WhatsApp probe casts shadow ahead of Meta earnings January 26, 2026 Meta heads into a crucial earnings week under mounting regulatory pressure, after the UK watchdog, Ofcom, opened a formal investigation into WhatsApp’s data handling. This comes just days after Meta paused access to its AI chatbots for teenagers worldwide, Britain’s communications regulator, Ofcom, said it is looking into whether the social media giant provided “incomplete or inaccurate” [...]
Dallas Mavericks owner-backed Orreco acquires Ennis-Hill’s Jennis January 26, 2026 A women’s hormone health platform founded by Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill has been acquired by AI bio-analytics platform Orreco. Jennis, the health and performance platform, was founded by London 2012 gold medal winner Ennis-Hill, joins parent firm Orreco AI and subsidiaries FitrWoman – a platform used by England’s Lionesses – and DDSA Computer Vision – a [...]
Donald Trump ushers in 2026 with series of white-collar pardons January 26, 2026 US President Donald Trump has pardoned or reduced the sentences of 10 people convicted of fraud and other white-collar crimes over the past 10 days. Out of the 21 clemency grants Trump has issued since 15 January, 10 were for people convicted of fraud and white-collar crimes, according to the Financial Times. This follows his [...]
Hundreds of hospitality firms close as cost pressures take toll January 26, 2026 The “relentless” increase in operating costs put hospitality businesses under increasing pressure in the final quarter of last year, industry figures suggest. According to consumer intelligence firm NIQ, there were 382 fewer licensed premises at the end of December than there were three months prior, equivalent to four closures per day. Casual dining sites and [...]
Starmer defends Burnham snub: ‘The fight is with Reform’ January 26, 2026 Keir Starmer has defended a decision to block Andy Burnham from standing as a candidate to run as an MP in an upcoming by-election, claiming political resources should be allocated towards Labour’s “fight with Reform”. Less than a day after Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) – which Starmer is a member of – voted 8-1 [...]
Hargreaves Lansdown overhauls fees in face of rising competition January 26, 2026 The UK’s largest DIY investment platform is reducing fees for roughly half of its 2m-plus customers as it continues to face escalating competition within the industry. Hargreaves Lansdown said it will cut its annual account and share dealing fees, but add a charge for fund trading in its first overhaul of pricing in more than [...]
London, Oxford and Cambridge suffer steepest housing cost burden January 26, 2026 Londoners spend more on rent and housing than anywhere else in the country, according to a new report which highlights the economic cost of the capital’s housing crisis. The research found that residents of London spend 19 per cent of their outgoings on housing on average, although it noted that many renters and young homeowners [...]
London property market can be UK’s growth engine January 26, 2026 London's property market is showing green shoots of growth, but that doesn't mean we can stand still, writes Tom Goodall.
S4 Capital shares surge as profit guidance improves January 26, 2026 Digital advertising company S4 Capital shares jumped in early morning trading after reporting that activity during the final quarter was ahead of its revised guidance. Shares surged 40.6 per cent to 27.2 pence as the company defied the challenging backdrop for advertising groups, but reported a fall in revenue. The company anticipates full year net [...]
Andy Haldane: Labour has ‘no nose for business’ January 26, 2026 The Labour government lacks anyone with a “nose for business”, Andy Haldane, the former chief economist of the Bank of England, has said in his latest critique against ministers’ quest for growth. Haldane, whose criticism of Budget leaks last year added to pressure on Rachel Reeves, has taken aim at ministers leading Labour’s growth mission [...]
