Cyber-attack and yacht insurer agrees £8bn deal in latest UK stock market exit

A British company specialising in insuring against cyber-attacks that also covers fine art and luxury yachts has agreed to be taken over in an £8bn deal, in what would be the latest loss to the London stock market.Beazley said on Wednesday it had agreed the deal with its larger rival Zurich, after the Switzerland-listed company raised its bid for the Lloyd’s of London insurer.The two companies said in a joint statement that they had reached an “agreement in principle” on the main financial terms, under which Beazley shareholders will get up to £13.35 for every share they hold. This includes an offer price of £13

Drax insiders privately raised concerns over its sustainability claims, court papers show

Senior executives at Drax raised concerns internally about the validity of the energy company’s sustainability claims while it publicly denied allegations that it was cutting down environmentally important forests for fuel, court documents have revealed.Britain’s biggest power plant assured ministers and civil servants of the company’s green credentials as it scrambled to defend itself against claims in a BBC Panorama documentary that it had burned wood sourced from “old-growth” forests in Canada.The company’s senior leaders, including its chief executive, publicly denied the allegations, but other executives at the North Yorkshire plant privately raised concerns that it did not have sufficient evidence to back up the sustainability claims, according to evidence submitted to an employment tribunal involving its former top lobbyist.The owners of Drax have received more than £7bn in subsidies levied on household energy bills on the condition that the biomass pellets are made from waste or low-value wood from sustainable forests.However, the company has faced repeated scepticism over the sustainability of its business model, which involves importing millions of tonnes of wood pellets across the Atlantic every year

UK services sector job cuts continue as companies automate, PMI survey shows

Companies in the UK’s services sector cut jobs last month, as they turned to “automation” rather than hiring new staff, a closely watched survey showed.The monthly purchasing managers’ index showed employment numbers fell more sharply in January compared with December, continuing a trend that started in October 2024.The PMI survey, which is considered to be one of the most reliable indicators of how a sector is performing, said this was the “longest period of job shedding” in the UK services sector in 16 years, with firms also choosing not to replace voluntary leavers.The survey compiled by S&P Global said anecdotal evidence suggested some companies were turning to automation to make up for the staffing shortfall and increase productivity, alongside squeezed margins and fragile market conditions also affecting hiring decisions.Tim Moore, the economics indices director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: “There were again gloomy signals for the UK labour market outlook as staff hiring decreased at a steeper pace in January as firms looked to offset rising payroll costs

Striking Starbucks workers urge customers to delete coffee chain’s app

Striking Starbucks baristas are calling on customers of the world’s largest coffee chain to delete its popular mobile app in solidarity with their demands for a first union contract.Starbucks Workers United, which has been coordinating a strike for almost three months, is vowing to press ahead.“We baristas are still fighting for a fair contract, and this fight is active and ongoing,” said KC Ihekwaba, a barista at Starbucks in Lafayette, Colorado, on a solidarity union call earlier this week. “Our fire for change is still burning. Our spirits still strong

Wegovy and Ozempic maker forecasts sharp drop in revenue for 2026

The maker of Wegovy and Ozempic, Novo Nordisk, has predicted a sharp drop in revenues this year owing to what its boss described as a “painful” push by Donald Trump to lower US weight-loss drug prices, rising competition, and the loss of important patent protections.Denmark’s Novo, once the poster-child for the growth in weight-loss treatments, said sales this year were likely to fall between 5% and 13%, ending years of double-digit gains, despite the promising launch of its new Wegovy pill in the US.Its share price plummeted 17% on Wednesday, erasing all gains so far this year. In the past year the stock has lost nearly 50% of its value.Last year, Novo’s total sales grew by 10% to 309bn Danish kroner (£36

Santander takes fresh swipe at City watchdog as its car loan scandal bill tops £460m

Santander has accused the City watchdog of overreach after its bill for the UK motor finance scandal reached £461m, as the Spanish lender signed a $12bn takeover of an American bank.The bank – which announced the surprise takeover of US-based Webster Bank on Tuesday night – took a fresh swipe at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on Wednesday over a compensation scheme for the scandal.Santander UK had been concerned over what it claimed was a lack of clarity around the regulator’s plans for an £11bn redress scheme, which was meant to draw a line under the ballooning motor finance scandal.Santander said on Wednesday it had put aside a further £183m to compensate drivers who were overcharged via unfair commission arrangements between lenders and car dealers.However, the bank said this was based on the FCA’s proposals for payouts, which it criticised for going too far