Firms eye $450bn agentic AI prize, but trust is tanking July 16, 2025 Companies are eyeing a projected $450bn (£336bn) economic windfall from agentic AI by 2028, but few are adequately equipped to get there. New research from Capgemini found that the overwhelming majority of business leaders – 93 per cent – believe that scaling AI agents in the next 12 months will deliver a competitive ege. Yet [...]
Keir Starmer refuses to rule out pension tax raid July 16, 2025 Prime Minister Keir Starmer shied away from ruling out a pensions tax raid at the Autumn Budget despite top researchers’ calls for the government to refrain from adding ever-higher cost burdens on Britons. Keir Starmer has faced repeated questions about several taxes being introduced later this year given City estimates that as much as £24bn [...]
Asda faces another hefty fine for selling expired food in stores July 16, 2025 Supermarket giant Asda has been given a huge fine for selling expired food in two stores, its second such fine in three months. Repeated checks by Trading Standards officers discovered expired items contrary to food safety codes at its Leckwith and Pentwyn branches in Cardiff. The TDR-owned grocer was then fined £640,000 for selling 115 [...]
Swatch: Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes could see profit fall further July 16, 2025 Swiss watch brand Swatch has warned its UK profit could continue to shrink as a result of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes. The business has said the increase in employer’s National Insurance contributions – which were announced in October 2024 and came into effect in April this year – will increase operational costs. Swatch added [...]
FCA staff threaten industrial action over three-days-a-week office policy July 16, 2025 Union representatives for the UK’s financial watchdog the FCA have threatened industrial action if staff are made to come into the office more than two days a week. In an open letter to the board of the FCA, Unite the Union said more than 90 per cent of its members would take action if the [...]
Booktok boosts Bloomsbury again as Sarah J Mass tops bestseller lists July 16, 2025 Bloomsbury has been buoyed by the success of its fantasy-romance list as online discourse fuels mass interest in the books. Sarah J Maas topped bestseller lists again this year with the paperback launch of House of Flame and Shadow in June, following global success with the previous two books in the series. She has now sold [...]
Pressure on Bank of England and Reeves as inflation spikes July 16, 2025 The UK economy is at risk of ‘stagflation’ after official data revealed that inflation edged up to 3.6 per cent in June, putting further interest rate cuts by the Bank of England at risk. In the latest set of price growth data before the next monetary policy decision in August, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that [...]
Chelsea’s Club World Cup winners’ prize? A £10m US tax bill July 16, 2025 Chelsea will be hit with a US tax bill of around £10m as a result of winning the Club World Cup on Sunday. The stunning 3-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in New York last weekend ensured Chelsea will receive £85m in prize money from competition organiser Fifa. Some £39.7m is to be paid immediately and [...]
The Debate: Should we turn empty City office blocks into nightlife venues? July 16, 2025 A new report has imagined a future where ravers head to the disused office blocks of the City on the weekends. Is it madness or genius?
Wimbledon is a reminder that, in business, you need a good coach July 16, 2025 In tennis, coaches and mentors are big part of the game – and they should be part of yours too, says Richard Harpin The All England Club rarely alters the hallowed traditions of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships but this year saw two big changes. I’m not sure if the first – replacing line judges with [...]