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Business news from Australia and around the world: companies, deals, earnings, regulation and the people running them.
1811 articles · page 6 of 38
The UK’s retail sector is outstripping other industries in offering enhanced paternity leave, new research has found, as more than 100 Labour MPs call on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to improve the national entitlement ahead of the upcoming budget.
Nvidia has entered a preliminary partnership with German energy company PreussenElektra GmbH to explore converting decommissioned nuclear power plant sites in Germany into high-performance AI data centers, the companies announced on October 21st.
A recruitment entrepreneur whose companies collapsed leaving debts of more than £3 million, including over £1 million to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), appears to have launched his operation for a third time, according to an investigation by The Guardian's Simon Goodley.
· 2 sourcesInsolvent businesses bought back by their former owners in pre-pack administration deals are significantly more likely to fail again and give far less money to creditors, according to research commissioned by the Guardian from Turnstone Intelligence. The study analysed more than 1,700 administrations from 2019 and found that 44 per cent of connected-party pre-packs had resulted in a second insolvency by July 2026, compared with 26 per cent where the buyer was unconnected to the original company.
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A Guardian analysis reveals that UAE government and Emirati developers have acquired land equivalent to 260 football pitches in Manchester at its peak, transforming parts of the city centre but leaving a stark divide between luxury apartments and surrounding deprived neighbourhoods. The investments, anchored by Sheikh Mansour's ownership of Manchester City football club, included a £1bn deal to build 6,000 homes, but only a third have been delivered and none were affordable housing, sparking accusations of growing inequality.
· 3 sourcesNationwide Building Society is cutting 275 jobs, the second round of redundancies this year since its £2.9bn takeover of Virgin Money, with the lender stressing the cuts are not driven by AI and that no customer-facing roles are at risk.
Chancellor John Healey will deliver the Budget on Wednesday guarded by intelligence-style secrecy, with his plans split into "compartments" and ministers made to sign a digital promise not to brief the media, as the Treasury weighs higher taxes on banks and gambling machines and new VAT collection obligations for online marketplaces to sustain Britain's stronger-than-expected growth.
· 5 sourcesFirst-home buyers have snapped up a Richmond terrace for $1,286,000, paying $86,000 above reserve with help from family, during a week that delivered Melbourne a preliminary auction clearance rate of 56 per cent.
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Australian-British production company See-Saw Films will continue championing underdog stories following its sale of a majority stake to French entertainment group Mediawan, co-founders Emile Sherman and Iain Canning say. The company behind Oscar-winning films The King's Speech and Lion, and hit series Slow Horses, sold 51 percent to Mediawan last year in a deal Variety described as a major coup. Sherman and Canning have stepped back to joint chief executives, leaving day-to-day operations to joint managing directors Simon Gillis and Ben Irving.
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Chancellor John Healey will announce more than £1bn for social and affordable housing in England in his first Budget on Wednesday, alongside new powers and funding for regional mayors, but the pre-Budget period has been marked by the resignation of his startup adviser and renewed pressure from the opposition over defence spending.
· 5 sourcesBig W has clawed its way back to profitability, posting a $64 million profit in the latest financial year after years of losses, but the discount chain still faces an uphill battle against dominant rival Kmart and questions about its long-term future under parent Woolworths.
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Quebec's strategic maple syrup reserve is on track to be completely depleted by February, the Quebec Maple Syrup Producers has warned, after US buyers rushed to stockpile Canadian syrup ahead of President Donald Trump's tariffs. The drawdown marks an unprecedented squeeze on the province's buffer stock, which is designed to smooth out supply fluctuations caused by weather-dependent production.
The UK government has launched a consultation on new standby power regulations for smart devices, drawing on recent EU changes. The proposed caps on power consumption in standby and off modes could reduce household energy bills but may increase the time it takes for devices such as smart TVs and robot vacuums to turn on.
Australia's national housing market recorded its steepest quarterly decline on record, falling 4.7 per cent in the three months to September 30, according to the latest Domain property report. Every capital city saw median house prices fall for the first time in 15 years, but some regional markets continue to climb, led by a 19 per cent annual rise in regional South Australia.
· 2 sourcesA column by money expert Victoria Devine has raised alarms about young Australians piling into AI stocks, just as a week-long rout wiped more than $1 trillion from the world’s biggest semiconductor and AI companies. While shares quickly rebounded, Devine warns that the sector’s reliance on debt and its susceptibility to interest rate rises could trap investors who need their money for long-term goals.
· 4 sourcesSix Flags will install seat belts on the Georgia roller coaster from which a rider fell to his death this month, and on other coasters with similar restraints, the company's chief executive said Friday. The announcement came less than two weeks after 42-year-old Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem of Atlanta was ejected from his seat on the Goliath coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia on Oct. 12. Investigators have not said what caused the accident, and eight additional coasters at five other parks remain closed.
· 3 sourcesFormer investment banker Peter Hunt and his wife Tania de Jong have relisted their whole-floor penthouse opposite Manly Beach with a price guide of $35 million, $5 million below its initial February asking price, as high-end Sydney vendors adjust expectations in a softening market.
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Instacart has held acquisition talks with DoorDash and Uber about a possible sale, according to reports on Friday, sending its shares up more than 9%. The discussions are early and may not result in a deal.
Arla Foods Ltd has pulled three flavours of its Arla Protein Pudding from UK supermarket shelves after the Food Standards Agency warned the products may contain glass, making them unsafe to eat. Customers are advised to check their purchases and return affected items for a full refund.
Halloween candy sales fell 6.7 per cent in the month ending Oct. 17 compared with the same period last year, according to market research firm NielsenIQ, as high fuel prices and elevated chocolate costs drove American consumers to buy smaller bags. The decline, which saw an 11.7 per cent drop in mid-September, erased preseason gains from the previous two years. The National Confectioners Association expressed optimism as the peak Halloween shopping period begins, while industry analysts note that shoppers may be waiting until closer to the holiday to buy.
· 2 sourcesNearly half of U.S. workers have walked out on their jobs without giving any notice in the past year, according to a March 2025 report from job board Monster, with the majority of ‘revenge quitters’ being employees who had been in their roles for more than two years.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has hired Todd Combs, a senior figure from Warren Buffett’s inner circle and former CEO of Geico, to lead a new $10 billion investment group. Dimon said Buffett was resigned to the loss, telling him, ‘if he’s going anywhere, at least he’s going to you.’
Texas has suspended permits for 17 data center projects and disabled an automated portal that continued to approve new data center construction permits weeks after Governor Greg Abbott called for a halt in September, the state's environmental agency confirmed.
More than a third of post offices located within the TG Jones high street chain, formerly known as WH Smith, are set to close by early 2027, according to Post Office records analysed by the Guardian. The closures have sparked warnings from the Communication Workers Union (CWU) that towns and city centres risk becoming 'postal deserts' as the network shrinks.
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Lithuania's parliament is considering amendments to the Labour Code that would improve working conditions and social protections for thousands of drivers and couriers working through digital platforms such as Bolt, Wolt and Uber, in a bid to implement the European Union's Platform Work Directive by December.
Moody's has left France's sovereign credit rating unchanged at Aa3 with a negative outlook, defying market expectations of a downgrade, even as the country's 10-year borrowing costs hit their highest level since 2002 and investors watch nervously for further unrest. The agency's decision, announced late Friday, grants the government a temporary reprieve but analysts warn the underlying political and fiscal risks remain acute.
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The artificial intelligence build-out is showing severe strain this week, with shares of leading neocloud companies falling sharply, credit default swap spreads widening, and SK Hynix withdrawing the initial public offering of its Solidigm unit. The sell-off reflects growing investor skepticism about the returns from the enormous capital expenditure on AI infrastructure, even as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang remains confident that demand will outpace capital availability.
Spotify is stepping up enforcement of its family and duo plan address rules, requiring users to scan a QR code on the plan manager's device to confirm they live at the same address. Those who do not comply within seven days will be moved to the free tier and barred from joining any other Duo or Family plan for 12 months.
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German wholesale retailer Metro AG has announced that its Russian subsidiary donated 1 billion rubles (€11.1 million) to a fund supporting Russian soldiers, a transfer the parent company said was neither coordinated nor authorized. The donation comes after the Kremlin placed Metro Russia under state control last month, part of a wave of seizures of Western companies' assets.
Helen Chiang, who became Xbox's first chief operating officer in July after 21 years at Microsoft, has left the company, according to an internal memo from Xbox CEO Asha Sharma. Her immediate responsibilities are being divided among other Xbox leaders.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its founder Sam Altman, alleging the company's ChatGPT product has deceived and harmed Texans by enabling mass shooters, encouraging suicide, and addicting minors, among other claims. The lawsuit, filed Friday in Collin County district court, seeks an injunction that would require OpenAI to block access for minors and submit new models to a court-appointed evaluator.
On the global launch day of Apple's first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, scalpers gathered outside the flagship store in Beijing's Sanlitun shopping district, offering to pay customers an extra 3,000 yuan ($448) to buy their newly purchased devices on the spot, citing tight supply as the reason for the premium.
· 3 sourcesAmazon has announced a plan to create 30,000 entry-level jobs in the United Kingdom by 2030 under a new initiative called the Amazon Youth Promise, aimed at young workers and those not in education, employment or training. The announcement comes as the company has cut roughly 30,000 white-collar jobs over the past year to restructure and focus more on artificial intelligence.
University students eyeing summer work are being urged to act early, with economists and recruiters reporting mixed conditions across New Zealand's two-speed economy. While the agricultural and horticultural sectors expect strong seasonal demand, retail and hospitality face subdued consumer spending and heightened competition for available roles.
Barclays is cutting around 5,000 jobs, or about 5% of its global workforce, as it introduces more artificial intelligence into its operations, with 1,000 roles already eliminated and a further 4,000 expected to go by the end of this year. The bank said the reductions are part of an ongoing modernisation plan, with chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan describing AI as the 'icing on the cake' of the strategy. Unions accused the company of using the technology as an excuse to discard loyal workers.
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Equity platform Carta and secondary-investment firm NewView have formed a partnership aimed at making it easier for private startups to offer employees early liquidity through tender offers, transactions in which workers sell a portion of their shares at a predetermined price to an approved investor.
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Oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and alternative routes have averaged more than 24 million barrels per day last week, exceeding the prewar average of 23.3 million before the U.S.-Israel campaign began in late February, according to tracking firm Kpler. While the war has dragged on for eight months, energy markets are adapting to what JPMorgan analysts call a 'forever conflict' as supply holds up and demand destruction, particularly in China, keeps prices in check.
Once dismissed as a ‘grandma’ accessory, vintage watches are enjoying a renaissance among younger buyers, particularly women, as celebrities like Zendaya, Taylor Swift and Lana Del Rey flaunt heritage timepieces. Entrepreneurs and collectors across Australia report booming demand, with eBay data showing 30 per cent of 25- to 34-year-olds are more interested in analogue watches than they were three years ago.
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Meta’s effective tax rate fell to 2% for the first nine months of 2026, thanks to an $8 billion Treasury break, but the company now faces a deadline from seven U.S. senators who question whether its AI data centers qualify as experimental research under federal tax credits. Citing a New York Times report, the senators wrote to CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Oct. 13 requesting a response by Halloween about Meta’s use of the federal research and experimentation credit.
Hedge fund billionaire Glenn Dubin, a longtime board member of Mount Sinai hospital whose ties to Jeffrey Epstein have come under fresh scrutiny, stepped down from the board earlier this year, according to sources close to the institution. His wife, Dr Eva Andersson-Dubin, also resigned from the board of Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine. Mount Sinai said the Dubins' terms ended in the spring and they did not seek re-election.
Irish singer Ronan Keating and his Australian wife Storm have lodged development application plans with council to demolish their newly purchased Tamarama beach cottage and build a three-storey, four-bedroom home with a gym, playroom and pool. The couple bought the 1920s property under Storm’s name for $6.3 million in March.
· 4 sourcesNextDC has announced a board and executive pay purge in response to last week's share price crash that wiped $3 billion from its market value. Chairman Douglas Flynn will stand for re-election at the November annual general meeting but retire once a replacement is found, and chief executive Craig Scroggie will forfeit all short-term and long-term incentives for the 2027 financial year. The company also retracted a proposal to increase director pay, and directors agreed to a 10 per cent fee reduction.
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Physical crude prices from the Middle East have softened this week even as Brent crude futures jumped to a five-month high of $114 per barrel, reflecting a growing disconnect between market fears of supply disruption and actual flows out of the Persian Gulf.
The UK's online safety regulator Ofcom has admitted that landmark measures under the Online Safety Act have failed to reduce the proportion of children exposed to harmful content on social media. In a review covering the first nine months after strict duties on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram came into force in July 2025, Ofcom found 'no significant change in the proportion of children encountering harmful content'. The findings were described as 'staggering' by campaigner Ian Russell and 'alarming' by the NSPCC.
· 3 sourcesThe U.S. Transportation Department has fined Air France and KLM a total of $425,000 for operating more than 130 flights carrying Delta Air Lines' code in Iraqi airspace that the Federal Aviation Administration prohibits for U.S. operators due to safety risks.
Intel has obtained a one-year waiver from the Federal Communications Commission to continue using foreign-made automated guided vehicles in its US semiconductor factories, after the company said it was unclear whether a federal ban on such robots applied to its operations.
Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) has been awarded $85 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce under the CHIPS Act to develop advanced semiconductors and power electronics tailored for the fusion energy industry. The grant, announced Thursday, also gives the government a stake in the startup, which expects to turn on its Sparc demonstration reactor next year.
Daytona Platforms, a three-year-old startup building a cloud infrastructure specifically designed for long-running AI agents, announced on Friday that it had raised a $60 million Series B round at a $1 billion valuation. The round was led by FirstMark Growth, which also led the company's $24 million Series A in February, and includes a roster of high-profile angel investors.
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