• AI could reclaim nearly half the workday — but how real is it?

    UK office workers say AI is saving them almost half a working day. A new study by Salesforce and IDC suggests a steep jump in productivity gains — but the headline may not reflect the broader workforce experience.


  • November 2025’s US M&A snapshot

    November’s US M&A tape did not look busy. It did, however, look big. A handful of multi-billion-dollar deals in consumer health, cancer diagnostics, industrials, and AI infrastructure underscored how 2025’s deal cycle is being driven by scale, category leadership, and infrastructure for an AI-intensive economy.


  • Europe’s M&A in November 2025: scale, scrutiny, sovereignty

    November’s M&A tape in Europe shrank, but deals swelled dramatically. From coatings and chemicals to energy and financial infrastructure, November’s largest transactions show boards leaning into selective, high-stakes bets in a market defined by sovereign capital, tougher subsidy rules, and more creative deal structures.


  • November 2025’s UK M&A rundown

    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.


  • How crypto is quietly rewiring business payments

    Boardrooms used to treat crypto as something radioactive and remote. Today, the conversation is shifting to settlement speed, cost, and compliance. As cross-border payment volumes soar and regulation matures, stablecoins and tokenised cash are quietly being tested as the new pipes of global trade, not the latest speculative bet anymore.


  • Autumn Budget stability puts UK business owners on the hook

    Stability was the Chancellor’s watchword, but business heard strain instead. Advisers across law and accountancy say the Autumn Budget leans heavily on tax rises for owners, investors, and high earners, while offering only narrow windows and targeted reliefs for those prepared to plan ahead. Businesses face greater complexity and pressure.


  • The highs, lows and reaction to the Autumn Budget 2025

    Rachel Reeves has delivered a tax-heavy Autumn Budget for business. Markets have taken the measures in their stride, but leaders now face a higher, more complex tax burden and big questions about investment, skills, and productivity that our BQX deep-dive will unpack in full, as they plan for 2026 ahead.


  • Vendor risk management under spotlight after Comcast fine

    Comcast’s $1.5mn vendor data breach fine reignites focus on security. Experts warn that effective vendor risk management and continuous oversight are now central to data-protection compliance and business continuity worldwide.


  • Budget jitters deepen UK consumer gloom as retailers eye Christmas

    Budget talk is already weighing on Britain’s Christmas shoppers. New BRC and GfK data shows consumer sentiment sliding again in November, just as inflation eases and retail sales stumble. With Rachel Reeves facing a sizeable fiscal gap, retailers are braced for a Budget that could define demand well into 2026.


  • Keep Britain Working Review calls for ‘new deal’ on health and work

    Britain faces a quiet but urgent crisis, says the new Keep Britain Working Review. One in five adults is out of work due to ill-health. The government’s review calls for a shared-responsibility model — with employers, employees, and government working together to make work healthier and more inclusive.