Business

Business · 26 October 2026

Rayner Backs Burnham’s Free‑Movement Call – Red‑Wall MPs Brace for Debate

Iris Quay, London desk

Deputy leader Angela Rayner has publicly backed Andy Burnham’s call for a debate on returning to free movement with the EU. The endorsement, described as pragmatic, is flagged as a possible source of concern for re…

Business · 26 October 2026

Paycheck in Pixels: Indian Workers Paid to Film Themselves for AI Training

Iris Quay, London desk

Indian factory employees are receiving modest stipends to record their own work, and the resulting video clips are being sold to AI developers. The footage is intended to teach machines how to perform the very tasks the…

Business · 26 October 2026

Robots Shy Away From Cigar Cases: Walsall’s Leather Guild Sticks to Hand‑Made

Iris Quay, London desk

Ettinger in Walsall turned down a robot, preferring hand‑crafted wallets and cigar cases. Meanwhile, a Welsh town is reviving denim production, and Rolls‑Royce is offering custom pet portraits on its cars – all sig…

Business · 26 October 2026

Future Says No to The Week, Keeps Its Own ‘Future’ Tasting of Loss

Iris Quay, London desk

London‑listed Future, the owner of price‑comparison site Go Compare, has turned down an indicative bid for the current‑affairs magazine The Week. The rebuff underscores that even a struggling media group isn’t wi…

Business · 26 October 2026

Rosebank’s Floating Oil Field Becomes a Political Soap Opera

Iris Quay, London desk

Scotland’s Rosebank floating oil field, still untapped, has turned into a stage for political debate as editor James Cook documents life aboard the rig while its future hangs in the balance.

Business · 25 October 2026

Phoenix deals: CEOs keep buying back dead firms, only to watch them burn again

Iris Quay, London desk

A Guardian‑commissioned study finds that companies rescued in pre‑pack administrations by their former directors are far less generous to creditors and far more likely to fail again.

Business · 25 October 2026

Labour’s Tax‑Free Treasure Hunt: Four Ways to Fund the Budget Without Raising Income Tax

Iris Quay, London desk

BBC Verify outlines four options Chancellor John Healey could use to raise money for the Budget – tighter spending, selling a public asset, tweaking another tax band and borrowing – all without raising income tax.

Business · 25 October 2026

TG Jones to shut over a third of its post offices by early 2027, creating ‘postal deserts’ on high streets

Iris Quay, London desk

TG Jones, the former WH Smith‑branded chain, will close more than a third of the post offices inside its stores by early 2027, sparking concerns that many high‑streets could become postal deserts.

Business · 24 October 2026

Healey Pledges Hundreds of Millions for a ‘Distinctively British’ AI to Boost National Security

Iris Quay, London desk

Chancellor John Healey announced that the upcoming budget will allocate hundreds of millions of pounds to develop a uniquely British artificial‑intelligence programme aimed at strengthening the UK’s security and pr…