UK heatwaves cost economy £4.4bn in lost output this year
Repeated heatwaves between May and July are estimated to have cut UK economic output by £4.4bn, according to green think tank Verdant, which warns annual losses could exceed £25bn by 2030.
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Business Desk
The Business Desk covers markets, the economy and the companies shaping it. Its articles are researched and drafted with AI assistance, and every one is reviewed by a named editor before publication.
Edited by Lasse Pedersen
Articles from the Business Desk
Chinese EV sales hit record share of European market
Chinese electric car brands captured 14.2% of western Europe's battery electric vehicle market in early 2026, intensifying pressure for tighter tariffs and quotas.
Trump demands Iran pay compensation, deepening Strait of Hormuz deadlock
Oil and gold prices jumped after US President Donald Trump said Iran must compensate Washington for war damages, a new condition that further complicates efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. British housebuilder Bellway also warned that profit will land at the bottom of its forecast range.
Why global trade keeps growing despite Trump's tariff war
World merchandise trade grew faster than expected in 2025 even as the United States imposed its steepest tariffs in a century. Economists point to rerouted supply chains, a surge in AI-related exports, and new deals bypassing Washington altogether.
Heathrow Loses Europe's Busiest Airport Title to Istanbul
Heathrow handled 7.86 million passengers in July, fewer than Istanbul's 8.15 million, ending the London airport's run as Europe's top hub. The operator says the figures strengthen its case for a third runway.
Nvidia teams with six Wall Street firms on $500bn AI funding push
Nvidia has agreed partnerships with Apollo, BlackRock, Blackstone, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs and KKR to mobilise more than $500bn for data centres and chip factories. The deal has revived concerns about circular financing in the AI industry.
US jobs fell in July but economist says data is not alarming
The US economy unexpectedly shed jobs in July and prior months were revised sharply lower. Economist Jed Kolko says the unemployment rate and broader trends tell a more reassuring story.
Chinese robots take over British warehouses as productivity lags
Chinese firm Geek+ has become the largest supplier of warehouse robots in the UK, with Tesco, Asda and Next among the retailers now relying on its technology. The trend reflects Britain's persistent labour shortages and weak productivity growth, according to the BBC.
OpenAI Acquires AI Presentation Startup NextSlide for ChatGPT
OpenAI has folded NextSlide, a startup that turned notes and documents into slide decks, into its ChatGPT team. The deal closed earlier this year but was only announced this week.
Report Warns England's Student Loan System Piles Debt on Young
A think tank analysis finds English graduates now face far higher lifetime loan repayments and steeper effective tax rates than earlier generations, as sixth formers await this week's A-level results.
Regal and AMC Chiefs Back Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Merger
The heads of America's two largest cinema chains have publicly endorsed the $110 billion merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery, breaking with theatre-industry opposition as the deal faces a state antitrust trial.
Backlash grows against Meta smart glasses over privacy fears
Users of Meta's camera-equipped Ray-Ban glasses report public hostility and online abuse, as European regulators separately scrutinise whether the devices comply with privacy law.
Trump Media sells Wall Street early access to president's posts
Trump Media & Technology Group has launched a paid data feed giving trading firms faster access to posts from Truth Social's most influential accounts, including Donald Trump's. Critics say the arrangement lets the president profit from information he controls as head of state.
Honeywell Aerospace shares plunge 24% as supply chain hits profit
The newly independent aerospace supplier missed second-quarter profit targets and sharply cut its full-year sales growth forecast, blaming persistent shortages of mechanical parts. The results delivered a brutal verdict on the company's first standalone earnings report.
Airbus delivers 67 jets in July, books 204 new orders
Airbus handed over 67 aircraft in July, matching its pace from a year ago, while formally booking a wave of Chinese airline orders that pushed its 2026 order tally past 1,000 for the first time.
Klaviyo to Acquire AI Startup Agency, Names Founder Torres as CPO
Klaviyo, a publicly traded e-commerce marketing platform, has agreed to acquire the AI customer support startup Agency. Its founder, serial entrepreneur Elias Torres, will join Klaviyo as chief product officer to lead its AI agent efforts.
OpenAI to pay $3.2m, accept DOJ oversight over green-card hiring
The US Justice Department says OpenAI and its former subsidiary Statsig discouraged American citizens from applying for jobs earmarked for foreign workers seeking permanent residence. The AI company denies wrongdoing but has agreed to three years of federal monitoring.
Big Tech's $1.65tn AI debt mountain hides in plain sight
Five US technology giants have accumulated $1.65 trillion in AI-related financial obligations that do not appear on their balance sheets, surpassing the $1.35 trillion in debt they officially report. The gap is raising uncomfortable questions for investors worldwide.
EA misses bookings target as Saudi-led $55bn buyout closes
Electronic Arts reported first-quarter bookings well below analyst expectations on Monday, the same week its decade-long run as a public company ends. A $55 billion Saudi-led consortium takes the gaming giant private as early as today.
Horizon3 raises $250 million, tripling valuation to over $2 billion
The San Francisco cybersecurity firm behind an AI system that autonomously hacks networks to find flaws has secured fresh funding as European and global firms shift from annual penetration tests to continuous, automated security checks.
Sequoia leads $1bn round for US nuclear startup Valar Atomics
Venture capital firm Sequoia Capital has led a $1 billion funding round for Valar Atomics, tripling the small reactor developer's valuation to $6 billion after it powered an Nvidia chip with fission-generated electricity.
Fed's Williams expects inflation to fall, warns of rate hikes if not
New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said on 3 August that he remains confident inflation will ease, but warned the central bank will raise interest rates if price pressures prove more persistent than expected.
ECB warns wildfires and nature loss threaten core financial stability
Europe's worst wildfire season in modern times has prompted the European Central Bank to declare climate and nature breakdown a direct threat to price stability, loan quality, and the global economy. The bank is now acting on that assessment, not just studying it.
Fake X login alerts are hijacking accounts for crypto scams
Scammers are sending near-perfect replicas of X's own security emails, warning users of a login from an unrecognised device, to steal account credentials. Once inside, they use hijacked accounts to run cryptocurrency fraud.