Talk Fuse

    Companies

    Companies brings together the latest on corporate deals, disputes and leadership shake-ups from across the business world, spanning household names in media, technology, retail and sport. Expect coverage of boardroom reshuffles, courtroom battles over mergers and settlements, and the financial fallout when firms face fraud allegations or regulatory scrutiny, alongside lighter stories about workplace disputes and unusual legal rulings.

    Much of the current activity centres on the entertainment and technology industries, from antitrust wrangling between major studios to shifting fortunes at prominent tech firms, as well as the ripple effects of high-profile ownership changes involving frozen assets and sports clubs. Smaller, fast-growing companies also feature, reflecting how emerging businesses jostle for investment and recognition alongside established giants.

    This topic matters because corporate decisions, however distant they may seem from daily life, tend to shape the products, services and workplaces that readers encounter directly. Tracking these stories helps make sense of how power, money and accountability move through the companies that increasingly influence culture, employment and public life.

    • Former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson joins Palantir

      Tom Watson, former Labour deputy leader and peer, has taken a full-time position as senior vice-president at Palantir, the controversial US artificial intelligence company. The appointment comes as Palantir faces pressure from Andy Burnham’s government to abandon its £330m NHS contract and battles Sadiq Khan in court over a blocked £50m Metropolitan police contract. Watson’s…

    • MPs urge ministers to break off Thames Water talks with US hedge funds

      A cross-party group of MPs has called on the government to break off negotiations with US hedge funds controlling Thames Water and instead take direct public control of the company. The Efra committee, chaired by Alistair Carmichael, argues that ministers should consider emergency legislation to stabilise the financially troubled water company, which carries debts of…

    • Waymo says Singapore will be its next international robotaxi city

      Waymo plans to launch a fully autonomous robotaxi service in Singapore in 2028, expanding its international presence. Vehicles will arrive in the coming months for mapping and testing with human safety drivers in 2027, but the company must first secure approval from Singapore’s Land Transport Authority. Singapore requires autonomous vehicles to pass safety assessments by…

    • ‘This is our company’: Nigerians show off oil wealth after share-buying frenzy

      Nigerians have rushed to buy shares in Aliko Dangote’s oil refinery, turning the sale into a major social-media event. The IPO matters because it has broadened public participation in one of Africa’s largest industrial projects and offered people hope of improving their finances amid economic difficulties. More than four billion shares, representing just over 3%…

    • Marvell pushes GlobalFoundries to light up wafer production

      Marvell is expanding its partnership with GlobalFoundries to increase silicon germanium wafer production in Vermont, supporting optical components for AI data-centre networks. The agreement matters because faster networking is pushing data centres away from copper towards optical connections, while Marvell seeks to scale its role in a rapidly growing market. The additional capacity will support…

    • China is building ‘first-ever mothership capable of launching submarine drones’

      Satellite imagery has revealed that China is constructing the world’s first underwater mothership designed to launch and recover large autonomous submarine drones, known as XXLUUVs (extra-extra-large uncrewed undersea vehicles). The vessel, under construction at a Shanghai shipyard, represents a significant advancement in China’s naval capabilities and underscores its strategic focus on maritime operations. Defence experts…

    • Anthropic says Claude ‘leads’ 26 percent of its AI R&D work

      Anthropic says its Claude chatbot leads 26% of the company’s AI research and development, meaning it can complete most tasks from a high-level prompt while a human supervises. The figure highlights how deeply AI is being integrated into frontier research, while Anthropic stresses that Claude is not fully autonomous in any measured area. The company…

    • Save $30 or more on a refurbished Apple TV 4K

      Apple is discounting refurbished third-generation Apple TV 4K models by $30–$40, helping offset rising hardware prices. The deals offer near-new devices with Apple’s standard one-year warranty, making them a cheaper way to access the company’s streaming and smart-home features. The 64GB Wi‑Fi model costs $169, while the 128GB version with Ethernet is $209. Both support…

    • Outraged ex-Fox News star turned CEO is latest victim of American Airlines’ tanking customer service… as pilots condemn embattled boss

      Sailfish Productions CEO and former Fox News anchor Melissa Francis has criticised American Airlines after saying a first-class booking was changed to a coach seat without explanation or a refund. She also complained about TSA-related problems and said she would avoid the airline if alternative routes were available, highlighting wider concerns about its customer service.…

    • Border guard sacked for using company car to visit dying father and drop off dog medicine loses unfair dismissal case

      Border Force officer Alexander Casteel was dismissed for using an official vehicle for three unauthorised personal detours, including visits to his terminally ill father and delivering dog medication. An employment tribunal rejected his unfair dismissal claim, ruling that his employer reasonably treated the conduct as gross misconduct under its strict vehicle-use policy. The diversions totalled…