Big Tech’s AI capex splurge can’t go on forever June 17, 2026 The eye-watering capital expenditure plans of Big Tech has been one of the year’s biggest stories. Google, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft have all splurged to secure a podium spot in the race to build out the infrastructure which will run the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. Total capex by these four firms is expected to reach $750bn [...]
From bathroom to courtroom: Lush chief’s squabble set to fizz in £6m trial June 17, 2026 The former chief executive of cosmetics giant Lush is set to face off against the current chief executive in a 19-day trial that spans more than 30 years of the company’s history and may cost over £6m in legal fees. The dispute stems from former chief executive Andrew Gerrie’s 2014 exit from the company, after [...]
House prices jump as property market ‘treads water in rough conditions’ June 17, 2026 House prices jumped by 0.7 per cent in April, in signs that the property market is “trading water in rough conditions” as the Iran war spikes mortgage rates. The average UK house price rose to £270,000 from March to April, marking 3.8 per cent year-on-year growth, according to new government statistics. But property experts have [...]
Saba ramps up demands for Workspace break-up June 17, 2026 Notorious activist investor Saba has dialled up its efforts to force a London-listed property trust to sell off its portfolio of offices, warning the firm’s revamped strategy was fraught with “considerable execution risk”. In an excoriating open letter, the New York-based hedge fund, which is run by pugnacious founder Boaz Weinstein, called on flexible office [...]
Morrisons pushes ahead with convenience store openings after closing 100 June 17, 2026 Morrisons is pushing ahead with an aggressive expansion of its convenience stores, less than a month after it shut 100 loss-making sites. The supermarket opened 30 more Morrisons Daily stores in the last three months and plans to open hundreds more in the coming years. This is despite the grocer saying in May that “significant” [...]
Industry warns Iran war spike to come as food inflation falls June 17, 2026 The surprise drop in food and drink inflation seen in May is likely to be short-lived, as the impacts of the war in Iran are due to take hold, leading industry figures to warn. The rate of inflation of food and non-alcoholic drinks fell from three per cent in April to 2.2 per cent in [...]
Knicks NBA finals win over Spurs smashes broadcasting records June 17, 2026 The 2026 NBA Finals between the victorious New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs was the most watched series this century. The most-watched NBA postseason since 1998 averaged more than 20m viewers across broadcasters ABC and ESPN. And the crucial fifth game, which saw the Madison Square Garden Sports-owned New York Knicks win their [...]
HSBC targets $100m in savings with Google Cloud AI tie-up June 17, 2026 Europe’s biggest lender HSBC has sealed a a tech tie-up with Google where it aims to use AI to scout priority projects that could bank the firm $100m in “efficiency gains”. The FTSE 100 giant is planning to roll out Google Cloud across its operations in a deal that the bank says will allow 200 [...]
Shares jitter at City recruiter Hays after taking chop to operations June 17, 2026 Shares in Hays see-sawed on Wednesday morning as the recruiter revealed it had offloaded operations across six different countries. The FTSE 250 human resources firm said it had banked £4m on the sale of operations in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Luxembourg, Romania and Sweden. The group expects the transaction to lead to a non-cash [...]
Starmer: I would make Andy Burnham a Cabinet minister June 17, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has said he would offer Andy Burnham a “big role in government” if he is elected as an MP in the Makerfield by-election this week. The Prime Minister indicated that the current Manchester mayor would be given a Cabinet role as he said he had “spoken to him many times in recent [...]