Business

Gold has surged to a fresh all-time high, fuelling predictions it could break through the $4,000 mark before the end of the year. The precious metal climbed to $3,778 per ounce this week, up 42% since January, while silver reached $42 per ounce – a gain of 45%. The rally has been underpinned by a combination of central bank buying, …

Boohoo has warned suppliers that payments could be delayed as the fast-fashion group grapples with growing financial pressures. The retailer, which also trades as Debenhams, wrote to some suppliers saying it was “running behind on payments” and asked how much stock they could deliver in September without receiving further payment, according to an email seen by Business Matters. The warning …

Thousands of British technology workers face soaring costs after Donald Trump confirmed plans to impose a $100,000 (£74,000) fee on specialist US visas. The dramatic increase applies to the H-1B visa, which is widely used by tech companies to hire foreign workers. Last year, 1,462 Britons received H-1B visas – more than any other European nation – while 985 have …

The UK is forecast to have the highest rate of inflation among the world’s richest economies this year, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In its latest outlook, the OECD raised its prediction for UK inflation to 3.5% across 2025, up from a previous estimate of 3.1%, citing rising food prices and higher business costs. Although …

Amazon is shutting down all 19 of its Amazon Fresh grocery stores in the UK, putting around 250 jobs at risk as the company pivots towards online sales and expands its Whole Foods brand. The US retail giant confirmed it has launched a consultation process with employees, warning that while some staff may be redeployed elsewhere in the business, many …

Tyl by NatWest has announced a new strategic partnership with akru, the cloud-based point-of-sale (POS) platform powered by Zonal, to deliver a fully integrated payments and POS solution for UK hospitality venues. Under the agreement, Tyl by NatWest becomes the preferred payments partner for akru, combining its secure, reliable payment processing with akru’s smart POS technology. The move is designed …

Rachel Reeves is under pressure to overhaul the UK’s tax system after the Resolution Foundation urged her to cut employee national insurance contributions by 2p and offset it with an equivalent rise in income tax. The thinktank, which has close ties to senior Labour ministers, said the measure could raise an additional £6bn a year by spreading the tax burden …

Nvidia is set to invest up to $100bn in OpenAI and supply the ChatGPT-maker with advanced data centre chips, in one of the most significant partnerships yet in the global race to dominate artificial intelligence. The deal, announced Monday, will be structured as two interlinked transactions. OpenAI will pay Nvidia in cash for chips, while Nvidia will take non-controlling shares …

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the UK are facing an increasingly crowded marketplace, where standing out and connecting with customers is more challenging than ever With shifting consumer habits and rapid advances in technology, business leaders must rethink how they approach marketing and customer engagement to drive sustainable growth and stay ahead of the competition. How SMEs Can Stand …

If you’ve ever wished you could turn a single photo into a talking, expressive video—without hiring a camera crew or learning complex motion graphics—Toki AI makes that practical It’s an online tool that converts an image into a lifelike, lip-synced avatar with natural micro-expressions and light gestures. Crucially, you don’t need any pre-training footage. One clear photo is enough to …