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Europe
BBC Business

Former Lloyd's of London boss's relationship breached rules, firm says

Lloyd's of London's former boss's close relationship with another director breached compliance rules, the insurance market has said after an internal investigation. Former chief executive John Neal and former corporate affairs director Rebekah Clement's relationship was "sufficiently close... that it could be viewed as creating a perceived conflict of interest", the firm said. Lloyd's said the pair breached compliance rules by not disclosing their relationship but found no conclusive evidence they had a romantic relationship while at Lloyd's. Neal said all parties can now move on. Clement's lawyer said she is considering legal action. "Rebekah is hugely disappointed with Lloyd's conduct over the course of this investigation, the nature and length of which have caused her unnecessary stress and significant reputational damage relative to its 'findings'," Clement's lawyer added. "She is not surprised that Lloyd's found no evidence of an inappropriate relationship with John Neal, nor any evidence of any failings in her promotion. She also co-operated with the investigation throughout. "Yet, Lloyd's has still chosen to find against Rebekah, on the pretext of 'perception', the source of which was rumour, gossip and innuendo." Neal said: "I am pleased, but not at all surprised, that the investigation found there was no inappropriate relationship. "I would have hoped less time and resource had been spent in reaching a conclusion on the central question that was, in truth, never in doubt. Lloyd's said on Wednesday that it first received "certain whistleblowing reports" in November 2023 but that it didn't act on them. It said its chairman Sir Charles Roxburgh judged this to be a governance failure and informed the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) about it in October 2025. Lloyd's said it could not share the nature of these allegations or the identities of the people involved.

Former Lloyd's of London boss's relationship breached rules, firm says
Europe
BBC Business

I travel four hours on a bus per day - the bus fare cap will save me £500 a year

The wool shop owner says she travels about four hours from Bedworth in Warwickshire to Leamington Spa and back, six days a week. Sarah says she endures the long travel time as she loves running her shop. "It makes me happy," she says. But the cost of getting there comes to £58 per week, or more than £3,000 per year, she says. That will change when a newly-announced cap on most single bus fares comes into force in England in January, which Sarah says will enable her to save £500 a year. After announcing the scheme, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said no-one should be "priced out" or "left behind" when it comes to affordable transport links. Like Sarah, another who thinks it will improve his quality of life is Charlie in Bristol. The 24-year-old, who lives on the city's outskirts, said capping bus fares would mean he'd be more likely to travel into the city centre on weekends. "It's not going to completely revolutionise life for anyone, but it might be the difference between me deciding against going to do something in town on a whim that might be a bit smaller, because again it adds up if you're doing that a few times a week, it can add up and it can make a difference," he said. However Holly Haines, who lives in a rural part of Hereford near the England-Wales border, said the cap would have no impact on her bus travel as the service she uses is provided by a Welsh company. Image source, Holly HainesImage caption, Holly Haines bus journey on the Wales-England border costs at least £4.20 She said that despite the current £3 bus cap in England, a single on her bus costs at least £4.20, despite the journey being "entirely in England". "Whilst I would love for other people to benefit from the £2 capped fare... I find it hard that I will not be able to benefit from it," she said.

I travel four hours on a bus per day - the bus fare cap will save me £500 a year
Europe
The Guardian

Harry Potter publisher to receive millions in Anthropic copyright settlement

Bloomsbury, which is home to the bestselling novelists Sarah J Maas and Susanna Clarke as well as JK Rowling, said it had 14,087 titles listed within the settlement, with a proposed compensation of about $3,000 a title. The London-based company expects to receive the cash from the settlement in instalments, potentially starting in the second half of this fiscal year, with the proceeds to be split with authors. After a deduction of about 10% for attorney fees and other expenses, Bloomsbury and the group of affected authors can expect to receive about $19m (£14m). View image in fullscreenThe lawsuit against Anthropic was filed by the novelist Andrea Bartz and two other authors in 2024. Photograph: Richard Drew/APThe US district judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín said on Monday that the settlement provided “meaningful relief” to affected authors and publishers. The case began when the novelist Andrea Bartz and two other authors filed the lawsuit in 2024. About 91% of the 482,000 works covered in the suit have been claimed. Anthropic’s deputy general counsel, Aparna Sridhar, said in a written statement after the ruling: “We are pleased that more than 91% of authors and publishers covered by the settlement have claimed their share of the payment, and we’re looking forward to bringing this matter to a close.” Bloomsbury announced an AI licensing deal last year which allows it to sell academic works to train up generative AI programmes. The firm said recently that more subject areas were now being considered for AI training. Authors have been given the opportunity to “opt in” to the scheme and will be paid royalties if they decide to let their work be used.

Harry Potter publisher to receive millions in Anthropic copyright settlement
Europe
BBC Business

Will AI help you do your job or replace you?

ByFaisal Islam, Economics editor, Phil Leake, Miguel Roca-Terry, Data journalists and Jess Carr, Data designerArtificial Intelligence (AI) companies are making vast claims about the ability of their tools to replace human labour. Some jobs will be automated, others will be "augmented". The bosses of the world's biggest companies are diverting vast sums into these tools, partly with the knowledge that they could save money on headcount. "Flat is the new up", we are told, in terms of the size of a company's workforce as investors ask whether jobs should be done by new recruits - or, instead, armies of "AI Agents", virtual workers tasked with doing specific roles, some of them relatively skilled. If even half true there will be an impact on us all, across sectors and individual careers, and perhaps it will happen sooner than we think. Nobel prize-winning economists recently warned the world “must act now”, external to ensure that AI leads to rising living standards and not large-scale job displacement, and last month London businesses warned they were struggling to find the skills they need as AI disrupts the jobs market. This chart is the industry benchmark for how various models can perform the tasks previously done by humans, in this case using and developing computer software. This measure showed that three years ago, large language models (LLMs) were only able to reliably complete tasks humans took seconds or minutes to do. Now they are increasingly able to complete fairly complex tasks taking an hour or so. Now, some of the LLMs can find problems in a cryptocurrency contract and even develop and streamline the model itself, which would take a human several hours. The latest generation of models could start to entirely develop themselves in the next year or so. This is just software coding, but the same type of pattern is being seen, at an earlier stage, with financial analysis, early stage legal work, even some entry level creative industry jobs. What does that mean for jobs? The most thorough analyses out there come from the United States, using four years of data on employment outcomes by age among a range of occupations most exposed to AI (including software developers and customer contact reps) - and least exposed to AI (health workers, childcare workers, hairdressers). Stanford University's analysis of wage and jobs data finds a hit to employment for 22 to 25-year-olds of 2.7% since ChatGPT became widespread, rising to 12.8% in the most AI-exposed sectors such as finance, software and creative industries. Not all economists agree, arguing that other factors such as interest rate rises can explain this.

Will AI help you do your job or replace you?
Europe
The Guardian

Judge orders pause on Paramount-Warner merger after challenge from 12 states

Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick, one of Paramount’s biggest box office hits. Photograph: Album/AlamyView image in fullscreenTom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick, one of Paramount’s biggest box office hits. Photograph: Album/AlamyParamount PicturesJudge orders pause on Paramount-Warner merger after challenge from 12 states$81bn merger halted for at least two weeks after US states sued to block deal, saying it would ‘extinguish competition’ A federal judge on Monday ordered Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery to halt their $81bn merger for at least two weeks, allowing states that are challenging the deal more time to see their case through in court. Twelve states, led by California, sued to block Paramount’s pending buyout of Warner last week – alleging that such a combination would “extinguish competition” in Hollywood and lead to fewer choices for consumers, particularly moviegoers and cable customers across the US. The states’ top prosecutors called on Warner and Paramount to not close the transaction until after a court had time to “fully evaluate” their claims. And when the companies refused, they filed for a temporary restraining order – which is what district judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín granted on Monday. That opens the door to a potential preliminary injunction that the states are also seeking to effectively block the deal. “This is a critical first win in our case to ensure this megamerger never sees the light of day,” Rob Bonta, the California attorney general, said in a statement following Monday’s order. “History tells the tale of what happens when a few people have great power over markets that are central to Americans’ lives: fewer opportunities for more people, worse products and services for all people.” A Warner-Paramount tie-up would bring together two of the five last legacy studios in Hollywood – as well as host of TV networks, titles filling streaming libraries and news operations. That would include Warner’s HBO Max, fan favorites such as Harry Potter and even CNN coming under the same roof of Paramount-owned CBS, movies including Top Gun and the Paramount+ streaming service. Paramount did not immediately comment on Monday’s order. But the company, which was bought out by Skydance just last year, has vowed to “vigorously defend” its Warner acquisition. Paramount previously called the states’ complaint “wrong on both the facts and the law”, maintaining that a merger would instead strengthen competition against bigger entertainment rivals. And it touted regulatory greenlights the deal has received elsewhere, including from the Trump administration last month. The temporary restraining order granted on Monday halts the deal from progressing for at least 14 days, although the pause could be extended for up to 28 days. The court has set 3 August as a date for a hearing on the states’ preliminary injunction motion, although that schedule could also be pushed back.

Judge orders pause on Paramount-Warner merger after challenge from 12 states
North America
CNBC Economy

Renewed Hormuz hostilities drive ECB rates rethink amid ‘extremely volatile’ outlook

Several consecutive days of strikes exchanged between the U.S. and Iran have once again thrown oil prices into the spotlight — and cast uncertainty on the European Central Bank's interest rate decision next week. Investors on Wednesday were repricing for the ECB's July 22 monetary policy meeting as soaring oil prices have put expectations for a hold in doubt. "The renewed outbreak of military conflict in the Middle East and the fresh rise in oil prices underscore that the situation remains extremely volatile and the uncertainty is similarly high," Bundesbank President and ECB rate setter Joachim Nagel told Reuters on Wednesday. "It remains advisable to react with caution, but to act decisively if necessary," he said. "Monetary policy will maintain its vigilant stance." The ECB slashed interest rates four times in the first half of 2025, taking its key deposit rate from 3% at the start of the year to 2% by mid-June. But last month it was forced to change course, hiking by 25 basis points to its current rate of 2.25%. Headline inflation hovered close to the ECB's 2% target before the outbreak of the Iran war and then accelerated to a peak of 3.2% in May. Initial estimates show eurozone inflation eased to 2.8% last month despite a 8.7% year-on-year increase in energy costs for the month, as core inflation was restricted to 2.4% — suggesting limited "second-round" inflation effects in the rest of the economy. But energy prices have once again shot higher this week as several consecutive days of hostilities between the U.S. and Iran over the control of the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz reignited fears over oil supply. September Futures for international benchmark Brent crude traded higher again early on Wednesday, above $85 per barrel, having traded closer to pre-war levels around $70 just last week. The price of oil is critical for the eurozone economy, which imported 57% of its energy needs in 2024, according to the most recent available data from Eurostat. But policymakers will also be cautious that an overly restrictive monetary policy stance could tip the eurozone economy into recession after contracting by 0.2% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026. Policymakers will also be conscious that initial estimates for second-quarter GDP growth and July inflation will not be available until July 30 and July 31, respectively – meaning next week's rates decision will be made without access to the most recent data. ING rates strategists Michiel Tukker and Benjamin Schroeder wrote in a Wednesday note that eurozone inflation data "will be pivotal in challenging the hawkish market positioning," but "even then, those numbers will not be enough to comfort markets about second-round risks." "All this uncertainty means markets' European Central Bank pricing can continue to diverge from the Fed's," they said. "The momentum in US inflation should be downwards, whereas for Europe the peak might not be in sight yet, especially if energy prices continue to drift higher again."

Renewed Hormuz hostilities drive ECB rates rethink amid ‘extremely volatile’ outlook
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

South Korean market meltdown barely ruffles India; IT stocks steal the show

While South Korea’s KOSPI plunged 11 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei fell nearly 4 per cent amid a global semiconductor sell-off on Tuesday, Indian markets shrugged off the turbulence and ended almost flat, with homegrown IT stocks surging on the back of strong earnings. The Nifty 50 closed at 23,985, down just 0.04 per cent, on what was also a monthly F&O expiry day, a session typically marked by choppiness. Declines outnumbered advances by nearly 2:1, yet the index held its ground. “Asian chip stocks told a different story. South Korean names like SK Hynix fell sharply on rising concerns about Chinese semiconductor competition... Indian IT services and Asian chip manufacturing are not the same trade. One is under pressure. The other is proving its value,” said Sarvam Goel, Founder, Pocketful. The standout story of the session was the Nifty IT index, which rallied 3.3 per cent. Coforge led the charge, jumping 10 per cent after reporting 33 per cent year-on-year revenue growth in dollar terms, with 86 per cent of revenues now coming from AI-led engineering, data and cloud services. Its 12-month executable order book stood at $2.23 billion. The results triggered a broad re-rating of the IT sector, which has now gained nearly 16 per cent from its recent lows. On the losing side, Hindustan Unilever tumbled 7 per cent after reporting weaker-than-expected earnings, profits dipped despite 10 per cent revenue growth, pointing to margin pressure. Varun Beverages also fell 7 per cent as first-quarter volume growth missed consensus estimates. FMCG and energy stocks broadly remained under pressure. Easing geopolitical tensions in West Asia provided some cushion to sentiment. US President Donald Trump signalled progress in Oman-mediated talks with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, pushing Brent crude lower, quotes varied between $80 and $86 per barrel across sources, reflecting intraday volatility, but the direction was clearly downward. Domestic crude futures fell over 2.5 per cent to below ₹7,800. The rupee strengthened for a third consecutive session, with the spot USD/INR pair slipping to around ₹95.78, a one-week low, aided by softer crude prices and steady dollar supply from banks. Immediate support for the pair lies in the ₹95.40–95.60 range, with ₹96.15 as the key overhead hurdle. In commodities, gold slipped to $4,030 per ounce and silver to $57, as the dollar climbed to a one-month high of 101.57 ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s policy decision on Wednesday. CME FedWatch data put the probability of a 25-basis-point July rate hike at 34 per cent, with September odds near 80 per cent. Looking ahead, markets will track the Fed and Bank of Japan policy outcomes closely this week. On the earnings front, investors will watch results from Asian Paints, Eicher Motors, Dabur India, Adani Enterprises, and Colgate-Palmolive, among others. “Given the mixed global backdrop... we continue to advocate a selective, stock-specific approach, preferring auto and pharma,” said Ajit Mishra, SVP Research, Religare Broking. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

South Korean market meltdown barely ruffles India; IT stocks steal the show
North America
CNBC Finance

Netflix stock falls as earnings forecast disappoints, company says it will give fewer engagement updates

Netflix reported second-quarter revenue and earnings that were roughly in line with analyst estimates on Thursday as Wall Street is keeping a close eye on the company's advertising and engagement metrics. Netflix stock fell more than 8% in after-hours trading Thursday as investors appeared disappointed once again in the company's earnings forecast. Netflix reported $12.56 billion in revenue, up 13% year over year and just slightly missing analyst expectations. The rise was attributed to membership growth, pricing and increased ad revenue. Earlier this year, Netflix raised its subscription prices across all its streaming plans. The company said Thursday the results of those price hikes were consistent with prior changes and expectations. Net income for the second quarter was $3.40 billion, or 80 cents per share, compared with $3.13 billion, or 72 cents a share in the same period last year. Netflix expects third-quarter revenue to grow 12% and called its 2026 outlook consistent with earlier forecasts. The company said it was narrowing its 2026 forecast revenue range to $51 billion to $51.4 billion for the full fiscal year, from earlier guidance of between $50.7 billion to $51.7 billion. Questions about engagement were top of mind for analysts during Thursday's earnings call. The streaming giant called engagement with its content "healthy," saying live events were a top draw for members, who watched more than 97 billion hours of total content in the first half of this year. The engagement metric has come into focus after reports that viewership for Netflix series drops following the first season. "I'll start by saying there is not a linear relationship between viewing hours and revenue and profit, because all hours are not created equal," co-CEO Greg Peters said during the call. Co-CEO Ted Sarandos also said Thursday that there isn't "any material change" in second season viewership of series versus the first season, following an earlier report that said there was a drop-off. "Our season two fall off has actually slightly improved this year relative to last year, so no changes in release strategies," Sarandos said on the call. Yet, on Thursday, the company said it would cut back on the frequency of its "What We Watched" reports, which provide a picture of engagement. Following the release of Thursday's report – which gives information on viewership for the first half of 2026 – Netflix will shift to publishing the report annually in the first quarter beginning in 2027. The company said its goal in separating out when "What We Watched" is published from its earnings results is to keep the focus on financial metrics like revenue and operating profit.

Netflix stock falls as earnings forecast disappoints, company says it will give fewer engagement updates
Europe
BBC Business

UK borrows less than expected in June but public finances remain a challenge

The government borrowed slightly less than expected in June, according to figures published as new Prime Minister Andy Burnham began setting out measures to cut living costs for households. Borrowing - the difference between spending and income from taxes - was £16bn, about £7.9bn lower than a year earlier, although analysts said challenges remained over the UK's public finances. Other data showed the unemployment rate was unchanged, with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) saying the labour market was "relatively steady". However, while the borrowing figure was less than forecast, the ONS said total debt was high by historical standards and close to the annual value of the UK economy. Borrowing for June was slightly below the £16.3bn that had been predicted by the government's official forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). Ruth Gregory, deputy chief UK economist at Capital Economics, said June's figure was "a rare piece of good news" for the new prime minister and his new Chancellor, John Healey. However, she added: "Overall, there's no escaping the fact that the public finances are fragile and that there is limited scope for extra borrowing." So far in the current financial year, borrowing has reached a total of £57.6bn, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). While this is down £3.7bn from the same period last year, it is £2.7bn above the OBR's forecast. James Smith, chief UK economist at ING, told the BBC's Today programme the fact that borrowing was still running ahead of the OBR's projections was "a reminder of the challenges that the new chancellor and the new prime minister face". He added they would face a "difficult picture" at the autumn Budget, with "lots of tough choices to be made". Burnham and Healey have both pledged to stick to former chancellor Rachel Reeves' fiscal rules on spending and borrowing. although the new prime minister said on Monday he would use "any flexibility within them" to help with policy changes. Shortly after Burnham's comments were made public, the yield on 10-year government bonds - effectively the interest rate charged to the UK government for a 10-year loan - rose above 5%.

UK borrows less than expected in June but public finances remain a challenge