Outdoor clothing brand Barbour has unveiled plans to create 40 jobs through an expansion of its factory in South Shields. The heritage firm — whose legendary jackets have won admirers from pop stars to members of the Royal Family — says it is growing its Simonside site in response to “unprecedented global demand”.

The expansion will see additional production lines installed at the factory where the company manufactures its Bedale wax jackets, generating new employment opportunities through the recruitment of approximately 40 machinists. To support this recruitment drive, Barbour has established an on-site training facility known as the Barbour Academy.

The training programme spans around three months, after which recruits will take to the factory floor under close supervision. Barbour notes it can take up to a year for machinists to reach full proficiency.

Trainees will begin with simpler items such as tote bags before progressing to more complex garments.

The first five trainee machinists have already commenced their training at the academy, with Barbour working alongside Smart Works North East and Suitability, both of which help women and men return to employment. The firm is also seeking referrals from existing members of staff, their family members and friends, reports Chronicle Live.

All machinist training is expected to be completed by mid-February next year, ahead of the planned relocation of Barbour’s customer services team — which encompasses re-waxing, repairs and Barbour Re-Loved — to a new facility at Simonside. Company chairman Dame Margaret Barbour said “We are excited to be recruiting for trainee machinists to join our team in South Shields. No experience is necessary as full training will be provided.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to learn a highly skilled craft and to play an important role in creating our iconic wax jackets. It also demonstrates our commitment to the region which has been home to Barbour for over 130 years.”

Earlier this year, Barbour published accounts for the year ending April 2025 showing revenues climbed 9% to £350.8m while operating profit increased to £49.5m. Barbour – which has a workforce exceeding 1,100 people – noted that the period covered by the accounts witnessed a “recovery” in sales, with particularly robust performance across its ecommerce platforms.

The firm traces its origins to 1894 and continues to be headquartered in South Shields under the stewardship of the founder’s family. In recent years it has established collaborations with television presenter Alexa Chung, musician Sam Fender and brands such as Emma Bridgewater and Fenwick.

For further information, or to apply for a machinist role, please visit www.barbourcareers.co.uk/vacancies.

Mid- and small-cap stocks have continued to defy index-level inertia amid a rush in primary-market listings. The average advance-to-decline (A/D) ratio – a widely watched indicator of overall market health – in August is up for the fifth consecutive month, its longest winning streak in more than two and a half years, pointing to significant investor interest beyond the typical frontbenchers that populate the two broadest gauges on the two competing exchanges.

Read more: Q1 earnings show resilience, but downside risks still loom. HSBC explains why

The average advance-to-decline ratio, a measure of the number of stocks rising versus those falling, stood at 1.07 so far in August, its highest level in four months. It has remained above 1 for five consecutive months, indicating that more stocks have advanced than declined. “This shows more stocks are rising than falling even though IT, FMCG and metals have not participated meaningfully,” said Manish Bhandari, CEO and Portfolio Manager at Vallum Capital.

The last time the A/D ratio showed similar strength for a longer stretch was between April 2023 and January 2024, when the ratio remained above one for 10 consecutive months.

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Investor Participation
A rising ratio indicates that buying is across a larger number of stocks, signalling strong market breadth. A falling ratio suggests gains are becoming concentrated in fewer stocks or that selling is becoming more widespread.
Retail investors’ appetite for mid- and small-cap stocks has kept this measure higher with equity schemes betting on these share segments getting a bulk of the flows in recent months.

In August, mid- and small-cap schemes received Rs 13,960 crore or 56% of the total equity flows, compared with Rs 11,692 crore, or 40% of the flows in the previous month. In contrast, large cap funds saw outflows of Rs 1,322 crore, their first outflow in 30 months, pointing to the lack of appetite for blue-chips in general.

The divergence between the key indices and the broader market is also visible in their performance. Since April, the Sensex and Nifty have gained 8% and 9%, respectively, while the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 have jumped 22% and 31%, respectively. The Nifty 500 has gained 15% during the period.

“The explanation is increasingly bottom-up: June-quarter profit growth for Nifty 50 companies reached 18%, the highest in 10 quarters, while 19 sectors beat earnings expectations and the upgrade-to-downgrade ratio improved to 1.5,” Bhandari said.

Experts said the divergence suggests that participation has been broader across the market, with investors finding value beyond the largest stocks. This includes stocks that became cheaper after earlier declines as well as growth stocks available at a discount to their potential returns.

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Thailand’s flagship special economic zone is entering its most concrete phase yet with the EEC Capital City, or EECiti, a planned smart city rising between Pattaya and U-Tapao airport that officials are billing as the administrative and commercial heart of the Eastern Economic Corridor. After years of master planning, 2026 has brought land compensation, a draft zoning blueprint, and the first serious test of investor appetite for the infrastructure that will underpin the city.

A new city rising in Chonburi

EECiti is being built on land in Huay Yai subdistrict, Bang Lamung district, Chonburi province, positioned within easy reach of both Pattaya and U-Tapao International Airport. The project’s Secretary-General, Chula Sukmanop, has described it as the capital of the EEC, and the numbers involved are substantial. The city is planned to cover 2,339 hectares in Huay Yai, with sports and recreational facilities envisioned under a sport and entertainment complex concept that officials say will not include a casino.

Phase one alone is significant in scale. By June 2026, the EEC Policy Committee had confirmed that compensation payments to landholders had progressed to the point where roughly 6,168 rai were ready for development, with the area designated as a special economic promotion zone and development master planning underway. An earlier draft plan put the broader development area at closer to 14,619 rai, with phase one focused on a central business district, government offices, medical centers, and residential areas.

The guiding concept, repeated consistently by EEC officials throughout the year, is a “Smart & Sustainable LIVE-WORK-PLAY City” designed to serve as a livable, tech-enabled urban centre rather than another industrial estate. Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn has framed the project as part of a broader effort to position eastern Thailand as a global centre for business, tourism, and entertainment.

The 72-billion-baht infrastructure package

The commercial core of EECiti’s near-term story is a large public-private partnership covering the city’s basic infrastructure. The EECO’s plan calls for private co-investment across ten infrastructure and utility systems: electricity and energy, water supply, wastewater collection and recycled water, water management, waste management, digital infrastructure and telecommunications, firefighting and disaster warning, road networks supporting public transport, a common utility rail system, and central green spaces and landscaping.

Estimates of the package’s value have shifted slightly as the project has been refined, from an early figure of roughly 74.4 billion baht to the 72.04 billion baht ($2 billion-plus) figure cited by officials mid-year. Beyond the ten infrastructure systems, EECO is also studying central green spaces and landscape systems as part of the same PPP scheme.

To gauge appetite before finalising the bidding terms, EECO convened a market sounding session on July 21 at the Grand Centre Point Prestige Hotel in Bangkok. More than 100 private-sector companies attended, spanning infrastructure and real estate developers, financial institutions, and Thai and foreign investors, signalling strong interest in the future smart city development. Officials described the turnout as exceeding expectations, and the feedback gathered is now being folded into the final project documentation and private-sector selection criteria ahead of formal bidding.

Timeline: from market sounding to groundbreaking

The path from consultation to construction is now reasonably well defined, though it stretches out over several years. The EEC Policy Committee approved the launch of the PPP bidding process for early 2028, with construction expected to begin that same year. That timeline is somewhat later than the invitation date floated in late 2025, when EECO had targeted issuing an invitation for private investors to participate in early 2027, followed by proposal review, selection of the private partner, contract drafting, and construction of initial infrastructure.

For investors, that gap between now and formal bidding is where the groundwork gets laid: further refinement of risk allocation, financing structures, and investment incentives based on the market sounding feedback, followed by publication of the official call for PPP proposals.

Entertainment, sport and the theme park ambition

EECiti’s brief extends well beyond utilities and office space. Thai authorities have floated an ambitious entertainment component for the site, including discussion of a Disneyland-style theme park as part of a broader push to diversify the corridor’s economic base beyond manufacturing. The sports and entertainment centre is expected to occupy around 240 hectares within the wider development, positioned as a new landmark capable of anchoring an international-standard sports centre alongside a world-class entertainment and leisure hub.

This ambition sits alongside the EEC’s existing innovation districts, including the Eastern Economic Corridor of Innovation focused on biotechnology, biofuels, petrochemicals and robotics, and complements Thailand’s broader effort to court high-value industries and foreign investment across the corridor.

Connectivity: linking EECiti to the region

Transport links are central to the EECiti pitch. The site sits within 20 kilometres of the Pattaya high-speed rail station, and a monorail system is planned to connect the new city to that station. That high-speed line is itself part of a wider scheme intended to link Don Mueang, Suvarnabhumi and U-Tapao airports, though as Thailand Business News has reported, cabinet approval for revised contract terms on that broader rail link remained pending as of early 2026. EECiti’s own success will depend in part on those regional connectivity projects landing on schedule.

What it means for investors

For infrastructure developers, financial institutions and construction groups, EECiti represents one of the larger PPP opportunities to emerge from the EEC programme since its 2017 launch. The structure favoured by EECO, a single-package investment model spanning multiple utility systems, is designed to make the project more bankable by bundling revenue streams rather than tendering each system separately, though final terms will depend on feedback from the market sounding process.

Real estate developers and hospitality groups will be watching the entertainment and residential components more closely, particularly if the theme park and sports complex plans advance from concept to formal tender. Given the 2027-2028 window for invitations and bidding, most of the near-term opportunity lies in positioning, consortium-building, and engaging with EECO’s ongoing consultation process rather than in construction contracts themselves.

More broadly, EECiti is a useful signal of where Thailand’s industrial strategy is heading: away from pure manufacturing incentives and toward the kind of integrated, livable urban infrastructure that the government hopes will help the EEC retain skilled workers and attract the service, finance and technology firms that follow industrial investment rather than lead it. Details on incentive structures and land-use rules will continue to firm up as the project moves toward its 2027 investor invitation, and Thailand Business News will continue tracking developments as EECO finalises the PPP terms.

Agents say bank building empty since 2018 has ‘unrivalled visibility’

A former bank building in Ashton-in-Makerfield is being has been put on the market for £380,000.

The Barclays bank premises on Wigan Road are described as being a ‘fantastic development opportunity’.

Property agent Rutter Green, who are based in Wigan said the building is ‘highly suitable’ for retail, office headquarters, medical or leisure facilities, or a showroom.

It added that the premises were fit for ‘residential conversion on the upper floors, subject to obtaining the necessary planning consents’.

The bank branch permanently closed in August, 2018.

Marketing material for the sales listing, published earlier this month, said the location offered ‘unrivalled visibility to both pedestrian and passing traffic’.

It added: “In the vibrant heart of Ashton-in-Makerfield, the building is surrounded by a healthy mix of local amenities, national high-street brands, and thriving independent businesses.

“This versatile building falls under flexible commercial usage classes, making it highly suitable for retail, office headquarters, medical/leisure facilities, or a showroom.

“Given its multi-floor layout and dual aspect, the property also presents an excellent opportunity for future capital growth or residential conversion on the upper floors.”

Images released as part of the sale package show the interior of the building littered with chairs, desks and cabinets related to its previous use as a bank.

The sales brochure said the building would be an ‘ideal choice for businesses seeking a prominent permanent base or investors aiming to maximize rental income’ .

It added that the property boasts a ‘commanding architectural presence, ensuring maximum brand exposure and high footfall’.

The ground floor at the property has a large retail or showroom area with display windows, reception zone and customer-facing facilities.

The upper floors have what the brochure describes as ‘versatile spaces perfectly suited for administrative offices, private meeting rooms, stock storage, or specialized treatment rooms.’

Like AI systems, Bitcoin relies on vast networks of powerful computers housed in data centres.

Because Bitcoin operates without a central authority, these computers verify transactions and are rewarded with newly-created digital coins.

But the rewards have reduced and the value of coins has dropped since last year.

One bitcoin was worth about $124,000 (£91,000) at its peak in October 2025, but has since fallen sharply.

More recently, it has rallied to around $80,000 – meaning it is up almost 30% so far in August.

But, for companies that have already made the change, even that may not be enough to get them to return to the crypto industry, because the switch of use – once made – is expensive to undo.

Industry analysts say Bitcoin mining companies have been pivoting to AI because they have years of experience in finding cheap electricity and efficiently running large data centres.

TerraWulf, Ionic Digital, Core Scientific, Iris Energy, Bitdeer, Riot Platforms and Hut 8 are just some of the companies increasingly diverting investment and infrastructure from bitcoin mining towards AI.

Riot Platforms signed a $9bn, 20-year compute deal with Anthropic earlier this month.

LeBron James had been in business with Mark Walter, whose business empire is under scrutiny from both federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission in tax fraud investigations, long before he joined the Los Angeles Lakers. 

Months before he signed with the Lakers in 2018, a limited liability company James controls borrowed $300 million from a pair of Midwestern life insurers advised by an arm of Guggenheim Partners, according to Bloomberg’s report. Walter was the CEO of Guggenheim at the time of the transaction.

The bonds are due in 2049 and were meant to give James an immediate influx of cash that was backed by a stream of future revenue tied to his non-NBA earnings, like sponsorship deals and his lifetime deal with Nike, according to the report. Walter began lending more as he began acquiring the Lakers. 

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LeBron James (23) of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 4 of the second round of the NBA Western Conference playoffs at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, on May 11, 2026. (Luke Hales/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Walter abruptly agreed to sell his share of the Lakers for $12.5 billion to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger earlier this month. He is cooperating with the investigation into his business empire. 

Walter first took a minority stake in the Lakers in 2021 before acquiring a majority controlling stake in 2025. James’ LLC and Walter’s Guggenheim made another transaction in 2022. 

In August 2022, when James signed a $97 million contract extension with the Lakers, the same Midwestern insurers provided James’ LLC with more cash. They bought almost $60 million of 34-year bonds with a 5.75% interest rate, according to the report.

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Mark Walter, Owner and Chairman, Los Angeles Dodgers speaks during the unveiling ceremony of a brand new Koufax commemorative statue at the Centerfield Plaza at Dodger Stadium. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports / IMAGN)

The NBA directed FOX Business’ request for comment to a representative for James who said, “The 2018 and 2022 transactions were a securitization done by Mr. James with his personal, non-NBA salary, assets and income which is a very common financial structure for an individual with this level of earnings and assets.”

“Both transactions were fully approved by NBA. Mr. James has no affiliation with Guggenheim, Sammons Financial, North American Life or Midland National beyond their participation in these transactions.”

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Mark Walter, CEO of Guggenheim Partners, Ilana Kloss attend day 13 of the French Open 2022 held at Stade Roland Garros on June 3, 2022 in Paris, France. (Jean Catuffe/Getty Images / Getty Images)

FOX Business reached out to the Lakers and Guggenheim Partners for comment and did not immediately get a response. 

Walter’s sale of the Lakers came as the businessman was reshaping his portfolio with the investigation ongoing. 

Business leaders are paying tribute to Dolly Parton, remembering the country music icon for her cultural impact and philanthropy.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Thrive Global founder Arianna Huffington took to X to honor Parton’s legacy after she died peacefully Tuesday in Nashville, Tennessee, at age 80.

HOW DOLLY PARTON BUILT A LEGACY OF GIVING BEYOND COUNTRY MUSIC

Jeff Bezos

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said Parton “spent her whole life showing us what it means to lead with love.” (Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Bezos said Parton “spent her whole life showing us what it means to lead with love.”

“Lauren and I are so grateful to have known her,” Bezos wrote on X. “She lifted everyone with her music, her generosity, and her joy. Sending our sincere condolences to her family and everyone she touched.”

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Tim Cook

Apple CEO Tim Cook also honored Parton’s legacy. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Cook also honored Parton’s legacy.

“Dolly Parton’s music helped light up the world,” Cook wrote on X. “She was a brilliant songwriter, cultural icon, and dedicated philanthropist who helped instill a love of reading and learning in millions of children around the world. May she rest in peace.”

Arianna Huffington

Thrive Global founder Arianna Huffington said Parton showed that “a life of extraordinary achievement can also be a life of extraordinary generosity.”

“Through her music, her humor and her commitment to giving children the gift of reading, she brought joy and possibility to millions. Her light will live on through the songs she gave us, and every young imagination she helped inspire,” Huffington wrote on X.

WARREN BUFFETT EXCLUDES GATES FOUNDATION FROM HIS ANNUAL DONATIONS OF BERKSHIRE STOCK

Parton’s nephew revealed the news in an Instagram video.  (BRIDGET BENNETT/AFP via Getty Images)

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Parton’s nephew revealed the news in a Tuesday Instagram video. 

The news comes after Parton spent months battling an unknown health issue.

Fox News Digital’s Christina Dugan Ramirez contributed to this report.