.4 Billion Euros – Excellent Start to New Strategic Cycle February 26, 2026 12M 2025 This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260225107874/en/ Excellent momentum and record operating profit Total business volume rises 8.11 percent and reaches 186.9 billion euros with contributions from all segments Operating profit increases 8.4 percent to 17.4 billion euros, our highest operating profit ever Shareholders’ core net income advances 10.9 [...]
Why Rachel Reeves’ low-key Spring Statement still matters February 26, 2026 This is the Spring Statement that Chancellor Rachel Reeves has long been waiting for in opposition: a moment of sheer insignificance. In May 2023, six months after the mini-budget debacle, Reeves offered a speech in opposition to Washington DC’s top independent think tank, the Peterson Institute, exalting her core economics philosophy of ‘securonomics’. She summarised [...]
Show them the book: why politicians need to read more novels February 26, 2026 Leading historian Dominic Sandbrook has said declining reading habits of our politicians tells you everything you need to know about why they’re so inadequate. William Atkinson couldn’t agree more… Would Keir Starmer be a better Prime Minister if he went to bed with a good Trollope? That was the suggestion of Dominic Sandbrook – Britain’s [...]
ViiV Healthcare presents pipeline data for two investigational HIV treatment therapies with potential for twice-yearly dosing February 25, 2026 VH184, the first, third‑generation integrase inhibitor in development shows potential for up to twice-yearly dosing intervals Additional in-vitro data on VH184 demonstrate improved potency and an enhanced resistance profile versus bictegravir VH499 demonstrates good tolerability, supporting twice-yearly dosing intervals
ViiV Healthcare reports positive 12-month data showing investigational bNAb lotivibart (N6LS) maintains high levels of viral suppression in long-acting HIV treatment regimen February 25, 2026 94% of adults on stable therapy maintained viral suppression with intravenous lotivibart dosed every four months in combination with long-acting cabotegravir These phase IIb results reinforce lotivibart’s ultra long-acting potential, with the trial progressing to evaluate a twice-yearly intravenous dosing interval
Gucci sparks backlash with AI-generated ads ahead of fashion week February 25, 2026 Gucci has come under fire after using AI to create images promoting its upcoming show at Milan fashion week, raising concerns that the luxury house is cutting corners ahead of a runway debut. The Italian brand posted a series of glossy visuals on social media this week, some labelled ‘created with AI’, to tease creative [...]