Last month, Paramount agreed to put its tie-up with WBD on hold until as late as June 2027, roughly nine months past its planned closing, while an antitrust challenge brought by a group of state attorneys general heads to trial. In recent days, The New York Times reported Paramount and California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who is leading the charge against the tie-up, would begin preliminary settlement talks — which were then swiftly called off, according to the paper.
Media executives and onlookers say the threat of increased scrutiny by state regulators, as well as a monthslong process before the dust settles, could put more than just Paramount’s megamerger on ice.
“It feels like the landscape has shifted significantly in the last few weeks around larger deals and combinations,” said Jonathan Miller, a media industry veteran who currently serves as CEO of Integrated Media, which owns a portfolio of media and creator ventures.
“I think we’re going to see a lull in deals,” Miller said.
Return of regulatory uncertainty
What once felt like a regulatory environment welcoming of mergers during President Donald Trump’s second term now feels hampered by the threat that states could take up the regulatory baton.
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U.S. companies have inked just over 7,500 deals so far this year through Aug. 20, up from 7,015 during the same period last year, according to data provider Dealogic. Collective deal value is up considerably, too, as more megadeals get across the finish line.
Media companies have been raring for some time to be part of the action as they seek to cut costs and add scale to their businesses amid the bleed of pay TV subscribers.
Besides Paramount’s takeover of WBD — which itself came months after David Ellison’s Skydance completed its acquisition of Paramount — the industry has seen announcements of combinations, spinoffs and partnerships accounting for tens of billions of dollars in media market cap.
The Roku logo is displayed at Roku headquarters on in San Jose, California, Feb. 12, 2026.
The future of Fox and Roku’s marriage was called into question in a recent analyst note, despite the transaction having relatively fewer antitrust concerns than Paramount-WBD. The deal got a lukewarm reception from investors in June but is nonetheless considered a strategic pivot for Fox into streaming distribution.
Bernstein analysts noted what could be a “regulatory timing risk, particularly given the ongoing PSKY-WBD process.”
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“While we do not view [the] Roku transaction as creating meaningful horizontal or vertical concentration concerns, current regulatory developments for [the] PSKY-WBD process indicate that transaction timing can be unpredictable even when the underlying antitrust arguments appear relatively weak,” according to the Bernstein analysts’ note.
The Fox-Roku deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027.
A similar dynamic is playing out with broadcast station owners hungry for consolidation, CNBC previously reported. Nexstar Media Group’s $6.2 billion acquisition of Tegna was announced in August 2025 and formally closed in March, but a group of state attorneys general sued to unwind the agreement. A trial is slated for next year.
The Comcast-NBCU calculus
Comcast and NBCUniversal signage on the 10 Universal City Plaza building in Universal City, California, June 29, 2026.
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Jill Connelly | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Meanwhile, Comcast’s planned separation of NBCUniversal — expected to be completed next summer — swiftly raised hopes of more M&A to come when the move was announced in June.
Both companies are well positioned and flexible to do deals once they trade as standalone entities. NBCUniversal will include the Universal movie studio, Peacock streaming business, NBC broadcast network and related assets, while Comcast will house the Xfinity-branded services including broadband and mobile.
Executives for both NBCUniversal and Comcast have previously thrown cold water on the idea that the separation was for the purpose of dealmaking, but each company will undoubtedly have more avenues for M&A once the spinoff is complete.
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As NBCUniversal prepares for its future as a standalone company, internal discussions have revolved around partnerships, bundles and other similar opportunities with media and tech companies, people familiar with the matter said. M&A has not been a topic of discussion for the near term, although minority-stake opportunities could be on the table, according to two of the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal strategy.
Michael Angelakis walks to the morning session during the Allen & Co. Media and Technology Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, July 10, 2025.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Incoming Comcast CEO Michael Angelakis — known in the industry as a dealmaker — said during an investor call he believed Comcast had the scale to compete, but he also didn’t dismiss future M&A. While a much-speculated combination with cable peer Charter Communications doesn’t appear to be in the cards, other opportunities in the broadband and tech industry could be attractive, one of the people said.
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Yet executives at both of the soon-to-be separated companies are likely to avoid M&A discussions until Paramount-WBD’s process is resolved, some of the people familiar said, taking that result as an indication of what deals may or may not be doable in a more scrutinous environment.
Comcast and NBCUniversal leadership have become less inclined to consider near-term dealmaking with such potential regulatory pressure, according to those people.
For years, NBCUniversal, like Warner Bros. Discovery, has been frequently floated as a potential takeover target. The two companies have similar portfolios made up of linear TV, film production and streaming.
In the event Paramount’s marriage with WBD gets blocked by the state AGs, NBCU could look less appealing to some would-be suitors.
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Partnership potential
A stall on media M&A could spur an uptick in partnerships and bundles, Integrated Media’s Miller said.
NBCUniversal’s Peacock deal with YouTube to effectively ingest content from NBCU into YouTube for Premium subscribers could be a model for one of those options. YouTube has long topped Nielsen’s streaming viewership list, and deals that see more of traditional media’s content embedded into the tech platform could become more commonplace.
Pavlo Gonchar | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Many in the industry have argued that creating bundles between various streaming services is the most consumer-friendly and profit-driving alternative to the current decentralized ecosystem. Peacock and Apple TV offer bundled plans, Disney offers a bundle of its various streaming services — Disney+, ESPN and Hulu — and Fox One and ESPN offer a separate bundle.
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NBCUniversal has had conversations with various media players about potential bundles and content partnerships similar to the recently announced YouTube deal, according to one of the people familiar with the matter.
In place of M&A, media companies are also likely to focus more on deals with content creators and for intellectual property to bulk up their platforms. Media companies have been gravitating toward adding this content — along with short-form programming — to their platforms in a bid to attract younger viewers.
The economics of a deal
Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, left, and Warner Bros. Discovery President and CEO David Zaslav.
Caroline Brehman | Mike Blake | Reuters
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One thing is certain: Ellison’s Paramount won’t be merged with WBD as easily as it planned.
Both Ellison and WBD CEO David Zaslav recently voiced their confidence in the deal, but the delay will be costly for Paramount. Under the terms of its agreement, Paramount will owe WBD shareholders a so-called ticking fee the longer the deal is delayed, beginning Sept. 30. The fee could amount to roughly $650 million in cash value per quarter.
Paramount last week filed to compel the suing states to post a $1.88 billion bond that it says would cover the ticking fee as well as other costs associated with the delay.
Regardless, the economics of the deal look very different if it’s completed in June of next year versus September of this year. The threat of similar holdups for other deals could infiltrate deal discussions and shift financial terms.
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“The market-definition fight just got a price tag. A March 2027 trial date turns what had been an abstract antitrust debate into a potential billion-dollar delay cost before the court even rules,” said Mike Proulx, vice president and research director at Forrester. “The deal may still close, but the clean-close scenario is now gone.
“Paramount can still argue that the states are defining the market too narrowly,” Proulx said, “but proving that point just became much more expensive.”
Disclosure: Versant Media Group is the parent company of CNBC.
Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Perenti FY ’26 Results Presentation. [Operator Instructions] Finally, I would like to advise all participants that this call is being recorded. I’d now like to welcome Vanessa Torres, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, to begin the presentation. Vanessa, over to you.
Vanessa Torres CEO, MD & Director
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Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining the Perenti FY ’26 Results Call. My name is Vanessa Torres, and presenting with me today is Mike Ellis, our CFO. Today, we will outline our full year performance, the outlook for our business and how we plan to maximize returns for our shareholders. As this is my first reporting period as CEO for Perenti, I am very pleased to be announcing another year that Perenti has delivered to our guidance, marking our fifth consecutive year.
For those who are new to the Perenti story, we illustrate on Slide 3, our diversified portfolio of businesses spanning across the mining life cycle. Our businesses offer a broad suite of services, spreading across 12 different countries. We have world-leading expertise in underground mining and drilling. 66% of our revenue in FY ’26 was generated from underground operations, and this was mostly from gold and copper projects. We operate 20 mines around the world. And collectively, we employ around 10,000 people to service more than 160 different clients. We aim to be the safest and most productive in industry, which unlocks enduring value and certainty for our people, our clients, our communities and ultimately deliver sustainable returns for our shareholders.
Successful investors prioritise capital preservation because unnecessary losses reduce the amount available to generate future returns. A damaged portfolio must spend time recovering before it can produce genuine growth again.
Capital preservation places risk limits ahead of profit targets. By controlling things like drawdowns, position sizes, emotional decisions, and hidden exposure, investors give their strategies a stronger base for pursuing sustainable returns.
Large Losses Make Recovery Harder
Investment losses and gains are not mathematically equal. A portfolio that falls by 50% must subsequently gain 100% simply to return to its original value.
Smaller drawdowns leave more capital available for future opportunities and make recovery more achievable. Also, protecting against severe losses allows compounding to continue working rather than forcing every new gain to repair previous damage.
Clear Limits Reduce Exposure
Successful investors define acceptable losses before committing money. Predetermined limits remove uncertainty and prevent a disappointing position from causing disproportionate damage.
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Setting an overall risk tolerance is only the starting point. Investors who actively trade must also decide how much of their account they can afford to lose on one position, rather than allowing each opportunity to carry an arbitrary level of exposure.
The position-level limit is commonly known as risk per trade. Expressed as either a fixed sum or a percentage of account equity, it sets the maximum acceptable loss if the position reaches its stop-loss.
A practical risk plan therefore covers three connected points:
Maximum capital exposed to one position
Stop-loss placement before entry
Position size based on account equity
Putting the limit into practice requires converting the selected percentage into a monetary amount. A risk per trade calculation does so by multiplying account equity by the chosen risk percentage.
Thus, investors gain a clear figure to use when determining position size before placing an order.
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Discipline Prevents Emotional Decisions
Losses can trigger fear, frustration, or an urge to recover money immediately. Decisions made under those emotions often involve oversized positions, abandoned stop-losses, or unnecessary trades.
An investor’s objectives, time horizon, financial needs, and personality should shape their approach to risk. Knowing those boundaries beforehand makes it easier to follow a plan when markets become uncomfortable.
Hidden Risk Can Appear Suddenly
Hidden risk can appear suddenly. Strong past returns do not always reveal how much danger sits beneath an investment strategy. Leverage, concentration, poor liquidity, and correlated positions may remain unnoticed until market conditions deteriorate.
Investors who focus only on recent performance may underestimate potential losses precisely when greater caution is required.
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Preserved Capital Creates Flexibility
Available capital gives investors choices during volatile periods. They can adjust exposure, rebalance holdings, or act on attractive opportunities. And that is without first selling damaged positions at unfavourable prices.
Keeping losses manageable can preserve the flexibility needed when markets shift quickly.
Enabling Capital Preservation to Support Future Profit
Capital preservation does not mean avoiding every risk or settling for weak returns. It means choosing calculated exposure so that no single position, market event, or emotional decision can permanently undermine long-term progress.
A consistent capital-preservation approach gives profits more time and space to develop.
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Was this article helpful? In that case, take a moment to explore our other insightful posts.
According to Motilal Oswal, the Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS) has an incentive outlay of Rs 62,500 crore spread over five years from FY26 to FY31, with incentives ranging from 2.25% to 5.0% depending on whether companies meet prescribed sales thresholds.
The brokerage said the scheme aims to increase domestic and export volumes while encouraging greater local value addition, with its scale requirements restricting competition to companies with sufficient manufacturing capacity and backward integration. The mobile phone manufacturers and electronics manufacturing services (EMS) players must have a minimum turnover of Rs 10,000 crore in FY25-26 to qualify. With FY26 as the base year, it noted, a brand must also generate minimum incremental sales of Rs 5,000 crore each year.
As per the brokerage’s note, the cumulative sales threshold above FY26 levels rises to Rs 5,000 crore in FY27, Rs 10,000 crore in FY28, Rs 15,000 crore in FY29, Rs 20,000 crore in FY30 and Rs 25,000 crore in FY31.
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Motilal Oswal added that meeting these targets would require brands to increase production rapidly, supported not only by domestic demand but also by a sharp rise in exports. The brokerage believes Dixon has the brand-level scale needed to satisfy these conditions.
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The incentive framework has two tiers. Sales up to the difference between baseline domestic sales and average sales for FY24, FY25 and FY26 will receive incentives of 2.75% in FY27 and FY28, 2.50% in FY29 and FY30, and 2.25% in FY31, it said, with baseline domestic sales assumed to increase by 15% annually. Eligible sales above the baseline, according to the brokerage, will attract a higher incentive of 5.0% in FY27 and FY28, 4.5% in FY29 and FY30, and 4.0% in FY31.The brokerage added that further companies can also receive additional incentives of up to 1.5% for sourcing key components domestically, comprising 0.3% each for display and camera modules, 0.5% for enclosures, and 0.2% each for batteries (including cells) and USB cables (including connectors).
These benefits, it noted, will apply when domestically sourced components are used in at least 25% of the mobile phone units sold during a financial year.
Motilal Oswal also said that the scheme provides separate support for Indian mobile brands. India-registered manufacturers and EMS companies with a minimum turnover of Rs 1,000 crore in FY26 will be eligible, it said, although there is no minimum sales threshold for Indian brands, with the Empowered Committee selecting the brands that qualify.
Selected Indian brands, according to the brokerage, will receive an incentive of 5% on incremental sales over the base year, along with an additional 3% on eligible sales involving Indian design and research and development. The domestic sourcing incentives, it added, will remain the same as those available under the broader mobile phone manufacturing programme.
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Motilal Oswal expects the scheme to lift volumes for mobile brands and EMS companies, particularly through exports. It also sees greater benefits for manufacturers that have already invested in backward integration and domestic component sourcing.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
If you’ve been injured in Western Australia due to someone else’s negligence, choosing the right lawyer to guide your compensation claim can significantly affect both your experience and your outcome. Lian Hall Injury Law, a personal injury firm based in Victoria Park, has built a local reputation across Perth for its focus on clear communication and No Win, No Fee representation. Here are five things worth knowing about the firm before deciding whether to reach out.
1. The firm works exclusively in personal injury law, covering five main claim types
Lian Hall Injury Law focuses solely on personal injury and compensation claims rather than practicing across multiple areas of law. According to the firm’s website, its core areas of expertise include motor vehicle injury claims, workers’ compensation claims, workplace accident claims under common law, public liability claims (including slip-and-trip and dog bite incidents), and criminal injuries compensation for victims of violent crime. That specialization means the firm’s day-to-day work centers specifically on understanding Western Australia’s compensation schemes, including the Insurance Commission of WA’s processes for motor vehicle claims, rather than spreading its focus across unrelated legal practice areas.
2. Claims are handled on a No Win, No Fee basis
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Lian Hall operates under a No Win, No Fee model, meaning clients are not required to pay legal fees unless their claim is successfully resolved. The firm states that costs are explained clearly from the outset of a case, an approach aimed at removing the financial barrier that can otherwise discourage injured people from pursuing a claim they may be entitled to. This structure has been specifically highlighted in client reviews; one reviewer, Richard K., described being initially concerned about “excessive legal fees” based on what he’d heard about other firms, but said he found Lian Hall’s fees to be “a very fair amount (stated upfront) for the work done and the excellent outcome.”
3. The firm accepts clients transferring from other lawyers mid-claim
For clients who are already partway through a compensation claim with a different law firm but are unhappy with the level of communication, frequent staff turnover on their file, unclear legal advice, or a settlement offer that seems lower than expected, Lian Hall Injury Law offers a formal pathway to switch representation without starting the claims process over. According to the firm, in most cases an existing claim continues from wherever it currently stands: the new team obtains the client’s file from the previous lawyer, reviews the case’s current position, and takes over without unnecessary delay. The firm also states that switching lawyers does not typically mean paying legal costs twice, since existing costs are generally managed as part of the ongoing claim rather than billed separately.
4. Client reviews consistently emphasize direct, hands-on communication
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A recurring theme across the firm’s published Google reviews, which carry a 5.0 rating based on 31 reviews, is direct access to the lawyer handling the case rather than being passed between multiple staff members. One client, Emilia V., wrote that Lian “took the time to explain everything in a way that was clear and easy to understand,” adding that she “never felt rushed or pressured” throughout her case. Another client, Thomas W., described being visited in person by Lian Hall during a hospital stay following his injury, writing that the lawyer “patiently explained the terms of the agreement without any pressure or aggressive behavior” and made sure he understood everything before proceeding. A separate reviewer, Sara L., who pursued a claim following a car accident, said the firm “handled my case with care and confidence, making a stressful situation much easier to manage.”
5. The firm is based locally in Victoria Park and is a registered member of the Law Society of Western Australia
Lian Hall Injury Law operates from an office at Unit 9/342 Albany Highway in Victoria Park, serving clients across Perth and the surrounding suburbs. According to the firm’s website, it positions this local presence as an advantage specifically because personal injury and compensation law varies by jurisdiction, meaning familiarity with Western Australia’s specific claims processes, local insurers and relevant statutory schemes, such as the Insurance Commission of WA, can matter meaningfully to how a claim is handled. The firm is listed as a member of the Law Society of Western Australia, the state’s professional regulatory body for legal practitioners, and has been recognized in past years through industry awards for personal injury and compensation law services in WA.
What this means if you’re considering a claim
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For anyone in Perth or Victoria Park navigating a motor vehicle accident, workplace injury, public liability incident or criminal injury claim, Lian Hall Injury Law’s combination of a No Win, No Fee structure, a narrow specialization in personal injury law, and a stated emphasis on direct lawyer-client communication are the core elements worth weighing when comparing legal representation options. As with choosing any lawyer, prospective clients are generally encouraged to have an initial, no-obligation conversation to understand which specific type of compensation claim applies to their circumstances, since different injury types in Western Australia fall under different compensation schemes with different entitlements and procedural requirements.
A person walks past a UPS delivery truck outside a UPS distribution center on March 17, 2026, in New York City.
Gary Hershorn | Corbis News | Getty Images
United Parcel Service is investing more than $2 billion into its business across its international, healthcare and supply chain solutions businesses, the company told CNBC exclusively on Monday.
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The ongoing investments began in 2024 and will continue through 2028, but UPS said it had not previously disclosed the total investment. The shipping giant said the aim is to help businesses move faster and stay adaptable to changing macroeconomic pressures and global supply chain disruptions.
“These investments are really aligned to one of our big strategic areas of focus, which is creating capabilities to enable our customers, particularly in complex industries, to more effectively run their global supply chains,” Scott Szwast, vice president of international strategy, told CNBC.
Some of the projects under the investment include a new hub in the Philippines this year, a new Canadian facility opening next year in Ontario and a new air hub at Hong Kong International Airport in 2028.
UPS has launched a tech-enabled logistics center in Taiwan and a supply chain solutions facility in Amsterdam that combines freight, brokerage and cold-chain solutions. Szwast said the new logistics center in Taiwan has been able to leverage automation and robotics to increase the total supply chain speed by a day.
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The logistics company also said it now has flights running five times a week between Paris and Hong Kong and between Shenzhen, China, and Sydney to meet growing demand.
Szwast said as global supply chains get more complicated, certain global markets, like those across Asia, are becoming more important for companies than they were before.
“What they find in a lot of cases is that their supply chains look more like their histories than their strategies,” he said. “They need very agile, very effective solutions to connect these new parts of their businesses. They need a lot of optionality and a lot of flexibility, and that’s what we’re investing in.”
UPS also recently announced a $48 million investment into 27 temperature-controlled facilities across its network to supplement its healthcare initiatives, including the shipment of temperature-sensitive medications like GLP-1 drugs. That announcement came as logistics companies around the globe are racing to stay ahead of growing demand in niche areas like cold-chain storage.
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Especially as macroeconomic pressures disrupt global supply chains, Szwast said, businesses have been increasingly trying to ensure they don’t have “all their operational eggs in one basket.” At the same time, those companies are also innovating new products with new shipping needs at rates not seen before, he added.
Szwast said the investments will help UPS differentiate its end-to-end logistics offerings, ensuring the logistics company can equip businesses from the first step to the last step of the shipping process.
“We’re investing to give them tailored capabilities aligned to the needs of their specific industries that cover the markets they’re increasingly sourcing from and distributing to, and do it in a way that they can make commitments to their customers,” Szwast said.
Britain’s economy has undergone a silent productivity boom over the past two years, according to new research which suggests that official statistics have masked a dramatic improvement in output.
The Resolution Foundation, a think tank, said UK productivity has been expanding by 1.1 per cent a year since late 2024, far above the official estimate of 0.2 per cent from the Office for National Statistics.
Productivity growth, based on a worker’s output per hour, is central to ensuring long-term prosperity and rising living standards, and acts as a stabilising force on a government’s public finances.
Five times the official estimate
The think tank said the UK’s productivity growth had been “respectable” and not as “dismal” as the “flawed” measurements from the ONS suggest. Its higher estimate comes from an analysis of payroll data from HMRC and tax returns from the self employed, which it considers more reliable than official estimates.
“Britain’s dismal productivity record since the global financial crisis explains a lot of its economic stagnation and weak living standards growth, but while official figures suggest that the output of workers has worsened further in the mid-2020s, our more accurate productivity measure suggests that it has been improving in recent years,” the foundation said.
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A separate analysis from the Centre for Economic Performance, which uses the same data sources as the Resolution Foundation, has calculated that annual productivity growth expanded at a rate of 2.37 per cent between the third quarter of 2024 and the first three months of 2026.
A survey under strain
The ONS derives its measure of productivity from its labour force survey, which has been plagued by low response rates since the pandemic and is being revamped to encourage wider participation. It expects to launch a long delayed transformed labour force survey (TLFS) next year.
That matters well beyond the statistical trade. Pay settlements, interest rate decisions and the fiscal headroom a chancellor believes she has all rest on estimates of how much the economy can produce.
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Worst run since the 1800s
The UK, along with Italy, has consistently registered the worst productivity growth in the G7 group of advanced economies since the financial crisis, when rates of output per hour fell across Western economies. Average UK productivity growth was 2.1 per cent in the decade before the 2008 crash and has fallen to 0.3 per cent a year in the years since. This is the worst run since the 1800s, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility.
Economists have long pondered what is behind the UK’s productivity puzzle, with some suggesting that conventional measurements cannot capture the advances in output made in the internet and digital age.
Not artificial intelligence, and not job switching
Two explanations have been offered for the recent improvement. The first is that the introduction of artificial intelligence into sectors such as IT and financial services is boosting output per hour. The second is that the government’s increase in employment taxes has forced firms to rein back on hiring, lifting productivity in labour intensive, low pay sectors such as leisure and hospitality.
Simon Pittaway, the foundation’s principal economist, said: “Some have suggested that recent productivity gains have been driven by an early AI boom, and workers leaving low-productivity sectors like retail and hospitality. But neither explanation is borne out by the data. Instead, the UK’s productivity recovery has been achieved by the same workers, doing the same jobs, and working in the same sectors.
“This is a broad-based recovery, with 12 of 19 sectors seeing improved productivity growth in the past two years, including info and communications, retail, science, transport and health. This productivity recovery is welcome, but it needs to be sustained and built upon if it’s to lead to big improvements in living standards.”
Amy Ingham
Amy Ingham is a reporter at Business Matters, covering UK business news with a focus on breaking news, business policy, late payments and insolvency. She joined the magazine in 2026 after completing the NCTJ Diploma in Journalism at Harlow College’s journalism school. Her recent reporting includes British Steel’s nationalisation and its impact on SME suppliers, the decline in late payments by large firms, and Insolvency Service director disqualifications. Reach her at aingham@cbmeg.co.uk.
Alibaba stock fell in U.S. trading after the Chinese tech giant priced a roughly $10.2 billion placement of new shares to non-U.S. investors. The move marks the latest large tech industry fundraising deal focused on AI. Alibaba Group (BABA) on Monday said it has priced 710 million new shares at 112.70 Hong Kong dollars each, according to a news release.…
Dagen McDowell explains how New York City’s government-run grocery store proposal faces a potential lawsuit from local private grocers over unfair competition, calling the taxpayer-funded plans ‘the spread of socialism.’
A coalition representing immigrant-owned grocers is targeting New York City in a lawsuit over democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plans to open multiple government-owned grocery stores in the Big Apple, a government intervention that is expected to cut into the profits of regular markets.
The lawsuit was expected to be filed Monday at 8 a.m. ET, following efforts to resolve the solution out of court.
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“Although we have not heard from you since May 2026, we are open to resolving this matter amicably with more sensible solutions to feed working class people with nutritious essential food items at affordable prices,” the Multicultural Business Coalition’s president, Kenneth Roldan, declared in a letter to City Hall, according to a New York Post report last week.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani listens as Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks during a press conference on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions on Aug. 12, 2026, in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images / Getty Images)
“We are asking the mayor to avoid litigation to sit down with us,” legal counsel for the coalition, Mark Jaffe, the president of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce, told the outlet. “But we have to try to stop this if they won’t listen to us.”
The first of five planned government-linked grocery stores is expected to open next year, the mayor’s office announced earlier this year.
New York GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman discusses New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan to open city-run grocery stores and blasts the state’s Democratic leadership on ‘Kudlow.’
“Under the model, the City will own the land and cover overhead costs like rent and construction. A private operator, selected through a request for proposals, will manage daily operations and be contractually required to pass savings directly to customers on a core basket of everyday staples,” an April news release stated.
Mamdani has claimed that prices for a core basket of grocery items will be priced 30% lower than normal retail prices at the government-affiliated stores.
Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York, holds up bananas labeled with a 30% off sticker during an announcement of municipal grocery stores at a Campaign for Hunger community food distribution center in the Brooklyn borough of New York, on Monday, July 27, (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“This core set of goods will include all fresh produce, meat and seafood along with 20 other essential items like cheese, milk and bread. Here’s how it will work: Once a month, our five city-run grocery stores will set prices for this core set of goods at 30% below typical retail prices,” he said last month.
FOX Business’ Madison Alsworth contributed to this report.
Veezu has donated £1,000 to Whitchurch-Heath Cricket Club
13:56, 24 Aug 2026Updated 13:56, 24 Aug 2026
Private hire car venture Veezu had donated £1,000 to a Cardiff cricket club to replace equipment damaged in an arson attack at its ground.
Whitchurch-Heath Cricket Club has received a £1,000 donation after vandals targeted its facilities earlier this year, with its scoreboard set on fire and other equipment damaged. It left the volunteer-run club facing an unexpected bill to replace essential equipment.
The contribution from Cardiff headdquartered Veezu has helped Whitchurch-Heath replace the destroyed scoreboard with a new electronic model.
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Sally Krouma, brand activation manager at Veezu, said: “When we heard what had happened at Whitchurch-Heath we wanted to see what we could do to help.
“Grassroots sports clubs play such an important role in their communities and rely on an enormous amount of hard work from volunteers.
“It was really disappointing to see the damage that had been caused, so we were very happy to provide £1,000 to help the club replace some of the equipment.”
Alastair Milburn, chair of Whitchurch-Heath Cricket Club, said: “We are incredibly grateful to Veezu for their amazing support.
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“The damage was heartbreaking for everyone involved with the club. Our facilities and equipment have been built up through years of hard work by members and volunteers, so seeing the scoreboard destroyed by fire was particularly difficult.
“What was uplifting was the response we received from people who wanted to help. Sally contacted me almost immediately after seeing what had happened and simply asked what Veezu could do to support us.
“Their incredibly generous contribution has helped us replace the damaged scoreboard with a new electronic one, so there is now something really positive to come out of what was a very distressing and hurtful incident.
“Support like this makes a genuine difference to a community sports club and we can’t thank Veezu enough for standing alongside us when we needed it.”
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Whitchurch-Heath Cricket Club provides cricket for players of different ages and abilities and is run with the support of volunteers from across the club.
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