Iran conflict could cause further decline to M&A, leading tax firm warns June 2, 2026 Merger and acquisition deal activity could see a further hit this financial quarter if the US and Iran do not reach a resolution to the conflict, a leading tax and accountancy firm has warned. The number of domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisition (M&A) transactions involving a change in majority share ownership fell to 352 [...]
Jobs crisis: UK unemployment to hit highest level in a decade June 2, 2026 Joblessness is set to hit its highest level in more than a decade as unemployment looks set to increase by 400,000 under the Labour government, according to a top business body. The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) warns of a softening labour market, driven by falling vacancies and economic uncertainty, with unemployment projected to rise [...]
Perpetuals Reports $4.5 Billion in UpsideOnly Volume and Signs Exchange Agreement With Datavault AI for Tokenized Commodities June 2, 2026 UpsideOnly draws more than 30,000 active users from 185 countries in its first two weeks Perpetuals signs exchange agreement with Datavault AI, bringing tokenized gold, copper, geothermal energy, and critical minerals to 24/7 regulated global trading
X-energy Submits Xe-100 HTGR for UK Generic Design Assessment June 2, 2026 X-energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: XE) (“X-energy” or “the Company”), a leading developer of advanced nuclear reactors and fuel technology, today submitted an application to enter the United Kingdom’s Generic Design Assessment (“GDA”) process for its Xe-100 High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (“HTGR”). Subject to acceptance, submission marks a significant milestone in X-energy and Centrica’s efforts to deploy [...]
Reeves warned Iran war oil shock will lead to government borrowing spike June 2, 2026 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been warned that government borrowing is set to spike as a result of the Iran war as the Office for Budget Responsibility admitted it had underestimated the effects of the last energy price shock. In a review of its forecasting models, the OBR suggested it had learned lessons from Russia’s full-scale [...]
Access Appoints Sally Johnson as New Chief Financial Officer June 2, 2026 The Access Group has appointed Sally Johnson as its new Chief Financial Officer, effective 1 June 2026. Sally joins from Pearson plc, where she served as CFO for six years and brings more than 25 years of experience across strategic finance, M&A, business transformation and investor relations in large and complex global organisations. This press [...]
Is Zack Polanski’s honeymoon over? June 2, 2026 Green Party leader Zack Polanski’s approval ratings have dived as scrutiny over his past experiences has put him in an awkward position. City AM/Freshwater Strategy polling has shown that Polanski’s approval ratings have dropped from a high of -5 in March to as low as -23 in this month’s data. On a monthly basis, his [...]
IMU Biosciences announces oversubscribed financing round, bringing its Series A to over $53M as it accelerates its work to decode the immune system with unprecedented resolution and scale, to transform how we understand, diagnose and treat disease June 2, 2026 IMU has built the world’s largest immune dataset and can use a simple blood sample to measure over 100 million immune data points, providing precise actionable insights for patients and healthcare providers Proceeds from the latest round will support IMU’s operational expansion and development of clinical platform and infrastructure, alongside advancing the Company’s clinical programmes
Smartstream Launches Smart Agents for Back-Office Operations, Proven Across Tier 1 Pilots June 2, 2026 Key Facts Smart Agents is now widely available to Smart Reconciliations clients, covering bank reconciliations, cash breaks, settlement exceptions, and post-trade investigations — combining client institutional knowledge with Smartstream’s domain expertise to deliver value from day one. Pilot results demonstrate a 97% reduction in investigation time per exception, from 14 minutes manually to 30 seconds, with Tier 1 clients projecting 50–70% automation in year one. Smart Agents surfaces the steps requiring human action and executes everything else autonomously — including counterparty and internal communications, available in assistive and autonomous operating modes with human-in-the-loop oversight, full audit trail, step-by-step explainability, complete data privacy, and intelligence that compounds continuously over time.
Bluesky bets on the end of X and Meta’s social media grip June 2, 2026 Social media is moving beyond platforms controlled by a “few billionaires”, according to Bluesky’s chief operating officer, as governments in the UK and Europe step up scrutiny of X, Meta, and other Big Techs. Speaking at SXSW London, Rose Wang said Bluesky was built in response to a social media market dominated by a handful [...]