Business

Fund defence spending from tax rise on middle earners, thinktank tells Healey
Posted on Tuesday September 01, 2026

Resolution Foundation argues that UK’s internationally low ‘tax wedge’ must rise to pay for defence ambitions

The chancellor, John Healey, must be prepared to raise taxes for middle earners if he wants to fund significantly higher defence spending, the Resolution Foundation thinktank has said.

Healey resigned from Keir Starmer’s government in June, protesting against what he argued was the then prime minister’s failure to adequately fund defence.

‘Not perfectly aligned’ with human values: Anthropic admits security failures behind AI hacking incidents
Posted on Tuesday September 01, 2026

US owner of Claude chatbot previously said its models had hacked three organisations during testing

The US startup behind the Claude chatbot has admitted a series of hacking incidents involving its models reflected a “failure of operational security” and said it has tightened its testing procedures.

Anthropic revealed in July that its models had accessed the open internet three times and gained unauthorised access to the systems of three organisations.

Dyson launches £420 toothbrush that films ‘live cleaning footage’ inside your mouth
Posted on Tuesday September 01, 2026

James Dyson says ‘complete dental system’ will also include toothpaste and mouth rinse that each cost £8.50

It is the live stream you never wanted to see but may find impossible to resist: rolling footage beamed live from inside your mouth while you are cleaning your teeth.

Dyson, the home appliance maker that made its name inventing bagless vacuums and bladeless fans, has turned its attention to oral hygiene with a £420 all-singing, all-dancing toothbrush that can clean, floss and even spray tiny jets of mouthwash.

From milk to sausage rolls: how vending machines could help tackle UK ‘food deserts’
Posted on Tuesday September 01, 2026

Selling direct to public helps squeezed farmers control prices and improves access to food in rural areas

Fizzy drinks, packets of crisps and bars of chocolate: for decades, vending machines were known as a place to grab a quick snack.

Now one family of farmers is trying to change that by bringing vending machines offering fresh milk and local produce – including scotch eggs, sausage rolls and brownies – to villages and other rural locations.

London Stock Exchange to lose three more firms after takeover offers
Posted on Tuesday September 01, 2026

Latest purchases take value of deals to leave capital’s stock market this year past $100bn

Three more London-listed companies are set to be taken over as the value of deals removing firms from the capital’s under-pressure stock market so far this year passes $100bn (£74bn).

On Tuesday, Bodycote, the FTSE 250 industrials group that has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 1972, agreed a £1.84bn takeover by the US private equity group Veritas.

Boss of City regulator accused of threatening consumer group over £9.1bn car loan scheme
Posted on Tuesday September 01, 2026

FCA chief, Nikhil Rathi, warned of ‘adverse consequences’ if challenge made to settlement, court filings allege

The boss of the UK’s financial regulator is accused of threatening a consumer group with “adverse consequences” if it blocked a £9.1bn compensation scheme meant to settle the motor finance scandal.

Legal documents reviewed by the Guardian said the alleged comments by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) chief executive, Nikhil Rathi, amounted to “an inappropriate intervention by a public official”.

‘A huge learning curve’: apprentices on the benefits and pitfalls of vocational training
Posted on Tuesday September 01, 2026

While many young people have found jobs and built careers, some have struggled to complete their courses

The crisis in the youth employment market, with almost a million young people not in education, employment or training (Neet) across the UK, has placed fresh emphasis on ways of getting employees into the workforce.

The government hopes to increase focus on technical and vocational learning in England from the age of 14. In parallel, there is an ambition to create thousands more apprenticeships.