Italy World Cup flop kills five per cent of bets on tournament winner April 2, 2026 Italy’s failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup this week was an early win for bookmakers as it killed five per cent of wagers on the outright winner, betting data shows. Four-time champions Italy lost on penalties in a play-off with Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday, meaning they will miss a third men’s World [...]
Bank of England: Businesses sharply raise inflation expectations April 2, 2026 Businesses’ inflation expectations shot up in March according to a closely-watched Bank of England survey, as bosses braced for a surge in energy costs as a result of the Iran war. The Banks’ decision makers’ panel, a monthly poll of thousands of execs, found that the average expected inflation rate in the next year was [...]
OLX Launches AutoGPT: Agentic AI Assistant Transforming Automotive Search Across Europe April 2, 2026 AutoGPT uses conversational AI to let car buyers describe their needs in plain language Currently live in Poland and soon to be launched in France, Romania, and Portugal marking the next phase in intuitive automotive search Developed as part of OLX's $200M+ investment in AI innovation across its marketplace platforms
SecurityTech on the Rise: G+D Reports Strong Order Intake and High Resilience in 2025 April 2, 2026 In fiscal year 2025, Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) reaffirmed its position as global leader in SecurityTech for mission-critical infrastructure. In a market where security is becoming essential for technological and societal stability, G+D demonstrates strong growth prospects. In 2025, G+D achieved a record order intake of €3.6 billion (+8%). Revenue increased to €3.2 billion (+1%), although exchange [...]
Friends of The Whisky Exchange launches to reward customers April 2, 2026 In an exciting development for all whisky and spirits fans, The Whisky Exchange has launched a loyalty programme. The scheme is designed to reward the company’s most loyal customers with exclusive bottlings, shared knowledge, discounts and much more. The initial invites for the Friends of The Whisky Exchange scheme were sent out to a handful [...]
Thames Water could dodge fines under controversial new Ofwat deal April 2, 2026 Ofwat is preparing a controversial new deal with the UK’s largest water company which would allow the beleaguered utility firm to avoid any new fines over the next four years in exchange for a commitment to invest new cash in the business. The sector regulator is planning to accept “undertakings” in place of financial penalties [...]
Oil soars as Trump vows to hit Iran ‘extremely hard’ April 2, 2026 The price of oil has spiked by over 7 per cent following Donald Trump’s vow to keep hitting Iran ‘extremely hard’ over the next few weeks, in an address to the nation. After a 17-minute speech on Wednesday evening, which failed to reassure global markets, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped 5 per cent [...]
The art of the great British ad April 2, 2026 UK advertising is the best in the world, blending creativity with commerce in a uniquelt British way. But the industry is under threat, says Simon Cooper If you grew up in Britain, your childhood was likely narrated by commercial breaks as much as by the programs they sat between. Whether it was the 90 seconds [...]
Can AI end the female admin trap? April 2, 2026 Large language models and agentic AI are exceptionally good at precisely the kind of labour that women have been doing for free for decades. So could technology be an unlikely source of female liberation? Asks Eliza Filby Have you heard of the so-called pink tax? It’s the rather cringe name given to the added cost [...]
Stealth taxes are rising – here’s how to protect your money before 5 April April 2, 2026 Niche taxes like inheritance tax and capital gains tax are fast becoming major cash cows for the treasury. Here’s what to do before the end of the tax year Britain’s stealth tax is accelerating, with more people being pulled into the net without realising it. The government is collecting more from capital gains tax (CGT) [...]