Talk Fuse

    Topic: Business

    Britain's boardrooms and balance sheets set the pace for jobs, investment and the everyday cost of living, which is why this hub tracks the deals, disputes and decisions shaping commerce at home and abroad. Expect coverage ranging from regional infrastructure and manufacturing schemes that promise new employment, through to the high-finance manoeuvring of media and technology giants as they buy, sell and jostle for market position.

    Alongside the corporate deal-making, the section also follows the policy and regulatory currents that shape how firms and money move across borders, including scrutiny of sanctions, energy markets and the wider financial fallout of geopolitical events. For entrepreneurs and founders, there's a steady eye kept on practical opportunities, from funding programmes to industry competitions worth knowing about before deadlines pass.

    Together, these stories offer a snapshot of where capital is flowing, who stands to gain or lose, and how business decisions made in boardrooms ultimately ripple out into pay packets, prices and prospects for ordinary readers.

    • ‘Babylon Berlin’ Going Out With a Bang, and A Warning for Democracy

      The German period drama Babylon Berlin has entered its fifth and final season, with creators Henk Handloegten, Tom Tykwer and Achim von Borries previewing the finale at a private Berlin event. The season depicts the collapse of the Weimar Republic and Adolf Hitler’s rise to absolute power, and the makers say its story now carries…

    • Disney sells out all Super Bowl LXI ad slots

      Disney has confirmed it sold out all commercial advertising inventory for its 2027 broadcast of Super Bowl LXI, an outcome that looked uncertain only weeks earlier amid advertiser pushback over pricing. Chief financial officer Hugh Johnston announced the sell-out on an investor call, describing it as one of the broadest advertiser and category mixes in…

    • Disney explores free ad-supported channels to boost streaming growth

      Disney is exploring the launch of free, ad-supported streaming (FAST) channels, chief executive Josh D’Amaro told analysts on the company’s latest earnings call, as he set out streaming and the parks and experiences division as the two pillars driving the group’s future growth. D’Amaro said free channels could extend Disney’s reach among price-sensitive viewers, boost…

    • Disney CEO Admits ‘Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu’ and ‘Moana’ Underperformed at Box Office but ‘Fueled Other Parts of Our Company’

      Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro has acknowledged that “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” and the live-action remake of “Moana” both underperformed at the box office this summer, but argued the films still benefited the wider company through merchandise, theme park attractions and streaming. Speaking on Disney’s latest earnings call, D’Amaro said franchise investments continue to…

    • Cloud startup Volta claims $10B AI lab deal for Norway bit barn

      Norwegian AI infrastructure startup Volta has emerged from stealth with plans to build “AI factories” in Norway and elsewhere, targeting multiple gigawatts of capacity by 2030. The company, backed by Nvidia and Michael Dell’s family office, positions itself as a “vertically integrated” rent-a-GPU operator similar to rivals such as Nscale and CoreWeave, and says it…

    • ‘Parkinson’s Valley’: the herbicide haunting a New York farm town

      In Hebron, a small farming town in New York’s Washington county, residents including farmer Gordon Chaplin believe long-term exposure to the herbicide paraquat has caused a cluster of Parkinson’s disease cases among their community. Chaplin, 81, developed symptoms nearly a decade ago and was later diagnosed with the incurable degenerative brain disease, despite having no…

    • MIKE PENCE: Congress must finish Lindsey Graham’s fight against Putin

      Former Vice President Mike Pence has written an opinion piece calling on Congress to complete legislative work championed by the late Senator Lindsey Graham aimed at pressuring Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine. Pence praises Graham, who died recently, as a steadfast advocate for American strength as the best guarantor of peace,…

    • Cooper Hoffman Is Courting Controversy — Onscreen, Anyway

      Cooper Hoffman, son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, is stepping out from under the protective wing of his father’s old collaborators and taking on deliberately provocative roles, notably in Gregg Araki’s boundary-pushing film I Want Your Sex. The Hollywood Reporter profile traces his journey from unexpected overnight stardom in Licorice Pizza to a more…

    • Trump is failing the vibe-check for voters 

      Republicans aren’t just fighting stubborn inflation and a slowing economy, they are contending with voters who feel worse about their lives across almost every category pollsters can measure.

    • Johnson says things ‘don’t look good’ for Max Miller

      House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said in an interview that things “don’t look good” for Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio), who is facing calls to step down in connection with allegations of domestic abuse toward his ex-wife, the daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio). Johnson told Politico’s Dasha Burns in the latest episode of “The Conversation”…