Business & Tech
The latest stories from independent business & tech media.
Utmost Group assets reach £123bn as European flows jump 50%
Utmost Group has posted a 16% increase in normalised inflows for the first half of 2026, largely because demand accelerated sharply across its continental European markets.
Advisers hike fees and segment client books to beat rising cost to serve
Financial advice practices are balancing ambitious recruitment and client onboarding plans with scrutiny of ongoing client suitability, according to research from NextWealth.
Laptop-slinger Framework refunding customers who paid top dollar for RAM
Puts a whole new spin on ‘Cheap as chips’
Microsoft goes after Salesforce and ERP users with AI-powered converter
Ironically, this idea lands as Salesforce is struggling to sell its own AI
Anthropic reveals fourth likely crime committed by its AI
Claude's Felony Bench rap sheet is now as long as OpenAI's
Dental contractor set up secret account with access to 4,000 patient records then left the company
UK government says Fujitsu won't use framework places to chase new customers
Procurement officials promise to police the scandal-hit supplier's voluntary bidding moratorium
Novel Blue Moon kit targeting Chrome and Windows reflects new reality of AI-driven exploits
Mind the patch gap, please and thank you
AI models don't kill people – people kill people
AI fearmongers forget we could just jail tech execs until morale and model safety improve
Apple hawks $2k folding fondleslab
Another new form factor for devs to adapt to
Samsung to help fortify OpenAI's semiconductor supply chain
Semiconductor supply chains are hard, but Samsung offers OpenAI relief in many forms spanning compute and memory
Cryptocrook ringleader, 22, who met crew on Minecraft admits role in $245M heist
Stolen funds bought mansions, private jets, and supercars – now he faces up to 20 years
UK retail sales growth slows to 0.7% as shoppers cut back
UK retail sales growth slowed to just 0.7 per cent in August as mounting household costs prompted consumers to rein in discretionary spending.
Westfield expands retail careers scheme with 320 free training places
Westfield is expanding its Step Into Retail employment programme, offering up to 320 local jobseekers free training and access to retail career opportunities across its London shopping centres.
Primark makes major ecommerce U-turn as it confirms home delivery plans
Primark is set to launch home delivery in Great Britain for the first time, marking a major shift in strategy after years of resisting ecommerce.
VMware defends ending downloads of SDK that helps VM backups – or migrations to rivals
Chinese researchers find egg-cellent way to keep space debris from scrambling craft
Eggy armor cuts projectile speed in simulations as LEO gets increasingly crowded
Google takes the nuclear option for €13B Finland expansion
22-year power deal covers up to half of Loviisa plant's capacity, with wind and battery projects alongside
Brent hits $100 as oil surge weighs on stocks
Brent crude has risen to $100 a barrel for the first time since July, putting further pressure on stocks as investors weigh higher oil prices and Treasury yields.
Adviser firms grow while scrutinising service costs
Financial advice firms are expanding their client books while taking a closer look at the cost of servicing individual relationships, according to research from NextWealth.
HelmGuard raises $7.3m to for agentic GRC platform
HelmGuard has raised $7.3 million in seed funding for its platform that uses AI agents to automate governance, risk and compliance in regulated sectors such as financial services.
World Bank targets more digital payments in emerging markets
Mastercard and Visa are backing a new World Bank risk sharing initiative to help local financial institutions expand digital payments in emerging markets.
Consumer trust in agentic payments continues to lag
While consumers are increasingly using AI across the shopping journey, only 23% of US consumers trust GenAI to handle payment transactions on their behalf, according to new Visa research.
US Bank pilots custom-built stablecoin
US Bank has executed of a live intrabank pilot transaction between North America and Europe that utilised the bank's proprietary US dollar-backed stablecoin, USBDC.
Serial Microsoft 0-day hunter drops yet another Defender exploit
PayPal helps developers build application-specific PYUSD-backed stablecoins
PayPal is working with crypto specialists MoonPay and M0 on an infrastructure platform that lets developers create application-specific stablecoins backed by PYUSD.
Tu: “customers don’t have to choose between style, quality and value” with AW26 collection
Sainsbury’s has described its Tu AW26 collection as its “most confident collection to date”, with the range including four times more premium knitwear options.