Business

Rachel Reeves warned by City grandees not to weaken banking safeguards
Posted on Wednesday July 16, 2025

Chancellor’s plan to slash red tape could raise financial risks and do little to help households, say architects of UK’s post-2008 reformsRachel Reeves has been warned by City grandees that her plan to slash financial red tape could have little benefit for British households while increasing risks in the banking industry.The chancellor used a speech to City bosses attending the annual Mansion House dinner on Tuesday to argue that in too many areas regulation was acting as a “boot on the neck of business”, as she pledged sweeping changes to help revive the economy. Continue reading...

Diageo CEO steps down after drink firm’s lacklustre performance
Posted on Wednesday July 16, 2025

Debra Crew’s tenure marked by shock profits warning, adverse global consumer trends and investor disquietNils Pratley: Crew couldn’t shift Diageo’s post-Covid hangoverDiageo, which owns the Guinness and Johnnie Walker brands, is to replace its embattled chief executive, ending her rocky tenure in charge of the British alcoholic drinks firm.In a statement to the stock market, Diageo said it had begun the hunt for a successor to Debra Crew, who the company said had stepped down “by mutual agreement”. Continue reading...

Inside the hangars where robots are poised to keep the UK a top-tier military nation and continue more than a century of building military aircraftIn a factory on the banks of the River Ribble in Lancashire, robot arms stand on a floor striped with glowing lights. They will hold the tail fin for a test model for the UK’s next generation fighter jet, which is intended to fly for the first time in 2027. The jet, known as Tempest, will act as a symbol of Britain’s hopes to remain a top-tier military nation and keep alive more than a century of building military aircraft.Yet things are markedly different in another hangar at the Warton site, run by British arms manufacturer BAE Systems. There, production of the Typhoon jet, a mainstay of the Royal Air Force (RAF) for two decades, has – for now at least – ground to a halt. Continue reading...

UK inflation rises unexpectedly to 3.6% driven by food and fuel prices
Posted on Wednesday July 16, 2025

Annual increase in June follows warnings about increase in employment taxes leading to job cuts and higher pricesAnalysis: UK inflation rise makes it clear: the cost of living crisis has not gone awayBusiness live – latest updatesUK inflation unexpectedly rose in June driven by fuel and food prices, according to official figures, underscoring the challenge facing the chancellor, Rachel Reeves.The Office for National Statistics said the consumer prices index rose by 3.6% last month. City economists and the Bank of England had forecast it would remain the same as May’s reading of 3.4%. Continue reading...

Barclays fined £42m over poor handling of financial crime risk
Posted on Wednesday July 16, 2025

FCA fines bank for failures relating to money-laundering risk linked to two businessesBusiness live – latest updatesBarclays has been fined £42m over “poor handling” of financial crime risks linked to two clients, including a gold bullion business run by James Stunt, the former son-in-law of Formula One tycoon Bernie Ecclestone.The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said the bulk of the penalties, about £39.3m, related to Barclays’ failure to properly screen Stunt’s business – Stunt & Co – and its relationship with Fowler Oldfield, a Bradford jeweller now infamously linked to a large money-laundering operation. Continue reading...

Trump privately indicates he may soon fire Fed chair Jerome Powell
Posted on Wednesday July 16, 2025

The US president denies he would dismiss the Federal Reserve head after reportedly drafting letter to sack himCan Trump fire Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell?Donald Trump has privately indicated he is on the verge of firing the Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, rattling Wall Street and renewing questions over the US central bank’s independence.The US president insisted on Wednesday that it was “highly unlikely” he would dismiss the Fed chair, after reports he had suggested he would and shown a draft letter dismissing Powell to political allies. Continue reading...

Zuckerberg says Meta will build data center the size of Manhattan in latest AI push
Posted on Wednesday July 16, 2025

CEO says company plans to spend hundreds of billions on developing artificial intelligence productsMark Zuckerberg proclaimed that Meta would spend hundreds of billions of dollars on developing artificial intelligence products in the near future and, to that end, construct a data center planned to be nearly the size of Manhattan.The parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp is among the large tech companies that have struck high-profile deals, and doled out multimillion-dollar pay packages to AI researchers in recent months – some as high as $100m – to fast-track work on machines that could outthink humans on many tasks, a concept known as “super-intelligence” or “artificial general intelligence”. Continue reading...