Starmer to consider ways to make student loans ‘fairer’ February 25, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has suggested he was open to making the student loans system “fairer” after pressure from Tory leader Kemi Badenoch. During Prime Minister’s Questions, Badenoch pressed Starmer on costly student loan repayments, which she suggested were at a “breaking point” for graduates. The Tories have vowed to abolish real interest rates on plan [...]
Not-so-drastic Dave: Diageo boss defies expectations of slash-and-burn reign February 25, 2026 ‘Drastic Dave’ Lewis, who gained a reputation for cost-cutting and ruthless rationalisation during his time at Unilever and Tesco, was more ‘demure Dave’ when announcing Diageo’s first results of his tenure as chief executive. The spirits giant has been struggling in recent years, with its share price down 22 per cent year-on-year – and Lewis’ [...]
Weight-loss drugs to slow supermarket sales February 25, 2026 Weight-loss drugs are set to slim down supermarket sales in the UK as more Brits opt for diet-conscious shopping, a City broker has warned. The growth rate of supermarket sales is expected to slow this year due to the increasing popularity of diet-suppressant jabs, population growth and falling food inflation, according to a note from [...]
Ratcliffe’s Ineos could sell off assets as chemicals sector struggles February 25, 2026 Ineos is reportedly considering selling off parts of its business, as the chemicals giant attempts to shore up its finances amid a wider industry downturn. The firm founded and chaired by Jim Ratcliffe has held preliminary talks about selling off parts of its vinyls business Inovyn, Europe’s largest producer of PVC, a plastic widely used [...]
World Cup events in doubt as US shutdown risks host city funding February 25, 2026 Fears of “catastrophic” security issues at this year’s Fifa World Cup have emerged after US officials warned of financial shortfalls to the tune of over £650m. A partial federal government shutdown across the pond forced the freezing of nearly $900m of funding that would have been spent on the 11 US cities co-hosting the World [...]
Yen weakens after Takaichi selects dovish candidates for Bank of Japan February 25, 2026 The yen slipped sharply against the US dollar on Wednesday morning, after Japan’s prime minister Sanae Takaichi picked two ‘dovish’ candidates for roles at the country’s central bank. Takaichi nominated academics Ayano Sato and Toichiro Asada who both favour economic stimulus and lower interest rates, raising questions they could challenge Bank of Japan governor Kazuo [...]
US giants dominate AI payments race amid Wall Street jitters February 25, 2026 US giants continue to lead the charge in the payments industry’s AI acceleration even as the sector gets swept up in Wall Street’s tech jitters. Visa led a three-horse race followed by Mastercard, then Paypal in the Evident AI’s inaugural index for the payments sector. The three towered above their peers, thanks largely to consistently [...]
Anthropic ditches AI safety policy to keep up with OpenAI February 25, 2026 Anthropic, the booming tech firm that built its reputation around responsibly developing AI systems, is now loosening its flagship AI safety policy. In an update to its ‘Responsible Scaling Policy 3.0’ published on Tuesday, the OpenAI rival said it would no longer actively stop the development of a model deemed potentially dangerous if a competitor [...]
Mexico World Cup games will go ahead despite violence, says Fifa’s Infantino February 25, 2026 Fifa president Gianni Infantino has dismissed concerns that Mexico could be stripped of hosting matches at the 2026 World Cup following cartel-related violence in the country. Gangs have been blamed for the torching of vehicles and blocking of roads in Jalisco state, whose capital Guadalajara is due to stage four fixtures at this summer’s tournament. [...]
Trainline shares tumble after boss disembarks February 25, 2026 It’s the end of the line for the boss of Britain’s best-known rail ticketing app after Trainline chief executive Jody Ford said he would be quitting the business. Ford, who has been at the helm of the FTSE 250 company for more than six years, said he would stay in post until a search to [...]