Chicago Bears set for £6.5bn valuation after NFL franchise equity deal, report August 8, 2025 NFL team the Chicago Bears could be valued at £6.5bn after two major shareholders agreed to an equity share of late investor Andrew McKenna. Former Aon director McKenna’s stake was shared between the McCaskey and Ryan families in an agreement which resulted in NFL commissioner Roger Goodell not needing to get involved in settling where [...]
Tom Hayes on life as a free man: ‘I was in a very dark place’ August 7, 2025 Tom Hayes became one of the most infamous names in the Square Mile after he was convicted to 14 years in prison for rigging the Libor interest rate in 2015. It took a decade for him to clear his name. Ali Lyon meets the former banker to hear about life in prison, and what comes [...]
WNBA sex toy incidents fuel crypto prediction boom for Polymarket August 7, 2025 Users of cryptocurrency-based predicting site Polymarket are cashing in on sex toys being thrown at WNBA matches in the US. There have been a number of incidents in the past week whereby sex toys have been thrown onto the court, momentarily stopping games. The vulgar short-term trend has impacted matches involving Indiana Fever, Los Angeles [...]
If BBC battle change, is it time to abolish sport’s Crown Jewels? August 7, 2025 With change needed to ensure lesser followed sports get their time in the spotlight, is it time to abolish the Crown Jewels and ditch the BBC for some coverage? What I know about aquatics could be scribbled with a waterproof Sharpie on a pair of skimpy Speedos. I do know, though, that swimming is one [...]
Lotus Evija review: The fastest, most powerful car we’ve driven August 6, 2025 On 11 May 1994, Autocar & Motor magazine published its landmark road test of the McLaren F1. As a wide-eyed and car-obsessed 15-year-old, I spent £1.35 of my pocket money on a copy and devoured every word. ‘What you are about to read is not simply the fastest road test in history,’ trumpeted the opening [...]
Is Claire’s about to disappear from the UK High Street? August 6, 2025 Claire’s accessories has filed for bankruptcy in the US and entered administration in France, stoking fears about its presence on UK high streets. The US-based fashion accessories and jewellery business filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a court in Delaware, according to new documents. Chris Cramer, CEO of Claire’s, said the decision was “difficult” but [...]
NFL buys stake in Disney subsidiary ESPN in media asset swap August 6, 2025 The NFL is set to buy a minority stake in ESPN as the media giant takes control of American football’s NFL Network assets. The non-binding agreement, confirmed in the early hours of Wednesday morning, will see the NFL purchase a 10 per cent stake in the Walt Disney subsidiary and allow Disney to broadcast more [...]
TalkTalk: Huge losses revealed amid job cuts and fleeing customers August 6, 2025 The full extent of TalkTalk’s financial woes have been revealed for the first time amid sky-rocketing losses and huge job losses as customers move to other broadband providers. New accounts for the Salford-headquartered group filed with Companies House have revealed its pre-tax losses surged from £153m to £465m in the year to 28 February, 2025. [...]
Metro Bank trebles profit amid pivot to specialist lending August 6, 2025 Metro Bank more than trebled its profit in the first six months of the year as its transformation strategy gained pace. The high street lender recorded an underlying profit before tax of £45m, compared with £12.8m in the second half of 2024. Revenue grew 22 per cent to £286m whilst operating costs fell eight per [...]
Birmingham Phoenix tee up Castore as Hundred teams ditch New Balance August 6, 2025 Birmingham Phoenix have agreed a kit deal with Castore for next season, with The Hundred’s long-term apparel supplier, New Balance, increasingly being phased out by the franchises that are under new ownership. City AM revealed last week that London Spirit are also dropping New Balance after the current campaign, with their new co-owners, Cricket Investor [...]