Business

Steven Bartlett, the entrepreneur and Diary of a CEO host, has revealed his business empire has been valued at $425 million (£320 million) following a major eight-figure investment — a deal that cements his position as one of the richest entrepreneurs ever to appear on Dragons’ Den. The 33-year-old investor, who joined the BBC show in 2022, announced the new valuation through a press statement this week. The deal sees venture capital firms Slow Ventures...

Global stock markets climbed to record highs on Tuesday as investors bet on falling interest rates and renewed optimism over global growth — with Apple reaching a $4 trillion market valuation for the first time. The FTSE 100 hit an intra-day record of 9,715.22, before easing slightly to trade 0.5% higher at 9,698.4, while all three major U.S. indices — the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones Industrial Average — also opened at all-time highs,...

BT Group is reportedly weighing plans to launch a new low-cost mobile brand as part of a potential strategy to compete with a wave of new market entrants — including fintech heavyweights Revolut and Monzo, both preparing to debut mobile services. According to the Financial Times, the UK’s largest telecoms company is assessing whether to develop an in-house budget brand or acquire an existing virtual network operator (MVNO) as it explores opportunities to re-enter the...

Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), the parent company of Truth Social, has announced a groundbreaking partnership with Crypto.com | Derivatives North America (CDNA) to launch the first-ever prediction markets embedded within a social media platform. The collaboration will enable Truth Social’s users to trade event-based contracts — from elections and interest rate changes to sports outcomes and commodity prices — under the brand “Truth Predict.” This marks a major step in Trump Media’s diversification...

Amazon is cutting around 14,000 corporate jobs as part of a sweeping restructuring designed to streamline operations and integrate artificial intelligence more deeply into the company’s global business. The reductions, which will primarily affect the company’s corporate and administrative divisions, are aimed at reducing operational layers and enabling faster decision-making as Amazon invests billions in generative AI and automation. The Seattle-based group, which employs about 1.56 million people worldwide, said the changes were essential to...

The UK has sealed an £8 billion defence export agreement to supply 20 Eurofighter Typhoon jets to Turkey, marking Britain’s biggest fighter jet sale in almost two decades and a major boost for the nation’s defence manufacturing sector. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who signed the agreement in Ankara on Monday alongside President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, hailed it as “a win for British workers, a win for our defence industry, and a win for NATO...

Today, automation is gradually taking over more and more manual tasks. But digital systems that recognize emotional intelligence, adaptability, and creativity help people perform at optimal levels. As the rhythm of work accelerates, human-centered technology becomes the stabilizing force that helps teams grow without losing connection. Tools that reflect how people think and act create trust between employees and technology. When you experience software that feels intuitive, you notice how it anticipates your needs rather...

A new report by the Autonomy Institute has found that companies donating to Labour have been awarded nearly £138m in government contracts during the party’s first year in office. The findings, which echo similar patterns under the previous Conservative administration, have reignited concerns over political transparency and procurement integrity, with anti-corruption campaigners calling for reforms to prevent companies that donate to political parties from bidding for public contracts. The report identified eight companies that donated...

LinkedIn is facing mounting calls to suspend the account of Sam Wall, a 55-year-old digital marketing strategist from Cheadle, who was jailed for 28 months on Friday after pleading guilty to stalking, harassment and malicious communication. Despite her conviction and a court-issued restraining order, Wall’s LinkedIn Premium profile — with nearly 27,000 followers — remained active at the time of writing. The Crown Court in Preston heard that Wall’s “prolonged, deliberate and calculated” campaign targeted...

Television dramas have long had a fascination with the legal world. From Rumpole of the Bailey and Kavanagh QC to Silk, The Split, and perhaps most memorably This Life, the profession is often portrayed as a chaotic cocktail of high-stakes cases, late nights, tortured personal relationships, and constant ethical dilemmas. These portrayals capture the emotional intensity that legal work can bring, but they also create myths. The truth is often more grounded and, importantly for...