AstraZeneca shares fall 8.9% over merger talks with US cancer drug firm
Posted on Monday August 03, 2026

Proposed $400bn tie-up with Bristol Myers Squibb would create world’s fourth-largest drugmaker but analysts question rationale

More than £17bn was wiped off the value of Britain’s biggest drugmaker, AstraZeneca, on Monday after a report that it was in discussions to take over its US rival Bristol Myers Squibb in a deal that would create a near $400bn (£300bn) pharmaceutical group.

AstraZeneca, run by Pascal Soriot, its longtime chief executive, had been worth nearly £196bn before the news broke. BMS, headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, and known for its cancer treatments, was worth $133bn (£98bn).

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Apple launches legal challenge against UK government demand to access data
Posted on Monday August 03, 2026

The Home Office has made a fresh request for ‘back door’ access to encrypted iCloud data belonging to British users

Apple has launched a new legal challenge against a UK government demand to access its customers’ highly encrypted data, a year after the Home Office agreed to abandon its previous request.

The US tech company launched the legal complaint last month at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT), an independent court that has the power to investigate claims that the UK intelligence services have acted unlawfully.

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Yen hits three-month high after Trump helps prop up currency
Posted on Monday August 03, 2026

US and Japanese governments confirm they carried out a rare joint intervention late last week

• Why has Trump stepped in to prop up Japan’s currency?

• Business live – latest updates

The yen has hit its highest level in three months after Japan and the US launched a combined operation to support the Japanese currency.

The yen strengthened to ¥155 to the US dollar on Monday, its highest level since early May, after Tokyo and Washington confirmed they had carried out a rare joint currency intervention late last week.

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Oil prices plunge and Europe’s markets rally after Trump calls off Iran strikes
Posted on Monday August 03, 2026

Brent crude drops by 5% after US president claimed talks on Middle East peace deal would resume

• Business live – latest updates

Crude oil prices fell sharply while stocks and government bonds rallied on Monday after Donald Trump cancelled planned strikes on Iran and claimed peace talks were about to resume.

Brent crude was trading 5% lower at $83.47 a barrel by lunchtime, after falling as much as 7.3% to $81.55 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate dropped more than 5% to $79.47 a barrel.

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UK’s state investments agency hit by data breach
Posted on Sunday August 02, 2026

Security lapse leaves sensitive information and contact details of 51 government officials exposed for 40 hours

The public body in charge of the UK’s state investments has been pushed to improve its internal security after a data breach left “high-level management information” publicly accessible for nearly two days.

UK Government Investments (UKGI), the agency that manages the taxpayers’ interest in a swathe of companies including Channel 4 and the Post Office, said the security failure also left more than 50 government officials’ personal details exposed for nearly 40 hours.

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Stock market turmoil sheds stark light on the opaque AI economy
Posted on Sunday August 02, 2026

Investors scramble to make sense of a shock Chinese challenge to the dominance of western chipmakers

Even for the rollercoaster world of AI, last week was particularly volatile as investors scrambled to keep up with developments that threatened the dominance of the largest western chipmakers.

It began with a double whammy. On Monday, the Chinese memory chipmaker CXMT floated on the Shanghai stock market, soaring by 466% in value to 3.3tn yuan (£365bn).

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More European countries withdraw support for Infantino as pressure intensifies
Posted on Monday August 03, 2026

• FA no longer endorses Fifa president for re-election

• Wales and Serbia join Finland in withdrawing backing

European countries began turning their backs on Gianni Infantino as moves intensified across the globe to end his crisis-hit tenure as Fifa president.

The Football Association was the highest-profile of several Uefa member associations to drop its support for Infantino’s proposed re-election next year. It will write to Fifa confirming it no longer endorses Infantino for a fourth term in charge after the intense controversy surrounding his failed plan to sell a stake in the World Cup to private investors.

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Sigrid Haugset stuns Tour de France Femmes favourites by storming to stage win
Posted on Monday August 03, 2026

• Norwegian breaks clear in stage three to take overall lead

• Haugset: ‘I never thought it was possible, it’s unreal’

Sigrid Haugset, the Norwegian national champion, shocked the established order in the Tour de France Femmes, breaking away alone for 90km, to take the overall lead after winning stage three to Poligny.

“I never thought it was possible,” she said, after realising she had taken both the biggest success of her career and the overall lead in the sport’s biggest race. “It’s unreal. I was so dizzy at the end. I know my boyfriend would be so angry at me for not celebrating, but I couldn’t. I could not lift my arms off the bike. It was impossible.”

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