Business

The Bank of England has warned that the global race to build artificial intelligence infrastructure is increasingly being fuelled by debt, creating a growing risk to financial stability if the current AI boom turns into a market correction. Governor Andrew Bailey said valuations of AI-driven technology companies were now approaching levels last seen during the dotcom bubble in the US, and levels not seen since the financial crisis in the UK and EU. The Bank’s...

Mercedes-Benz has placed a significant vote of confidence in the UK’s advanced manufacturing sector after confirming a £20 million partnership to develop high-performance electric vehicle technology, creating 150 skilled jobs across Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire. The German manufacturer will invest £10 million of its own capital, matched by a further £10 million from the UK government, to develop next-generation high-power drive systems for electrified and hybrid performance cars. Crucially, the work will draw on Formula 1...

Selling beyond your home market sounds simple until real customers start paying in currencies your system barely understands. A smooth global checkout relies on more than showing the right symbol or converting a total at the last second. It depends on tools that read regional habits, manage shifting rates and keep the payment step feeling familiar no matter where the shopper sits. When those pieces line up, the process feels effortless. When they do not,...

Asif Sheikh grew up in Chicago, surrounded by the steady rhythm of a working-class city. That environment shaped how he saw responsibility, teamwork, and long-term commitment. He often says that growing up in Chicago taught him the value of “showing up every day and doing the work, even when nobody is watching.” That mindset would later guide his entire career. Asif didn’t take a traditional path through business school. Instead, he strengthened his education over...

Labour has suspended one of its own MPs after he broke ranks to vote against the party’s contentious inheritance tax changes for farmers, deepening internal divisions over the reforms and fuelling anger in rural communities. Markus Campbell-Savours, the MP for Penrith and Solway, was the only Labour member to oppose the measure in the Commons on Tuesday night. The proposal – part of the Budget resolutions – passed comfortably by 327 votes to 182, but...

An aerospace engineer who challenged her employer’s transgender toilet policy has lost her discrimination case, after an employment tribunal ruled that Leonardo UK’s approach was lawful and proportionate. Maria Kelly, a people and capability lead at the defence giant, claimed she experienced harassment, direct sex discrimination and indirect sex discrimination after the company allowed transgender women to use female toilets. Her grievance centred on an incident in March 2023, when she said she encountered a...

UK businesses cut staff at the quickest pace in nine months in November, as uncertainty ahead of the Budget and fragile client confidence triggered a renewed slowdown across the economy, according to new data from S&P Global. The latest purchasing managers’ index (PMI) showed that economic growth stalled over the month, with the composite reading slipping to 51.2 from 52.2 in October — only marginally above the 50 threshold separating expansion from contraction. Workforce numbers...

Business students at the University of Sunderland have smashed fundraising records after turning a £25 seed fund into more than £12,700 for a North East children’s charity. First-year Business and Management students took part in the university’s annual “Take £25 Challenge”, working in teams to raise as much money as possible from a starting budget of just £25 each. Over four weeks, 24 teams generated an impressive £12,743.30 with Gift Aid for The Children’s Foundation...

Jaguar Land Rover has parted ways with Gerry McGovern, the veteran design chief responsible for the company’s highly polarising pink-themed rebrand — a marketing campaign criticised for featuring high-fashion models, avant-garde slogans and not a single Jaguar car. Industry publication Autocar reported that McGovern, 69, was asked to leave the business on Monday and was “escorted out of the office,” bringing an abrupt end to his 21-year tenure as one of the most influential figures...

Instagram will require its workforce to return to the office five days a week from early next year, becoming the latest major tech company to crack down on remote work. In an internal memo titled “Building a Winning Culture in 2026”, Instagram boss Adam Mosseri told employees that full-time office attendance would be mandatory from 2 February 2026 for US-based staff. He argued that teams in the company’s New York office were already benefiting from...