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Rachel Reeves secures record borrowing reprieve with £30.4bn surplus. January’s surplus, driven by increased tax receipts, surpasses expectations and the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecast. Capital gains tax receipts hit a record, reflecting asset sell-offs due to anticipated tax hikes.
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Audion has launched Audion AI to optimise digital audio campaigns. The company says the agent turns a brief into multi-platform media plans, spanning streaming, podcasts, digital radio, and audio-first video, and adjusts spend during delivery using contextual signals and measurement data. It also unveiled a refreshed brand identity with launch.
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UK retailers are bracing for higher employment costs this year. A British Retail Consortium survey found 84% of retail finance chiefs now rank labour and employment costs among their top three concerns, up from 21% in July 2025, as Employment Rights Act changes begin to be implemented.
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Record numbers of Brits starting businesses, but growth risks remain. Despite increased entrepreneurial activity, innovation and export levels among SMEs have dropped to a four-year low, with looming funding gaps threatening future growth. Uncertainty over business support adds to these challenges.
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UK unemployment rises as AI reshapes hiring decisions. New data suggests scale-up founders are slowing recruitment as automation accelerates and employment costs climb, raising questions about how artificial intelligence is influencing the broader labour market.
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UK SME wages fell in January. Employment growth reached 4.4% year-on-year, its strongest level since March 2025, even as monthly pay declined for the first time in 12 months, according to Employment Hero’s latest UK Jobs Report.
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New ISO standard aids climate adaptation efforts for organisations. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has introduced ISO 14092:2026 to assist organisations, including local governments, in developing and implementing climate adaptation plans, addressing fragmented efforts and enhancing access to adaptation finance.
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KPMG partner fined over AI training breach. An audit partner at KPMG Australia has been issued a $10,000 penalty after uploading internal training materials to an AI platform to complete an assessment, prompting renewed scrutiny of AI use, exam misconduct, and governance within professional services.
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Public affairs talent faces mass departures this year. New research suggests nearly two-thirds of professionals in the discipline plan to change roles within six months, raising concerns over mounting skills shortages and growing regulatory pressure.
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Google partners with Open Partners on proprietary ad tech. The collaboration will see the independent agency’s Automated Campaign Execution platform — ACE — formally developed within the Google ecosystem ahead of a planned early 2026 launch, following reported uplifts of 20–30% in ROAS and conversions.