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Peers urge ministers to reject opt-out AI copyright rules now. A Lords committee says licensed, transparent training data would better support creators, investment, and responsible model development, while warning that weaker copyright protections could stall UK licensing markets and deepen reliance on opaque overseas systems.
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Morgan Stanley cuts 2,500 roles as revenues hit record highs. The 3% reduction spans banking, trading, wealth, and investment management, excluding financial advisors. The bank has touted internal GPT-4 tools that automate research and meeting notes, raising questions about how productivity gains are reshaping staffing.
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Payroll mistakes are pushing UK workers towards financial instability and job moves. New research suggests many employees are already struggling with pay errors, just as HMRC prepares major payroll rule changes in April 2026 that could further increase complexity for employers.
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February’s US dealmaking was defined by conviction rather than volume. A $110bn media merger, a $34.5bn cable consolidation, and major transactions in banking, medtech, and payments infrastructure revealed a market pursuing scale — with regulators, financing, and integration now central to execution.
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UK contactless payment caps end nationwide on 19 March 2026. Banks can set their own limits, but must prove risk controls. With the blunt backstop gone, fraud monitoring, real-time analytics, and customer settings will matter more — and larger institutions may move first while others keep £100 until systems mature.
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Europe’s February M&A rewarded scarcity, scale, and defensive cashflows. Italy’s MPS pursued Mediobanca in a €16bn tie-up. InPost drew a €7.8bn offer as buyers chased large last-mile platforms. Blackstone and EQT agreed to buy Urbaser for $6.6bn, Germany took a TenneT stake, and Henkel moved for coatings group Stahl.
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February’s UK dealmakers chased scale, stability, and strategic scarcity again. Engie’s £10.5bn agreement for UK Power Networks led the month, while Nuveen’s £9.9bn purchase of Schroders underscored pressure for asset-management scale. NatWest bought Evelyn Partners, nexfibre consolidated fibre via Substantial, and Brookfield-backed Radiant merged with London’s Ori in late February.
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Goldman’s chief says Iran war risks need time to price. David Solomon told a Sydney summit the initial reaction was “benign”, as oil rose and equities fell. Investors are watching for sustained energy disruption and inflation spillovers.
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Basware is expanding InvoiceAI with agentic tools for accounts payable. The company says new agents in its invoice lifecycle management platform will automate supplier disputes and help AP teams resolve payment queries, as finance leaders report rising pressure to show measurable AI returns.
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Arctic Wolf buys Sevco to expand exposure assessment capabilities globally. The deal brings Sevco’s asset intelligence onto the Aurora Platform, aiming to help customers and MSPs identify, prioritise, and remediate exposures across hybrid environments. Terms were not disclosed.