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AI meets fragrance discovery in Jo Malone’s latest innovation. The Estée Lauder Companies and Jo Malone London have unveiled an AI-powered Scent Adviser experience designed to recreate the brand’s signature in-store consultation online, helping consumers find their ideal fragrance through natural language interaction.
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November’s UK dealflow was quiet, but anything but complacent overall. From a scrapped £5.3bn infrastructure merger to a contested fintech tie-up, the month’s biggest transactions showed investors rewarding infrastructure-style cash flows, disciplined storytelling, and targeted digital bets over indiscriminate empire-building, for boards weighing whether to buy, build, or partner.
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Three in four disabled UK shoppers face digital barriers. New AccessiWay research shows accessibility issues are driving customers away during key sales periods, with calls for stronger regulation and inclusion on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
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London’s new AI lab aims to lead global research efforts. The five-year collaboration will focus on foundational AI research in safety, reliability, and societal impact, combining Imperial’s academic strength with Thomson Reuters’ applied expertise in large-scale systems.
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88 per cent of organisations fear state cyber threats. A new study by IO finds UK and US businesses increasingly view state-sponsored cyber attacks as a board-level risk, warning that governments are not doing enough to protect the private sector from national-level adversaries.
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Argos reports a £223.2 million pre-tax loss. The retailer, owned by Sainsbury’s since 2016, experienced a revenue decline from £4.22 billion to £4.13 billion, alongside job cuts, amid a challenging market and weakened demand.
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FreemarketFX has deepened its collaboration with technology company Napier AI. The partnership will see Napier’s AI-driven monitoring tools underpin FreemarketFX’s global payments network, improving oversight and helping detect anomalies across fast-growing transaction volumes. The move supports FreemarketFX’s continued international expansion.
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Balancing work and life now causes more stress than money. New research by productivity provider Avilio finds UK workers are more anxious about managing work/life balance than their financial outlook, with 32% citing it as their leading source of stress — ahead of money, job security, and even the global economy.
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The UK is set to sign a pharmaceuticals deal with the US. The agreement will remove US import tariffs on medicines and increase NHS drug spending. It aims to improve investment conditions, although the long-term NHS budget impact is uncertain.
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Prime Minister Keir Starmer denies misleading claims over fiscal shortfall. Starmer defended Chancellor Reeves’ tax and spending decisions amid accusations of misleading public finances. He attributed revenue needs to OBR’s productivity downgrade and confirmed consideration of breaking manifesto tax commitments.