The Magnificent 7 in 2025 – and the survival of the richest December 31, 2025 In the spirit of end-of-year round-ups, it is worth scrutinising the fortunes of the so-called Magnificent Seven: Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Nvidia, and Tesla and their dominance of global equity markets, which shows no signs of abating. Yet 2025 was a year that highlighted both the extraordinary influence and the vulnerabilities of these mega-cap [...]
AI to help NHS tackle super flu and A&E delays December 28, 2025 Hospitals across England are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) to reduce waiting times for patients. The tool, part of the government’s AI exemplars programme, is already in use by 50 NHS organisations. The forecasting system analyses hospital admissions, historical data, weekly trends, and Met Office temperature forecasts to identify likely peak periods. This allows hospitals [...]
Will the AI bubble burst in 2026? We ask the experts December 22, 2025 The question of whether we are in an AI bubble and, if so, when exactly it might burst has dominated conversation in the City in recent months. Who better to turn to for answers than some of the UK’s finest stockpickers and strategists? The year 2025 was not a quiet one for markets. It started [...]
Bailey sounds alarm on AI as youth unemployment jumps December 19, 2025 AI could displace workers on a scale not seen since the Industrial Revolution, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has warned, as the UK jobs market shows fresh signs of strain. Bailey said the rapid adoption of AI across the economy was “most likely” to have a similar effect to past technological upheavals. “As you [...]
Zara turns to AI-edited models amid shop closures December 18, 2025 Zara is using artificial intelligence to edit images of human models for its e-commerce platforms, City PM understands, as the fast-fashion giant looks to cut costs amid a tough retail backdrop. Models who have previously shot campaigns for Zara have since been contacted by the Spanish retail giant and asked for permission for their images [...]
Mickey Mouse puts copyright woes to bed with Disney-OpenAI deal December 16, 2025 Disney’s $1bn investment in OpenAI, coupled with a three year licensing deal for over 200 Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars characters on Sora, constitutes a seismic shift in how Hollywood thinks about content creation and copyright. Last week’s announcement, long anticipated since CEO Bog Iger hinted at AI plans, marks the first time a [...]
Runware raises $50M to accelerate AI media generation December 12, 2025 London-based startup Runware has raised $50m in a Series A round led by Dawn Capital, as companies rush to leverage potential productivity gains from AI-powered image, video, and audio tools. Other investors included Speedinvest, Comcast Ventures, and existing backers like Insight Partners, a16z Speedrun, Zero Prime Ventures, and Begin Capital. Founded in 2023 by Flaviu [...]
AI to answer your 101 calls, leaving 999 calls to humans December 9, 2025 “It’s not unusual for us to see 5,000 calls in 24 hours,” chief superintendent of the Thames Valley police department, Simon Dodds, told City PM. “Prioritising 999 over everything else is a real challenge”. That pressure has pushed his department, as well as the Hampshire & Isle of White Constabulary, to use AI agents. Their new [...]
UK workers could reclaim half their day thanks to AI, report finds December 4, 2025 UK office workers could reclaim nearly half of a standard eight-hour workday thanks to AI, according to new data from Salesforce. The findings, based on a commissioned study from IDC, suggest AI tools are not just automating repetitive tasks, but are starting to reshape how humans actually work. On average, UK employees estimate that AI [...]
Valentino proves AI has no place in advertising December 2, 2025 Italian fashion house Valentino has received mounting backlash after posting a series of AI-generated adverts on Instagram. What was billed as a ‘digital creative project’ instead set off a minor revolt in its comments section, where followers lined up to dub the visuals as “cheap”, “tacky”, “lazy”, and perhaps the most cutting barb for a [...]
