Business
what PM Andy Burnham means for British business
I went to the Hacienda exactly once, in the early nineties, a Londoner up for the weekend who queued for an hour, paid over the odds for a warm lager and was condescended to all night by men in bucket hats. Years later, as an investor in an online recruitment marketplace based in Manchester, the walk to board meetings took me past the site of the club, by then reborn as apartments.
The most famous nightclub on earth is now posh flats. On Monday afternoon, watching Andy Burnham outside Number 10 promising to be a circuit breaker for Britain, it was the flats I kept thinking about.
The universe does not often hand you a metaphor that cleanly. The Hacienda was the Manchester nightclub that defined a decade, launched a thousand bands and lost money on very nearly every pint it ever sold. It was run by Factory Records and Tony Wilson, a man so allergic to paperwork that he signed his artists with a contract written in his own blood, promising them everything and the company nothing.
Which brings us, with grim inevitability, to our new Prime Minister.
Burnham arrived in Downing Street this week as the seventh occupant since 2016, a churn rate that would embarrass even a Manchester band. Joy Division lost a frontman and simply rebranded as New Order. Labour has now pulled the same trick twice in two years and is hoping nobody checks the back catalogue. Starmer has gone, and the party is trying very hard not to look back in anger.
Credit where due, though: the man can talk. His first address from the steps of Number 10, promising a new political model, a new economic model and the reindustrialisation of Britain, was the strongest debut single any government has released in years. Definitely Maybe, as manifestos go. Whether the album holds up is another question entirely.
Then came the line-up changes, conducted with all the serenity of a Gallagher soundcheck. Peter Kyle, the one minister actually loading the van on late payments for small firms, sacked. And the nation’s chequebook handed, in a shock first move, to John Healey, a man who walked out of the last band in a row about money and has now been put in charge of all of it. Some might say that takes brass. The gilt market, humming Blue Monday to itself, nudged yields up all the same.
And here is where business readers will recognise the tune, because the Factory problem is the oldest failure mode in commerce. Wilson had the best story in Britain, the best designers, the best talent, and no unit economics whatsoever. Blue Monday became the best-selling 12-inch of all time in a die-cut sleeve so expensive the label lost money on every copy. The Hacienda was rammed seven nights a week and haemorrhaged cash for fifteen years. Narrative is not margin. Vibes are not cash flow. A charismatic founder with a transformational vision and no grip on the till is not a growth story, he is a cautionary one, and most of us have backed at least one to know.
The till, right now, needs minding. Eight in ten SME owners say they are braced for impact, and the CBI has told the new Prime Minister that stripping green levies from business energy bills, currently 45 per cent above the G7 average, must be a day-one priority. His opening gambit, scrapping VAT on electricity, sounds like a banger until you read the small print and discover most firms will not qualify. A radio edit, if you will, with the best verse cut out.
And yet love will not tear us apart just yet, because the counter-example is parked on Burnham’s old doorstep. The Oasis reunion he watched from the mayor’s office helped drive a record £11.2 billion of music tourism spending, including £1.4 billion in the North West alone. The Gallaghers, once the most gloriously chaotic act in the country, came back as the most ruthlessly well-run reunion in live music history. Proof that Manchester swagger and a properly managed balance sheet can share a stage. People change. Even Manchester learned to love a spreadsheet.
That is the whole test of this premiership, and it fits on a set list. If circuit breaker means Factory, all blood contracts and beautiful stories and nobody getting paid, British business will be sitting down, as James instructed, with its head in its hands. If it means Heaton Park, the same swagger with someone competent on the tills, then this, as the Stone Roses nearly put it, really could be the one.
The site of the Hacienda, after all, is worth more as flats than the club ever made as a business. Wilson used to say Factory learned more from failure than from success, which was handy, because failure was all the accounts ever produced.
Step on, Prime Minister, and mind how you go. Will Andy Burnham end up twisting British business melons?
Richard Alvin
Richard Alvin is a serial entrepreneur, a former advisor to the UK Government about small business and an Honorary Teaching Fellow on Business at Lancaster University.
A winner of the London Chamber of Commerce Business Person of the year and Freeman of the City of London for his services to business and charity. Richard is also Group MD of Capital Business Media and SME business research company Trends Research, regarded as one of the UK’s leading experts in the SME sector and an active angel investor and advisor to new start companies.
Richard is also the host of Save Our Business the U.S. based business advice television show.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., speaks during a press conference at the Health and Human Services headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., Feb. 23, 2026.
Nathan Howard | Reuters
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday said that the ongoing outbreak of cyclosporiasis is “under control.”
“We’ve identified the source of the outbreak, and the companies that are involved have implemented a recall,” Kennedy said, responding to questions during a news briefing about health care fraud.
The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, both under Kennedy’s purview as HHS secretary, have faced criticism for their responses to the outbreak. Critics have blasted the federal agencies for the delays in alerting the public and tracking down the source, which they have linked to shredded iceberg lettuce from central Mexico that was supplied by produce giant Taylor Farms.
Some have claimed that agency cuts by the Trump administration have hampered the investigation, although the cyclospora parasite itself presents challenges due to its lengthy incubation period.
“Those criticisms are invalid,” Kennedy said during the briefing, responding to a question regarding criticism of the job cuts under his leadership. “We had no cuts in the surveillance program. We did cuts in the FoodNet program, but they were for redundant surveillance.”
FoodNet, or the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, stopped mandatory reporting for six of eight pathogens — including cyclospora — last year due to funding cuts. The organization is a partnership between the CDC, the FDA, 10 state health departments and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The FDA has concluded that the current cyclospora outbreak is linked to the iceberg lettuce, some of which was served by Yum Brands’ Taco Bell. Taylor Farms has recalled the produce linked to the outbreak, while Taco Bell has pulled it from its restaurants.
However, the agency’s messaging about a false positive test for cyclospora in a sample of Taylor Farms lettuce during its investigation sparked confusion, leading the FDA to issue a clarification on Monday. It said it still suspects the company’s iceberg lettuce is the source of the outbreak.
The CDC, FDA and public health officials in multiple states have been investigating the outbreak, with illnesses first appearing on May 13. So far, more than 1,644 cases have been reported, with 94 hospitalizations and no deaths, according to the CDC.
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JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said in an interview on Monday that he wouldn’t buy stocks or long-term Treasury bonds at their current prices as he thinks investors aren’t accounting fully for risks that could cause turmoil in equity and debt markets.
Dimon said in an interview with CNBC that he thinks geopolitical and fiscal risks are “probably bigger than other people think” amid the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as looming tensions between the U.S. and China.
He also said that growing budget deficits by governments around the world pose a fiscal risk during a period of rising defense spending, which could lead to interest rates on government bonds remaining higher.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said he’s cautious about stock market valuations and wouldn’t buy bonds given current prices and yields. (Caroline Brehman/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Dimon said he wouldn’t buy long-term Treasurys given the current conditions of the bond market, saying that he thinks interest rates on U.S. bonds will likely remain elevated even if inflation subsides.
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The JPMorgan Chase CEO said he believes “the 10-year bond should probably be at 4% to 4.5%” even if inflation returns to the Federal Reserve’s long-run target of 2%, and said that he personally wouldn’t buy long-term Treasurys and sees little upside for bond prices.
The 10-year Treasury yield is currently about 4.6% and has remained above 4.2% since March after they had trended closer to 4% late last year.
The most recent consumer price index (CPI) data showed inflation was up 3.5% from a year ago – well above the Fed’s 2% target – despite declining month-over-month as gas prices declined as the energy market stabilized during a period of reduced hostilities between the U.S. and Iran.
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| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPM | JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. | 345.15 | +6.24 | +1.84% |
Stubbornly high inflation prompted the Fed to leave interest rates unchanged at the central bank’s June meeting and Fed Chair Kevin Warsh has signaled that policymakers won’t tolerate elevated inflation.
That has caused the market’s view of the probability of rate cuts to plunge, as the CME FedWatch tool suggests that the federal funds rate will either remain steady or rise before the end of this year.
Dimon also struck a cautious note on the stock market in the interview, saying he wouldn’t invest in the broader market at the high valuations that can currently be found at many leading companies and would instead look at individual companies to find “a great investment.”
Dimon likened the surge of investment in AI to the rise of the Internet. (Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images for America Business Forum)
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He also likened the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the market as it reshapes the tech sector and the broader economy to what happened during the initial internet boom, saying that companies are spending a “huge” amount of money that may not quickly lead to the desired results.
“Will it in total pay off? Probably, just like the internet did,” Dimon told CNBC. “Will it pay off the way you expect and the timetable you expect? Definitely not.”
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Joe Raedle | Getty Images
Goldman Sachs has created a new platform to expand its offerings for wealthy clients and family offices who increasingly want direct stakes in fast-growing private companies, CNBC has learned.
The new group, called the alternative investments platform, combines Goldman’s existing alternatives business with two newly established teams, according to a memo seen first by CNBC.
The new teams focus on direct investments in individual private companies, rather than broader private equity funds, and on helping clients buy and sell those stakes, according to the memo.
“There has been a lot of focus on the big growth tech names and getting clients access to those before they debut in the public markets,” Kristin Olson, Goldman Sachs’ global head of alternatives for wealth, told CNBC in an interview.
Goldman’s move reflects two of the biggest trends reshaping Wall Street. The firm has spent years pushing deeper into wealth and asset management because of its perception as providing steadier revenues than investment banking and trading. At the same time, the most successful startups are staying private far longer than they once did, allowing early investors to capture most of the gains before public investors get a chance.
“Companies are going public at a trillion dollars,” Olson said. “If you haven’t participated along the way, you’re clearly missing a big part of the growth cycle.”
AI boom
Goldman has been arranging direct investments in later-stage private companies for wealthy clients for roughly two decades, Olson said, pointing to Facebook before its 2012 IPO and later SpaceX, Stripe and Canva. But growth in demand for the asset class convinced executives to break out the business, she added.
The firm’s goal, Olson said, is to help clients identify promising companies before they become household names.
Rather than targeting early-stage startups, Olson said Goldman generally focuses on later-stage companies that have established products, meaningful revenue and clearer paths toward profitability, seeking what she described as a “sweet spot” between risk and return.
The AI investment boom has only intensified demand. Beyond leading model developers, Goldman is increasingly steering clients toward investments in the infrastructure underpinning AI, including data centers and related projects, Olson said.
The announcement comes days after Goldman reported record quarterly revenue, with executives highlighting AI-driven activity across investment banking, trading and financing businesses. The results reinforced investors’ view that Goldman is positioned to benefit from multiple facets of the AI investment cycle.
The announcement also formalizes Goldman’s growing business helping clients find liquidity for private investments.
Through its new secondary advisory group, the firm plans to expand a marketplace that allows clients to buy and sell private holdings while also advising clients looking to exit investments held outside Goldman.
“We said, let’s break that out and let’s make it very clearly defined as something that we’re leaning into,” Olson said.
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Apple is raising prices on Apple Music subscriptions as well as certain Apple One plans as the company faces higher licensing costs.
The tech giant last week hiked prices for Apple Music plans across subscription tiers. Individual plans will rise by $1 a month to $11.99, while student plans will increase by the same amount to $6.99 a month.
Prices for the Apple Music family plan are also rising by $3 per month to a new monthly rate of $19.99.
The company also hiked prices for some tiers of Apple One – the company’s bundle that allows consumers to subscribe simultaneously to Apple TV, Music, iCloud+, Arcade, Fitness+ and News+ or the first four services.
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Apple raised prices on Apple Music plans as well as some Apple One packages. (CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Prices for the Apple One family tier are set to rise by $2 to a new total of $27.95 per month. Family plans may be shared with up to five people and have up to 200 gigabytes of iCloud storage, though they don’t include News+ or Fitness+ in the package.
The individual Apple One subscription, which includes the same four services but with 50 gigabytes of iCloud storage, is unchanged at $19.95 a month.
Apple One’s Premier package, which includes all six of the company’s subscription services with up to 2 terabytes of storage and may be shared among five people, will rise in price by $2 to $39.95 per month.
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| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL | APPLE INC. | 326.59 | -7.15 | -2.14% |
The price increases apply to consumers in the U.S. as well as other countries around the world.
The moves weren’t announced by Apple, which adjusted the prices for the various subscriptions and tiers on its website on Friday. Apple told 9to5Mac, “As a result of rising licensing costs, Apple Music is increasing its subscription price beginning today.”
FOX Business reached out to Apple for comment.
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Apple’s subscription price hikes follow higher iPad and MacBook prices. (Apple)
In late June, Apple announced price hikes for its iPad tablets and MacBook laptops amid rising memory chip costs.
The company raised the price of the MacBook Air by $200 to a new total of $1,299, while the budget Neo laptop price rose from $599 to $699. The price of a MacBook Pro with 1 terabyte of storage rose $300 to $1,999, while the iPad Air with 128 gigabytes of storage rose from $599 to $749.
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Apple said at the time that it has “never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly,” adding that it had “shielded our customers from these increases so far, but we have now reached a point where we need to begin raising prices on a number of products.”
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent joins ‘Mornings with Maria’ to discuss the Trump administration’s crackdown on government fraud, mounting economic pressure on Iran, the AI race with China and the outlook for the U.S. economy.
The Trump administration has successfully tracked down the ayatollah’s “money man,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed to FOX Business on Tuesday, detailing plans to publicly expose more than $100 million in properties linked to Iran’s supreme leader around the world.
“We have found the money man for the ayatollah. We are tracking the ayatollah’s properties around the world,” Bessent told “Mornings With Maria.”
“We hope to soon be able to print his $100 million-plus properties and show the addresses, and we’re preserving this money for the American people.”
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent arrives to testify before the House Ways and Means Committee in the Longworth House Office Building on June 4 in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The Trump Treasury chief said the effort is part of the administration’s broader “Economic Fury” campaign against Iran, a “one-two punch” combined with the military “Epic Fury” campaign that rattled the region.
“Economic Fury,” he said, aims to dismantle the regime’s financial network by tracking overseas assets, freezing accounts and ratcheting up economic pressure following recent military operations.
Bessent said officials are pursuing Iranian assets across the globe while working to choke off the regime’s access to funding, arguing the pressure campaign has already helped drive Iran’s currency to record lows against the U.S. dollar and fueled soaring inflation inside the country.
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An Iranian flag amid rubble and debris in Tehran. (Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images)
“[Their currency] is at an all-time low versus the dollar. It’s in freefall, and we think the inflation rate is upwards of 180% in Iran,” he said.
“So, the government is causing the people to suffer, and we’re going to keep pressing, but we’re also going to marshal the resources and save the resources that we recover for the Iranian people when we get on the other side of this.”
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Bessent added that Treasury is also targeting Iran’s oil revenues, pointing to sanctions on Chinese “teapot” refineries and what he described as a roughly 40% decline in China’s purchases of Iranian crude in recent months, which he said has intensified financial pressure on the regime.
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Around 75% of the world’s population is online and – in many ways – this makes all our lives better. But faced with a barrage of ads, misinformation, AI slop, toxicity and doom-scrolling, it can feel like the internet is kind of… broken.
What happened? And where are we headed next?
Featuring interviews with: Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, Hatelab director Matthew Williams, author and activist Cory Doctorow and author and co-founder of Logging Off Club Adele Zeynep Walton. Big thanks to students at the University of Cardiff.
Film by Daniel Nils Roberts
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Lindt has partially U-turned on its decision to hike prices after Easter chocolate sales dropped.
The Swiss chocolate maker said a “necessary groupwide” price surge of 11.8% was one of the reasons revenue shrank in the first half of this year, particularly in the UK, Germany, and Switzerland.
It also blamed weaker Easter demand and a drop in tourism from Asia and the Middle East “due to geopolitical uncertainties”. In response, it said it has adjusted prices and boosted marketing in certain regions for the second half of the year.
Around Easter, Lindt is known for its chocolate rabbits wrapped in gold-coloured foil and decorated with a red ribbon and bell on their necks.
Overall, the company’s sales dipped 0.9%, with European sales down by 2.1%. It added that “performance was impacted by more price-sensitive and mature markets such as Germany, Switzerland and the UK”.
By volume, meaning the amount of chocolate sold rather than the money it made, overall sales sank 7.5%. Pre-tax profit fell 1.5%.
Meanwhile, sales of Lindt chocolate in airports decreased “due to ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, and therefore declining passenger traffic”.
Lindt said its sales picked up in North America, Australia, China, and Japan, though these countries account for a much smaller slice of its sales than Europe, where it makes over half its revenue.
Lindt chief executive Adalbert Lechner said: “The actions we have initiated focus on volume recovery in the second half of 2026 and lay the foundation to regain volume growth momentum in 2027.”
Lindt is not the only chocolate firm which has been putting prices up.
Experts say climate change has led to extreme rainfall and droughts which have decreased cocoa farmers’ crops.
This pushes up costs of making chocolate, and companies have chosen different ways to react to this, with some reducing chocolate content or sizes rather than raising prices.
According to the latest official data, the annual rate of chocolate and sweet price rises is 7.9%, external – much higher than the general rate of UK inflation at 2.8%, external.
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