Business

Bank of England governor calls for fightback against populism; South East Water restores service to most Kent and Sussex homes – business live
Posted on Friday January 16, 2026

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsNigel Farage is reportedly expected to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos next week, as the leader of Reform UK prepares to gather in the Swiss Alps alongside some of the most powerful politicians and business people in the world.Farage is expected to appear at the event, the Financial Times has reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.The chief economists survey reveals three defining trends for 2026: surging AI investment and its implications for the global economy; debt approaching critical thresholds with unprecedented shifts in fiscal and monetary policies; and trade realignments.Governments and companies will have to navigate an uncertain near-term environment with agility while continuing to build resilience and invest in the long-term fundamentals of growth.” Continue reading...

Top two bosses at City & Guilds placed on leave after bonus scandal
Posted on Friday January 16, 2026

Pair will be absent ‘for short period’ from vocational trainer, whose charity is under investigation by Charity CommissionThe two most senior executives at City & Guilds have been put on leave shortly after a scandal over millions of pounds of bonuses triggered a Charity Commission investigation into the vocational training body.City & Guilds has told staff that its chief executive, Kirstie Donnelly, and the chief financial officer, Abid Ismail, will be “absent from work for a short period”. Continue reading...

Over-reliance on China could hit UK energy supply chains ‘putting 90,000 jobs at risk’
Posted on Friday January 16, 2026

Institute for Public Policy Research thinktank report calls on chancellor to pursue policy of ‘securonomics’Tens of thousands of jobs could be lost if the UK’s clean energy supply chains were to suffer a shock as a result of an over-reliance on China, a left-leaning thinktank has warned.A year-long disruption to the supply of essential battery components used to manufacture electric vehicles could wipe out production of more than 580,000 electric cars and endanger 90,000 jobs, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research. Continue reading...

Trump-linked figures lead talks on $200m European pipeline contract
Posted on Friday January 16, 2026

Exclusive: Jesse Binnall and Joe Flynn, who campaigned to overturn 2020 election, seek to win Bosnia deal for little-known US firmLeading members of Donald Trump’s campaign to overturn the 2020 presidential election are seeking a huge European pipeline contract, the latest figures from the US president’s circle to mix business and geopolitics.Jesse Binnall, a lawyer who worked on legal actions advancing Trump’s baseless claim that the vote was stolen from him, and Joe Flynn, who also sought to undermine Joe Biden’s victory, have been in Bosnia this week to discuss the project. Continue reading...

TikTok to strengthen age-verification technology across EU
Posted on Friday January 16, 2026

Move comes as calls for Australia-style social media ban for under-16s grow around worldTikTok will begin to roll out new age-verification technology across the EU in the coming weeks, as calls grow for an Australia-style social media ban for under-16s in countries including the UK.ByteDance-owned TikTok, and other major platforms popular with young people such as YouTube, are coming under increasing pressure to better identify and remove accounts belonging to children. Continue reading...

AI will transform the ‘human job’ and enhance skills, says science minister
Posted on Friday January 16, 2026

Patrick Vallance says robots would take away ‘repetitive’ tasks, but Sadiq Khan warns AI will usher in ‘new era of mass unemployment’Advances in AI and robotics will transform human jobs, starting with roles in warehouses and factories, the UK science minister has said, as the government announced plans to reduce red tape for robot and defence tech companies.Patrick Vallance said technological progress was creating a “whole new area” for robots to work in. “What’s really changing now is the combination of AI and robotics. It is opening up a whole new area, particularly in the sorts of things like humanoid robotics. And that will increase productivity, it will change the human job,” he told the Guardian. Continue reading...

X still allowing users to post sexualised images generated by Grok AI tool
Posted on Friday January 16, 2026

Despite restrictions announced this week, Guardian reporters find standalone app continues to allow posting of nonconsensual contentX has continued to allow users to post highly sexualised videos of women in bikinis generated by its AI tool Grok, despite the company’s claim to have cracked down on misuse.The Guardian was able to create short videos of people stripping to bikinis from photographs of fully clothed, real women. It was also possible to post this adult content on to X’s public platform without any sign of it being moderated, meaning the clip could be viewed within seconds by anyone with an account. Continue reading...