News

Kevin O’Leary, famed for his role as “Mr Wonderful” on the American series Shark Tank, has revealed plans to join billionaire Frank McCourt’s consortium in a high-stakes effort to acquire TikTok. The move comes amid growing pressure on the Chinese-owned video platform, which could be banned in the United States if its parent company ByteDance fails to divest the app by 19 January. Last spring, President Joe Biden signed into law measures compelling ByteDance to...

Piers Morgan has parted ways with Rupert Murdoch’s media empire in a move set to expand his popular Uncensored show on YouTube, ending months of speculation about his future at News UK. The outspoken broadcaster will now operate independently, having acquired ownership of his Uncensored brand and its 3.6 million-strong subscriber base. Morgan, 59, opted not to renew his contract with News UK, where he held a reported £50 million deal covering columns, book rights,...

Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is preparing to lead a team of ministers and advisers to the 2025 World Economic Forum in Davos, aiming to attract international backers and calm disquiet among domestic businesses. Reeves, who attended Davos as shadow chancellor for the previous two years, is scheduled to meet sovereign wealth funds and US private equity firms in an effort to secure financing for large-scale infrastructure and green energy projects. She also intends to hold...

Taxpayers stand to save both money and headaches in 2025 by committing to better tax practices in the year ahead, according to leading audit, tax and business advisory firm Blick Rothenberg. Robert Salter, a Director at the firm, notes: “Most people make personal resolutions about health and lifestyle, but your financial health is equally important—and being on top of your taxes plays a significant part.” With the deadline for the 2023/24 tax return set at...

AI spinout RoboK, born out of the University of Cambridge, has secured £1 million from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to lead a pioneering project that aims to boost safety and efficiency across Britain’s ports and warehouses. Named PALLETS, short for Proactive AI-powered Solutions for Logistics Efficiency, Transparency and Safety, this ambitious undertaking forms part of UKRI’s ‘Accelerating Trustworthy AI’ programme and will run until March 2025. At the heart of the PALLETS project is...

JPMorgan Chase is reportedly poised to mandate a full five-day office week for thousands of its employees, signalling a further clampdown on remote and hybrid working models introduced during the pandemic. The US banking giant, which employs over 300,000 people worldwide and roughly 22,000 in the UK, is expected to confirm the changes within weeks. JPMorgan has so far declined to comment. Although managing directors were already ordered to return five days a week last...