John Lewis is launching an Angela Scanlon-hosted YouTube chatshow and social studio to improve its AI search results as ChatGPT use among shoppers climbs.
Category: News
The latest news affecting small and medium sized (SME) businesses in the UK
B&Q and Five Guys among 658 employers named for minimum wage breaches
B&Q, Five Guys, Serco and Whitbread are among 658 employers named by the government for minimum wage underpayments, repaying £4m to 27,000 workers.
Harvey Nichols suppliers set to recover less than 15p in the pound after Frasers pre-pack
New Companies House filings show Harvey Nichols and Company went into administration owing £270.5 million to unsecured creditors, and administrators FTI Consulting expect no more than 15 per cent of that to come back. Harvey Nichols suppliers from Victoria Beckham to Canada Goose are among those left out of pocket after the luxury retailer was sold to Frasers Group.
Lineker asks how much the super wealthy “actually need” as wealth tax campaign draws hypocrisy charge
The former Match of the Day presenter, one of more than 120 signatories to an open letter asking Andy Burnham for a 2 per cent wealth tax on assets above £10 million, says the billionaires resisting it should ask themselves how much they actually need. Opponents say the call sits awkwardly with his own £4.9 million battle with HMRC.
London housing costs are choking firms’ access to young talent, LCCI warns ahead of Budget
London housing costs are limiting the ability of 74% of the capital’s business leaders to recruit and retain staff, according to polling for the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s new Choose LDN campaign, which urges the Prime Minister to use the Budget, devolution white paper and 10 Year Plan to make the capital more competitive rather than less.
Bank windfall tax would drive jobs and investment out of London, deVere warns Healey
Nigel Green, chief executive of deVere Group, says a bank windfall tax in the Chancellor’s first Budget would hand a competitive gift to rival financial centres, with billions of pounds of planned UK office expansion and hiring tied to the tax outlook.
Government opens £100m Sovereign AI competition to buy from British start-ups
The first competitions under the £100 million Sovereign AI procurement scheme invite British AI companies to build solutions for the NHS, defence, compute and cyber security, with upfront payments on offer and winners keeping their intellectual property.
Mike Lynch’s estate wins right to challenge £920m HP fraud ruling
The Mike Lynch appeal will go ahead after the Court of Appeal gave the late tech entrepreneur’s estate permission to challenge the £920m fraud award to Hewlett Packard on four grounds, in a decision that could reduce a payment currently set to wipe out his estate.
Amazon accused of rigging ad auctions as FTC and 22 states allege $20bn overcharge
An Amazon advertising lawsuit filed by the FTC and 22 US states alleges the company manipulated its ad auctions to overcharge more than a million advertising customers by an estimated $20bn since 2019, claims Amazon dismisses as misguided.
Shop price inflation hits two-year high as energy costs reach the shelves
Shop price inflation rose to 1.5 per cent in August, the fastest rate in more than two years, as higher energy and commodity costs fed through to chocolate, coffee and electrical goods.
Employers blame lack of soft skills for fuelling youth unemployment crisis
Research for Alan Milburn’s review of young people not in education, employment or training has found that employers regard a lack of soft skills and work readiness as the biggest barrier to hiring school leavers, while teachers report that young people’s preparedness for work has declined over the past five years.
Victoria Beckham brand turns its first profit as revenue climbs 15% to £129.8m
The first Victoria Beckham profit since the label launched in 2008 caps five consecutive years of double-digit growth, with revenue up 15 per cent to £129.8 million and an operating profit of £7.3 million despite a slump in global luxury spending.
Parents of seriously ill children should get 12 weeks’ paid leave, says children’s commissioner
Dame Rachel de Souza has thrown her weight behind Hugh’s Law, a proposed right to 12 weeks of leave at 90 per cent of pay for parents of seriously ill children, warning that existing employment rights are failing families forced to choose between their jobs and their child’s bedside.
Cost of new government borrowing nears 30-year high as October budget looms
UK borrowing costs are close to their highest level in almost three decades, with newly issued government debt yielding an average of 3.8 per cent this year, as Andy Burnham and John Healey prepare a first budget already clouded by talk of tax rises.
easyJet heads back into the FTSE 100 as Entain, Aston Martin and Persimmon face the drop
A recommended £5.7 billion takeover offer from Apollo has set up an easyJet return to the blue chip index in this week’s FTSE 100 reshuffle, which would also promote Ithaca Energy, relegate Entain and Persimmon and drop Aston Martin out of the FTSE 250.
