CMA launches investigation into Microsoft amid cloud contract crackdown March 31, 2026 The UK’s competition watchdog has launched a new probe into Microsoft’s business software ecosystem, as part of a wider push to loosen the grip of Big Tech on cloud, and boost competition for British firms. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it will open a strategic market status investigation in Microsoft’s suite, including Windows, [...]
Andy Haldane: My mission to ignite Britain’s animal spirits March 31, 2026 As the Bank of England’s chief economist, Andy Haldane had a front row seat to the maladies of UK’s sluggish economy. After a four-year stint running the RSA, he is back as president of the British Chambers of Commerce, and tells Ali Lyon business is still taxed mindlessly, over regulated, and far too risk averse. [...]
Charging for museums will erode Britain’s soft power March 31, 2026 Ending free museum access would see some of Britain's most coveted institutions fade to irrelevance, writes Benji Wiedemann.
Reeves summons supermarket bosses again after snub March 31, 2026 Rachel Reeves has summoned supermarket bosses for a Downing Street meeting on Wednesday after being snubbed last week. The new meeting will be attended by executives at Sainsbury’s and Tesco but bosses at Asda, Aldi and John Lewis will miss out, supposedly due to diary clashes. The Chancellor hastily invited grocery executives to a meeting [...]
Unilever freezes hiring as Iran war poses ‘significant challenges’ March 31, 2026 FTSE 100 giant Unilever has placed a global freeze on hiring for at least three months as the Iran war wreaks havoc on global supply chains and fuel prices. The London-based business, which owns Dove soap and Hellman’s mayonnaise, told staff the ban on hiring will affect “all levels” of recruitment and was taken in [...]
Blackrock mulls a move to HSBC’s Canary Wharf tower March 31, 2026 Blackrock is mulling a move to HSBC’s Canary Wharf skyscraper with the site one of a number of locations viewed by the firm as it scouts for a new London headquarters. The world’s largest asset manager has taken a look at the 8 Canada Square tower, which HSBC is set to vacate next year. But [...]
Alfasigma Reports Solid Performance in 2025 Supported by Double-Digit Revenue Growth in key strategic brands in Immunology (+17%1), Gastroenterology (+15%), Vascular (+10%), and Consumer Healthcare expansion portfolio in international markets March 31, 2026 Revenues of €1.8 billion (-4% versus PY) driven by solid performance across key therapeutic areas and global markets, partially offset by Ocaliva® withdrawal impact. Adjusted EBITDA2 of €350 million (-18% versus PY) underpinned by streamlined operational efficiencies and operating model evolution. Like-for-like Revenues up 7%, and EBITDA up 20%, adjusted for voluntarily withdrawal of Ocaliva® from US market. Marketing application under EMA review for the use of Jyseleca® in a new indication of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), a chronic inflammatory arthritis, to address unmet patient needs, submitted following the reporting period. Following the reporting period, agreement with GSK plc for worldwide exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and commercialise linerixibat; subsequently granted FDA approval for the US market (March 2026).
Exclusive: Databricks commits $850m in vote of confidence for UK tech March 31, 2026 Databricks is pouring more than $850m (£644m) into the UK over the next three years, City AM understands, in a major vote of confidence in Britain’s position as a European AI hub. The US data and AI group said it would quadruple its London office footprint with a new 137,000 sq ft headquarters in Fitzrovia, [...]
As KPMG looks to cut hundreds of staff, expect more layoffs at the Big Four March 31, 2026 The Big Four giants, after hitting pandemic-era highs, are currently navigating a perfect storm of challenges: a harsher market, a surge in AI investment and a stagnant economy. These pressures are forcing firms to take a pair of shears to their workforces as the industry’s traditional “attrition model” fails to keep pace with reality. Over [...]
On this day: The death of JP Morgan March 31, 2026 Today in 1913, John Pierpoint Morgan died in Rome having saved the United States from financial catastrophe not once but twice, writes Eliot Wilson Today in 1913, in Rome’s Grand Plaza Hotel, a 75-year-old American died in his sleep. He was a big man, 6’2” and heavyset, with sharp, unsettling eyes and a purple, swollen [...]