Business

HMRC’s use of artificial intelligence to profile people’s social media activity will increase tax compliance, according to leading audit, tax and business advisory firm Blick Rothenberg. Fiona Fernie, a partner at the firm, said that HMRC’s CONNECT system has been deploying advanced analytics since the early 2000s to spot underpaid tax. “CONNECT uses (and has always used) advanced analytics such as pattern recognition, predictive modelling, and machine learning, which are all forms of AI. Social...

The owner of the Financial Times has launched legal action against artificial intelligence start-up Perplexity AI, accusing the company of large-scale copyright infringement and “free riding” on journalists’ work. Japanese media group Nikkei, alongside daily newspaper The Asahi Shimbun, has filed a lawsuit claiming that San Francisco-based Perplexity used their articles without permission, including content behind paywalls, since at least June 2024. In a joint statement, the publishers warned the practice posed a serious threat...

Mark Cuban has advised young people looking to break into the artificial intelligence sector to focus less on working for big tech companies and more on developing skills to help smaller businesses integrate AI. Speaking in a livestreamed interview on the Technology Business Programming Network (TBPN), the billionaire entrepreneur and former Shark Tank star said there is an enormous gap in the market for “AI integrators” – people who can adapt AI tools for practical...

Debenhams Group is considering the sale of Pretty Little Thing as part of a wider restructuring effort aimed at stabilising the struggling fashion retailer. Chief executive Dan Finley, who took charge last November after the resignation of John Lyttle, said he would leave “no stone unturned” in attempts to turn around the group, which rebranded from Boohoo earlier this year. The company said on Tuesday it had already achieved around £50 million in annualised cost...

Almost £1 billion was wiped off the stock market value of Britain’s biggest retailers on Tuesday after Deutsche Bank warned that consumer confidence is sliding sharply ahead of the autumn budget. The bank’s so-called fear index points to rising anxiety across all income groups, with shoppers concerned about job losses, frozen tax thresholds, and the prospect of further fiscal tightening from Chancellor Rachel Reeves. Deutsche analysts downgraded Associated British Foods – owner of Primark –...

I spent fourteen years in the financial services sector, navigating an industry where long hours were simply part of the landscape. Twelve-hour days felt normal, weekend work was expected, and the relentless pace was just how business was done. Like many of my peers, I equated busyness with productivity and assumed that working harder would naturally lead to better results. Over time, I began to question whether this approach to work was truly sustainable or...

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds is set to meet JCB chief executive Graeme Macdonald after the company raised urgent concerns about the impact of new US tariffs on British goods. Hundreds of UK-made products containing steel or aluminium became subject to American levies over the weekend, with JCB among the manufacturers warning that the move has triggered significant disruption. Mr Macdonald told the Sunday Times there was “chaos at the US ports right now” as goods...

Almost half of MPs would support cutting electricity levies to help households switch to heat pumps, according to a new cross-party study that highlights both momentum for clean energy reform and a lack of awareness about existing government incentives. The survey of 111 MPs, conducted by Savanta on behalf of clean energy tech firm Aira, found that 48 per cent of politicians backed removing levies from electricity bills to make heat pumps a more affordable...

Sir Chris Hohn, Britain’s most generous philanthropist, has slammed government cuts to overseas aid as “cruel” after donating an additional $328 million (£243 million) of his personal wealth to help fill the gap. The billionaire hedge fund manager, 58, made the contribution to his Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) in 2024, supplementing the $595 million invested by the charity from its $6.1 billion endowment. In total, CIFF committed $923 million to global projects last year....

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has come under fire from financial advisers after reports suggested she may target tax-free family gifts in her latest inheritance tax (IHT) reforms. Wealth managers and planners have branded the proposal “daft” and a “blatant tax grab” that risks punishing grandparents who financially support their children and grandchildren. At present, individuals can give up to £3,000 a year in gifts tax-free, with additional exemptions for weddings and small gifts of up to...