Shein outsells British rival Asos as UK revenue hits £2.58bn
Posted on Friday October 09, 2026

Online retailer’s 26% jump sharpens focus on exemption letting cheap parcels into the country duty-free

Shein, the online fast-fashion retailer founded in China, increased sales in the UK by just over a quarter last year, overtaking its British rival Asos.

The company, whose global parent group listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange valued at just over $26bn (£19.6bn) last month, increased sales at its UK division by 26% to £2.58bn, according to accounts filed at Companies House.

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China agrees to ‘halve’ hybrid car exports to EU in landmark deal
Posted on Friday October 09, 2026

Brussels says Beijing’s shipments could fall by more than half over four years, cutting millions of vehicles amid fears for European jobs

The EU said it has reached a landmark deal with China to “halve” its sales of hybrid cars in the bloc amid fears surging sales could kill off parts of the European car industry.

Trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said the deal was the first of its kind and the result of “intense” negotiations with China since June to curb a trade deficit of €1.18bn (£1bn) a day, which has caused mounting tensions between the two economic powers.

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Christian Bittar has conviction for rigging interest rates quashed
Posted on Friday October 09, 2026

Former City banker becomes eighth to clear their name, just days after five others were acquitted

Former City trader Christian Bittar has become the eighth person to have his conviction for rigging interest rates quashed, just days after five other former bankers also successfully cleared their names.

Christian Bittar, who previously worked for Deutsche Bank, was convicted in 2018 of conspiracy to defraud.

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Lost generation: the AI threat to Britain’s next great directors
Posted on Friday October 09, 2026

Commercials once launched careers from Ridley Scott to Guy Ritchie, now automated production is cutting costs – and the chance to learn by doing

When Ridley Scott was awarded the UK’s highest accolade for a glittering career directing films from Alien and Blade Runner to Gladiator and The Martian, he reminded those attending the Bafta event eight years ago that making commercials had been his “film school”.

The advertising industry has long been a breeding ground for British film and TV talent who have gone on to make the jump to Hollywood productions, including Guy Ritchie, who started out making music videos and commercials, and Paddington in Peru director Dougal Wilson, whose credits include a number of John Lewis’s famous Christmas ads.

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The new Darth Vader: how tech execs became the film villains of our age
Posted on Friday October 09, 2026

Jeremy Strong’s portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Reckoning shows how public opinion has changed around billionaire CEOs since The Social Network’s release

When The Social Network came out, Mark Zuckerberg organised a staff viewing of a film he described as “fun”.

A group corporate outing to the sequel is unlikely.

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‘This is not an anti-tech town’: backlash to datacenter in city once home to IBM
Posted on Friday October 09, 2026

Fight in East Fishkill, New York, part of a growing divide over whether AI benefits outweigh enormous downsides

For decades, East Fishkill helped build New York’s tech industry.

The hamlet, located 70 miles north of New York City, was home to a 460-acre campus where IBM researched and manufactured semiconductor chips for nearly 50 years.

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The Premier League is back: welcome to the new era of post-verdict unreality | Barney Ronay
Posted on Friday October 09, 2026

As the top flight returns, armed with the knowledge its serial champions have been the authors of a 10-year sham supremacy, the first question is simple: how is it going to feel?

The internet: an apology. It turns out you were right. It was actually a simulation all along. Now, talk to me about chemtrails again. And yes, maybe Vinícius Júnior has been replaced by a handsome, baffled-looking waxwork.

Welcome to the weirdest weekend of them all. We are now post-judgment, post-statement, postlapsarian. As the Premier League prepares to snap back into what must be described, out of habit, as reality, armed with the knowledge its serial champions have been the authors of a 10-year sham supremacy, the first question is fairly simple. How is it going to feel?

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Lionesses take control of World Cup playoff tie but unfancied Greece still in fight
Posted on Friday October 09, 2026

• World Cup qualifying playoff: Greece 1-3 England

• Stanway, Le Tissier and Russo on target

Sarina Wiegman said she wanted to see a bit more from her side after their fairly underwhelming performance against a hugely unfancied Greek side, despite securing a valuable first-leg victory in their Women’s World Cup playoff tie.

Georgia Stanway’s neat finish, Maya Le Tissier’s first England goal and Alessia Russo’s low strike were enough to give England control but a Kallisti Brouksair goal for Greece means that the tie is not definitively over, going into Tuesday’s second leg, and Wiegman acknowledged that England had been “a bit sloppy” at times.

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