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Larry Ellison, the 81-year-old co-founder of Oracle, has leapfrogged Elon Musk to become the world’s richest individual after a surge in demand for artificial intelligence services sent Oracle shares soaring. The company’s stock jumped more than 40 per cent in New York trading on Wednesday, boosting Ellison’s net worth by $101 billion in a single day and taking his total fortune to $393 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. The dramatic rise underscores the extraordinary...

TikTok has overtaken Google and Amazon to become the world’s most scraped website, underlining how the artificial intelligence boom is transforming demand for online data. According to Decodo’s second annual Most Scraped Websites report, the video-first platform recorded a 321 per cent surge in scraping traffic, climbing from outside the top 10 last year to claim the number one position in 2025. The findings point to a profound shift in the data economy as businesses...

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has signalled a fresh push to support small businesses by reforming business rates, pledging to remove the “cliff edges” that discourage firms from expanding. At present, companies lose all access to small business rates relief when opening a second property, a rule widely criticised for stifling growth and investment. Speaking today, Reeves said the government’s top priority was delivering growth and that small businesses were central to that ambition. “Our economy isn’t...

Britain’s festive shopping habits are undergoing a technological transformation, with new research showing that more than seven in ten consumers will use generative AI to help choose Christmas presents this year. The sharp rise—from just 31 per cent in 2024 to 71 per cent in 2025—highlights how quickly AI is being woven into everyday retail decisions, from gift inspiration to budget management. The findings come from Shoppers Say Yes to GenAI This Holiday Season, a...

Britain’s ambitions to build a world-leading life sciences industry are being undermined by falling investment and mounting criticism from global pharmaceutical groups, according to a stark new report. The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), working with PwC, has warned that the UK is “losing the race” to attract foreign direct investment, citing a toxic mix of poor access to innovative medicines, low government support and unpredictable NHS pricing clawbacks. The 50-page study benchmarked...

Merck, the American pharmaceuticals group known as MSD in Europe, has dealt a significant blow to the government’s ambitions to build a world-leading life sciences economy by scrapping its £1 billion plan for a new London headquarters. The company confirmed it will halt construction of its 25,000 sq ft research centre in the capital’s Knowledge Quarter, a flagship project announced only two years ago and scheduled to open in 2027. The decision, which includes shutting...