Business
Companies, markets, jobs and the economy.
More Business news
The grads ditching the UK for a fresh start abroad
With graduate jobs harder to secure at home, more young UK graduates are weighing a move abroad for work, lower pressure on living costs, and a different quality of life.

Oxford Street Goes Traffic Free as Shoppers Welcome First Pedestrian Day
Almost a kilometre of Oxford Street, one of the most famous shopping streets in the world, has closed to traffic for the first time, as London begins a long promised pedestrianisation scheme just before Christmas.

Data Centre Debate Heats Up Ahead of US Midterms
Once a business pages story, data centres have become a live issue in the US midterm elections, with voters worried about electricity bills and water, states proposing moratoria, and the industry arguing the AI race is at stake.

Anthropic Warns of Catastrophic AI Risk Ahead of Stock Market Listing
Artificial intelligence firm Anthropic has told investors that its own technology could pose catastrophic risks to humanity, in a stock market filing that also sets up what could become the largest public listing in history.

Zuckerberg Strikes Meta Deal to Cover Possible California Billionaire Tax
Mark Zuckerberg has struck a deal with Meta's board that would let him sell non-voting shares to pay a proposed California billionaire tax — without losing control of the company he founded — in return for committing to stay in the state for eight years.

L'Oreal Says Weight-Loss Drugs Are Reshaping Beauty and Skincare Sales
L'Oreal has told investors that the rise of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs is affecting beauty and skincare consumption, even as its quarterly sales grew 7.7% — and it is developing products aimed squarely at the side effects of rapid weight loss.

London's minicabs could all be electric by 2030 under new TfL licensing plan
Transport for London has opened a consultation on plans that would require every newly licensed minicab and private-hire vehicle in the capital to be fully electric from 2028, with wheelchair-accessible vehicles given until July 2030. The proposals are the most ambitious attempt yet to clean up one of London's largest vehicle fleets.

Barclays to cut 5,000 jobs as AI-driven cost overhaul gathers pace
Barclays has announced plans to cut around 5,000 jobs — five per cent of its workforce — this year, saying artificial intelligence and organisational simplification are driving down its cost base. The move came as the bank reported a third-quarter pre-tax profit of £2.3 billion, up 12 per cent but short of analyst expectations.

UK Inflation Hits 3.5% and Borrowing Jumps to £24.5bn in Pre-Budget Blow for Healey
Inflation climbed to 3.5% in September while government borrowing reached £24.5bn, piling pressure on Chancellor John Healey exactly one week before he delivers his first Budget.

Elon Musk Confirms Tesla–SpaceX Merger Is Being Actively Considered
Elon Musk has confirmed that Tesla and SpaceX are formally examining a possible merger through special committees, describing the combination as "a good idea" while stressing that no deal is certain.

Job vacancies fall as small firms cut back on recruitment
UK job vacancies have fallen to their lowest level in more than five years, dropping 21,000 in the three months to September to 691,000, as small firms blame rising labour costs and cut back on recruitment.

Paddy Power cuts 1,400 jobs and blames betting tax rises
Flutter Entertainment, the owner of Paddy Power and Betfair, has announced plans to cut up to 1,400 jobs across the UK, Ireland, Portugal and Romania, blaming rising UK gambling taxes that it says have "fundamentally changed" the economics of the industry.

Turning the Tides: The Hidden Turbine That Could Power Britain's Coastal Towns
More than a decade after an engineer swam out into a Highland river to feel the current with his own body, his 50-kilowatt "Swimmer Turbine" is taking shape as a community-scale answer to tidal power — invisible beneath the surface, flat-packed in a shipping container, and aimed at coastal towns.
