This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Get faster notifications on the latest updates by downloading our app. A cold front is expected to begin affecting Hong Kong on Saturday, bringing intensifying winds and pushing temperatures to around 15 degrees Celsius (59 Fahrenheit) the following day, …

While fundamental to sustainable success, substance alone won’t get your business far in its early stages. Perception is everything, and in a world of screens and trends that fizzle out almost as soon as they begin, the reputation you shape online matters the most. What makes up a business’s web reputation? Which factors drag it down, and what can you …

Cash shortages can disrupt even well-managed companies, often at moments when stability matters most. A delayed client payment, a sudden drop in seasonal revenue or an unexpected opportunity requiring immediate capital can place pressure on operations long before traditional funding becomes available. For UK businesses trying to maintain continuity in challenging periods, strengthening cash flow management for small businesses becomes …

Few investors would have looked at Spain’s heavily regulated taxi market in 2017 and seen opportunity. Ride-hailing services faced steep barriers to entry, with vehicle-for-hire licenses strictly capped and fiercely protected by incumbent taxi operators. Leopoldo Alejandro Betancourt López saw something different: a chance to build value precisely because the barriers were so high. That contrarian bet led to the …

In March 2020, three twenty-somethings in a cramped Shoreditch flat pointed a £200 webcam at a borrowed roulette wheel and pressed “Go Live”. Five years later that same stream has evolved into one of Britain’s fastest-growing industries, now valued at £9 billion and employing more than 18,000 people across London, Manchester, Leeds and Malta studios. What began as a lockdown …

Google released on Thursday a “reimagined” version of its research agent Gemini Deep Research based on its much-ballyhooed state-of-the-art foundation model, Gemini 3 Pro.   This new agent isn’t just designed to produce research reports – although it can still do that. It now allows developers to embed Google’s SATA-model research capabilities into their own apps. That capability is made possible …

London’s investment landscape has always favoured the bold: fintech disruptors in the 2010s, green energy plays in the early 2020s. Now, in 2025, a fresh wave of capital is flooding into an unexpected corner—always-on entertainment businesses that churn out live content around the clock, blending high-gloss production with viewer interaction. These ventures, often housed in converted East London warehouses, have …

Dubai’s skyline tells a story of ambition realized. Each tower, each waterfront community, each master-planned neighborhood represents billions in investment and years of planning executed under intense pressure. The emirate didn’t become a global real estate hub by chance. Strategic vision combined with exceptional execution created what stands today. For property investors and homebuyers, understanding which real estate companies in …

Many homes in the UK are cold and expensive to heat. There are government schemes that can help. LA Flex Scheme is one of them. This article explains the workings of that scheme. This article also explains how LA Flex allows more people to qualify for boilers and other upgrades. What is the LA Flex Scheme? LA Flex is the …

The Ukrainian forces seemingly have no strategy and are attempting to hold onto land “at any price,” Thomas Roeper has told RT After the liberation of Seversk there is no other fortress city to stop the Russian advance in the Donetsk People’s Republic, author and war correspondent Thomas Roeper told RT on Thursday. The capture of the stronghold, announced by …

The European Union (EU) is reportedly set to abandon plans to ban selling new petrol cars in a U-turn that could have an impact on Britain. The EU planned to reach an 100% fall in passenger vehicle carbon emissions by 2035, effectively banning the sale of new diesel and petrol cars by that year. However, Manfred Weber, president of the …

1X found some big potential buyers for its humanoid robots designed for consumers — the portfolio companies of one of its investors. The robotics company announced a strategic partnership to make thousands of its humanoid robots available for EQT’s portfolio companies on Thursday. EQT is a large Swedish multi-asset investor, and its venture fund EQT Ventures, is one of 1X’s …

A teenager was rushed to hospital after suffering a stab wound near a Christmas market, police said. The attacker, who was known to the victim, fled the scene and a manhunt has been launched. The 16-year-old victim was stabbed on a street near the Christmas market in Herford, located in the North Rhine-Westphalia area of Germany, on Thursday (December 11). …

The way venture capitalists think about fund-raising can be a black box. But investors must think about their go-to-market strategy for raising their own funds, just as much as they think about how their portfolio companies find their market fit.   All season on Build Mode, we’ve explored how founders should approach marketing, but this week we’re exploring how VCs sell themselves to founders as trustworthy partners, and to LPs as worthwhile investments.   …

The senior Democrat on a US congressional committee focused on China is urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio to fill the State Department’s vacant post for Arctic affairs, citing intensifying competition with Beijing and adding to growing pressure to address the vacancy. The Ambassador-at-Large for Arctic Affairs leads US engagement with the eight-country Arctic Council and coordinates American interests related …