It’s hard to picture a more nightmarish vision of our AI future than this July 30, 2026 The optimistic case for AI is clear: incredible scientific breakthroughs, life-enhancing productivity gains and universal access to knowledge. What’s not to like? But items on the other side of the ledger weigh a little heavier: the erosion of jobs, the flattening of knowledge, unstoppable cyber attacks and social rupture. Elon Musk still thinks there’s a [...]
While rivals scramble to merge, the world’s biggest law firm is playing the long game July 30, 2026 While rival law firms grapple with mergers and headline tie‑ups, Dentons, the world’s largest law firm by size, is quietly betting that an ‘already there’ strategy will play in its favour. Dentons’ global chief executive Kate Barton told Morning Wire the firm, like much of Big Law, is focused on globalised client relationships: “We have [...]
Andy Burnham pledges ‘cost £63bn’ – and tax ideas could backfire July 30, 2026 A series of tax cuts and spending pledges proposed by Andy Burnham and John Healey could cost the government up to £63bn by 2030, new analysis has shown. Promises on defence, social care and council housebuilding could leave the Chancellor facing a bill of between £46bn and £63bn by the end of the decade, which [...]
Greggs eyes 3,500 sites – but its plans could prove to be flaky July 30, 2026 Sausage roll titan Greggs is already a fixture of almost every British high street, but it’s not done yet. Felix Armstrong chews through its latest expansion plans As Brits jet off to Spain for their summer holidays this year, they will be met with a familiar sight as they touch down at Tenerife airport. Beloved [...]
Bank of England may set the stage for interest rate hikes this year July 30, 2026 The Bank of England could today roll the pitch for a series of interest rate hikes this year after price shocks triggered by the war in Iran rippled through the global economy in the past quarter, City analysts have predicted. Analysts across financial firms in the City are expecting the Bank to leave interest rates [...]
Michael Dell, Lord Johnson and the ‘gun to the head’ meeting that ended a £15bn AI project July 30, 2026 In December, billionaire Michael Dell opened an alarming email. “My trust in Mr Bellamy has been undermined by the way he has operated”, the email read, “and I cannot be certain the information he shared with you is accurate or complete”. The mysterious missive was sent by Patrick Hughes, the co-founder of a major new [...]
Here’s the right way to criticise the media July 30, 2026 Did you catch Elon Musk’s blockbuster 90-minute interview with the Economist editor Zanny Minton Beddoes? It starts off with Musk’s predictions about the future of AI, which are interesting and alarming in equal measure. A lot of them sound far-fetched – will we really never need to work again in 10 years’ time? – but [...]
It’s not up to retail investors to revive the London Stock Market July 30, 2026 The British Isa has once again reared its head. We report this week that Standard Life chair Nicholas Lyons has argued that the tax-free wrapper on a stocks and shares Isa should be restricted to investments in UK assets. “Do we really want to be lowering the cost of capital for American companies by giving [...]
Vehicle production drops in first half of year July 30, 2026 British car manufacturers produced considerably fewer vehicles in the first six months of this year, according to fresh figures from the industry’s largest trade group which warned that tariffs and domestic policy decisions were weighing on an already struggling sector. Vehicle production fell by 7.5 per cent between January and July compared to the same [...]
World Cup sponsors could pay price if Infantino’s Fifa sell-off goes ahead July 29, 2026 It’s not just match-going football fans who fear the financial ramifications of Fifa’s sell-off of commercial rights; World Cup sponsors could also find themselves paying more or getting less for their money, experts have warned. Sponsors currently contribute around a quarter of Fifa’s $15bn income over a four-year cycle and include some of the biggest [...]