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.

    • Meta’s Muse AI agent independently tackles shopping and travel

      Meta has released Muse, a personal AI agent it says can carry out tasks such as online shopping, drafting and sending emails, planning trips, and other productivity work on a user’s behalf, with “no technical experience” required to set it up. Unlike Meta’s existing AI assistant, Muse acts more autonomously: once given a goal, it…

    • Suno inks global licensing deal with Believe

      Believe, the French music distribution and label services group, has signed a global strategic partnership with AI music platform Suno, just over four months after it began blocking distribution of tracks generated on the service. The deal, announced on 8 September, allows artists and labels working with Believe and its self-release platform TuneCore to opt…

    • Meta debuts its Muse AI agent. Will consumers trust it?

      Meta has launched Muse, a personal AI agent designed to complete everyday tasks rather than simply answer questions, marking the company’s biggest push yet into consumer AI. The launch comes less than two weeks after Meta agreed to an $18 billion multistate settlement over harms linked to its social media platforms, meaning Muse must win…

    • United Utilities pays £1m over sewage contamination at Fylde resorts

      United Utilities has been fined nearly £1m after pleading guilty to five environmental permit offences over a raw sewage discharge along the Fylde coast in June 2023, which polluted popular holiday spots including Blackpool. Preston magistrates’ court ordered the company to pay £964,225 in fines and costs, in a case the Environment Agency classed at…

    • Nintendo isn’t scared of GTA VI

      Nintendo held a 30-minute Zelda-focused showcase for the franchise’s 40th anniversary, revealing that its Switch 2 remake of Ocarina of Time will launch on 5th November – just two weeks before Grand Theft Auto VI’s 19th November release. This stands out because nearly every other major publisher has rearranged release schedules to avoid clashing with…

    • Floating nuclear startup Bluecore lands $50M funding before setting sail

      California-based startup Bluecore Energy has raised $50 million in seed funding to develop floating nuclear power plants designed to supply ports, AI datacentres and other locations facing rapidly growing energy demands. The Silverton Partners-led round, which incorporates $10 million in previously announced pre-seed funding, will be used to engineer and test its compact reactor system…

    • Reliant Music partners with Warner Music Group’s ADA Benelux to scale its dance records globally

      Reliant Music, a Vancouver-based dance music A&R and artist development company, has announced a partnership with ADA Benelux, the independent distribution arm of Warner Music Group. The deal combines Reliant’s song development and A&R capabilities with ADA’s international distribution and label services infrastructure, aiming to support artists’ records from early creative stages through to global…

    • White House removes border-themed Tetris game after Tetris Company complaint

      The White House has removed “Build the Wall”, a border-themed Tetris clone, from its recently launched arcade games website, days after the Tetris Company said it was reviewing the title following complaints. Neither party has explained the exact reason for the removal, but it follows criticism of the game’s premise—stacking blocks to repel a “zombie…

    • Boston Scientific left nursing its bottom line after cyberattack

      Boston Scientific has warned that it will likely miss its third-quarter and full-year sales growth and adjusted earnings targets after a cyberattack disrupted operations last month. The medical device maker disclosed the financial hit in an SEC filing published on Tuesday, two weeks after unauthorised network activity forced it to take systems offline and interrupted…

    • Computer game developer who stole ‘gold pieces’ from players’ online accounts is convicted of theft after legal battle over whether virtual money is property

      A former Jagex employee has been convicted after stealing virtual “gold pieces” from players’ accounts in the online game Old School RuneScape and selling them on the black market for cryptocurrency. Andrew Lakeman, 32, who worked at the Cambridge-based games developer from 2015, exploited his internal access to raid 68 player accounts, taking hundreds of…